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3 reasons the Suns will exceed expectations again this season

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - JANUARY 04: Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns talks with head coach Jordan Ott during the second half of the NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Mortgage Matchup Center on January 04, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Thunder 108-105. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Phoenix Suns are a mixed bag from a zoomed-out national perspective.

On one hand, they exceeded expectations a year ago and became something of an underdog darling. Now, with their element of surprise a thing of the past, the Suns will have to prove themselves all over again. Every single night.

The identity they want in Phoenix is clear at this point, but it’s one that is proven every game and earned over time. It’s predicated on intangibles over talent. Don’t get me wrong, they have talent… but their effort and doing the little things is what got them to where they are today.

Can they do it all over again this season? Could the ceiling be even higher than we’re giving them credit for?

I wrote about why they could disappoint in my most recent piece, so now it’s time to get more optimistic. Let’s jump in.

1) Improved Chemistry

Last season, they had a carousel of injuries and plenty of “breakout” players who were more focused on proving they belong on the floor than doing anything “extra”. Here’s how that could work in their favor.

Collin Gillespie, for example, was constantly doing the little things, focused on intense pressure defensively, making the right reads, playing selfless, smart basketball as we expect out of a Villanova Wildcat.

Now, with a season under his belt and the “prove it” shadow not lurking as heavily around everything he does, it could feel like he has more freedom. Freedom to be aggressive and take more calculated risks on the basketball floor. And then you have Jordan Goodwin. He is a staple in the rotation now, and he knows exactly what his role is. All the extensions to bring back the glue guys, plus Mark Williams down low, give them some continuity they did not have a year ago.

Jordan Ott is one year wiser. No longer is he a rookie coach. He is a coach with a year under his belt and the respect of this locker room. And most importantly, all of these guys are more familiar with playing alongside Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns’ engine.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 16: Head coach Jordan Ott of the Phoenix Suns talks with Collin Gillespie #12 and Jordan Goodwin #23 during the second half of the NBA game against the Atlanta Hawks at Mortgage Matchup Center on November 16, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images) | Getty Images

2) More talent + Hopefully more availability

Look, talent wins games. I’m also being optimistic on the health front, and not in a naive way. I understand injuries will happen. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take the same toll as it did last year.

Last season, this roster lost:

  • Jalen Green for 50 games
  • Devin Booker for 18 games
  • Mark Williams and Dillon Brooks to multiple injuries after the All-Star break
  • Grayson Allen for over 30 games
  • And still won 45 games

It was a resilient group. But let’s be clear about what actually happened. They finished 14-17 down the stretch. The second half of the season was rough. They got swept in the first round by OKC despite overachieving by ~15 wins in the regular season, depending on the pundit/oddsmakers.

The margin of error was razor-thin because the depth was tested every single night. Now, if Jalen Green stays on the floor for more than 32 games? If Mark Williams and Dillon Brooks aren’t playing through chronic pain? This team’s ceiling shoots up. Not because of better talent, but because role players can play their role instead of overextending themselves.

Even a modest health improvement targets the exact weakness that nearly derailed them in April. Every team has a time of year where they limp. It’s about minimizing that damage and entering the playoffs peaking, at as close to full strength as possible.

3) One year wiser, but still youthful

The youth movement is underway in Phoenix, and it’s not a bad thing to be young and spry. Devin Booker is the grizzled, grumpy veteran surrounded by a ton of youth.

What a sentence to type out after watching him arrive as a wide-eyed baby face 18-year old. Okay, maybe not wide-eyed, but man, has he grown before our eyes.

BROOKLYN, NY – JUNE 25: Devin Booker the 13th pick overall in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns speaks to the media during the 2015 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 25, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

This Suns team still has the youthful energy, but a lot of experience and reps to go with it.

Jordan Ott’s system doesn’t reward ball-stopping isolation basketball. It rewards active defenders who can hunt assignments, make weak-side rotations, and sprint the floor in transition. That’s executable with young players because it’s repeatable. It’s coachable. It’s not dependent on 10 years of NBA experience. As long as Booker takes on the veteran leader role along with Dillon Brooks, the rest of the guys can focus on doing their jobs.

This offseason, the Suns felt they needed complementary scoring and positional versatility. Enter Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard.

Bridges gives them another wing who can attack a closeout and make plays off the bounce. Luke Kennard is spacing the floor and taking dribble handoffs in the short roll. Neither guy requires the ball constantly. Both fit the structural DNA that worked last season. With improved chemistry around those two additions, this could be a very dangerous Suns team.

This team has the same core and foundation that helped them exceed expectations a season ago. And now they have a little more experience, talent and upside to go with it. If it all clicks and they stay even a little more healthy than they were a year ago, there’s no reason to think this team doesn’t have another gear.

Doubt them at your own risk.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 23: Dillon Brooks #3 of the Phoenix Suns high-fives teammate Devin Booker #1 after Brooks hit a three-pointer during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Mortgage Matchup Center on November 23, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
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TECKnically speaking: A Q&A with Locked On Bucks’ Camille Davis

Some voices become so familiar they feel like family. Camille Davis, co-host of Locked On Bucks and the TECKnical Foul Podcast, has quickly become one of those. A Milwaukee native, Davis covers the Bucks and the NBA (along with the NFL and WWE) in a soft-spoken style that blends insightful analysis with passion and humour. But that’s just the half of it. A hoop-head since childhood—from MJ to NBA Live to winning an “Eat and Greet” with Malcolm Brogdon—Davis knows the game not just as a media member, but as a fan.

Zac: Let’s start early. How did you fall in love with the game of basketball?

Camille: Watching games with my uncles. When I was a kid, if I wanted to hang out with them then I was also watching what they watched. They weren’t putting on cartoons for me (laughs). I liked being around them so I started watching basketball and football with them. Next thing I knew, I was enjoying the game itself and my uncles or big cousin being around was just the cherry on top. Also, playing NBA Live ‘97 helped solidify my love for the game and helped to “teach” me things about the game.  

“I have a lot of great memories of the BC because of that time. Shoutout to Carlos Delfino… I had a Delfino T-shirt jersey that I wore out!”

Camille Davis

Zac: What about the Bucks? As a Wisconsinite, you grew up in some pretty dire times as far as Bucks fandom goes, at least around that 2001 run. What formative memories and/or players stand out for you?

Camille: Admittedly, I grew up as a Michael Jordan fan and when he retired the second time, that’s when I started to watch more Bucks games. In particular, it was the 2000-01 team that got me interested. I remember very clearly watching a playoff game against the Hornets during a middle school dance. The DJ had a little TV at his booth with the game on and I was watching that with some other guys instead of dancing (laughs). But the 2009-10 season made me a fanatic. During Brandon Jennings’ rookie year, I was in college with a little disposable income and Bucks games were cheap and fun entertainment. I spent a lot of time in the Bradley Center during that time and really locked in with the team. I have a lot of great memories of the BC because of that time. Shoutout to Carlos Delfino… I had a Delfino T-shirt jersey that I wore out!

Zac: Beyond loving the game as a fan, were you a hooper?

Camille: Only in my mind (laughs). We had a hoop in my backyard for a few years and I’d go outside to shoot around with my uncle Tony and cousins. My middle school was really small, it was one of those schools that went from K-5 to 8th grade. Really small—like my graduating class was like 11 kids. We didn’t have enough girls to field a basketball team so I never played organized ball. When I got to high school, I wanted to be around the game, so instead of playing I was the manager for the boys team from my sophomore year up until I graduated. I loved being in practice, learning from the coaches, and choppin’ it up with the players about what we saw. 

Zac: You won a meet and greet—technically anEat and Greet—with none other than “The President” himself, Malcolm Brogdon, in 2017. What was that experience like—and did it influence your path into covering the NBA and the Bucks?

Camille: It was really smooth. I was really nervous but Brogdon was such a nice guy. It was a fun meet and greet and I loved getting a year of Cousins Subs for free (laughs). I was super popular in my family after winning that. It didn’t influence my pathway to talk sports for a living, but was a peak moment in my fandom. 

Zac: In the same year, your media career began with the launch of the TECKnical Foul Podcast. Tell us how that came to fruition and how you blend the seriousness of sports coverage with humour (I love your episode titles).

Camille: I was working full time at a local foundation while attending graduate school to get my Master’s in Sports Management. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to do something in the realm of sports. I couldn’t get an internship because I had a job and responsibilities and thought that maybe a podcast could be a good entry point. It felt like something I could do on the side while still working.

Assembling the cast… I had prior conversations with Ken and Tim, separately, about doing a podcast. I’ve known Ken since middle school and Tim since my junior year in college. I asked those two if they’d want to do a show together with me and they were both in; they met each other maybe once or twice before that.

Thinking about our trio, I felt like a certain dynamic was missing and reached out to another college friend, Eric, about joining and he was game. The idea behind TECK Foul was to be able to bring the type of conversations that would live in a group chat to the masses. We try to have a more relaxed, lighthearted approach while still talking about the nuts and bolts of the games we love. Plus we all grew up wrestling fans and having this outlet to also talk and nerd out about WWE is great. 

Zac: I remember hearing you on Locked On Bucks talk about your excitement when you were first followed by Kane Pitman or Frank Madden on social media. Talk us through that experience and how you came to become the show’s co-host.

Camille: I joined Twitter back in 2009 because one of my Communication professors said we had to. Back then, Bucks Twitter wasn’t a huge thing—it was a pretty small but passionate group. I really grew to respect the opinions of Frank and Eric Nehm after listening to Locked On Bucks. I interacted with them and eventually Kane on Twitter pretty consistently and I guess my takes weren’t terrible so they followed me back eventually (laughs). During COVID, Kane reached out to me and asked if I’d like to do a guest spot on LOB after hearing me on TECKnical Foul and following me on Twitter. After that first guest spot, I got invited to do another guest spot, which led to me having a regular weekly guest spot on the podcast. Once Kane was leaving, I interviewed with the Locked On network and got the gig full time. I’m forever thankful to Kane for inviting me on the pod, which helped put me on Locked On’s radar. 

Zac: You’ve now spent several years covering the Bucks for Locked On. What’s something about covering the team day in, day out that you think is often overlooked?

Camille: The amount of time that goes into a season. There’s a whole lot of late nights of podcasting and editing to get the show out. I have a crazy note system now and each season covering the team, they get more detailed. I take a lot of time with my prep and thoughts, especially on postgame pods. Also, something that’s different with covering the team for LOB is that I watch games differently, in large part because I’m taking notes and trying to organize the biggest stories from the game in real time. I’m now consuming the game to talk about it rather than just my personal enjoyment. 

Zac: You completed your master’s degree in Sports Management at Cardinal Stritch University. How has that helped shape your coverage of the Bucks and, I’ve got to ask, do you have player management aspirations?

Camille: My thesis was around the importance of sports in youth development. My initial thought process was thinking I could use my degree with the job I had at that local foundation—use that knowledge for grant-making if I couldn’t break into the world of sports straight up. I enjoyed having the flexibility of using that knowledge where I was or somewhere new.

Using that framework at my 9-to-5 never quite came into alignment, but that degree helped give me a solid network and some vital information on what I was—and wasn’t—interested in doing with my life going forward. As for the player management aspirations… nah (laughs). Player management isn’t in my future. I like being on this side of things, talking about the game and reacting to what I see. 

“I loved the Giannis era and everything that came with it and, in retrospect, the most fun part of it for me was the climb to contention.”

Camille Davis

Zac: We’ve heard your thoughts on the Giannis trade from a Bucks perspective. But what does covering the Bucks mean to you now that the player who defined arguably the best era of Milwaukee basketball is gone?

Camille: It means that I get to be a voice that’s part of this new era, whatever that turns into, which is special. I loved the Giannis era and everything that came with it and, in retrospect, the most fun part of it for me was the climb to contention—waiting for the rest of the world to see what we saw blossoming in Milwaukee, cheering on the first All-Star appearances, and watching a young team find itself.

Like, the 2014-15 Bucks team was one of my favorite seasons of fandom. I loved that team. Having that perspective has me really excited for what’s next because we have the chance to once again get in on the ground floor. It’s once again feeling like “Milwaukee vs. everybody else.” It’s time to earn respect again and I love that chase. It might end up being a lot of losing along the way—there probably will be some frustrations and heartbreak—but I just know there’s going to be a lot of exciting memories and that’ll all start getting built this year. I can’t wait to watch and talk about the growth we see in this team over the season and the coming years. 

“No one wants to hear you doing your best impression of someone else. If they wanted to hear that person, they’d watch their show.”

Camille Davis

Zac: The podcasting industry has boomed in recent years. How do you see it continuing to evolve and what advice would you give to all the aspiring sports podcasters out there?

Camille: I think the industry is going to continue to boom. As time goes on, the barriers to entry in the field continue to shrink. So, with so many voices out there, the best advice I have is to make sure you’re genuine. Be yourself. No one wants to hear you doing your best impression of someone else. If they wanted to hear that person, they’d watch their show. Whether it’s a small audience or a large one, stay true to you and be consistent with your show. The community you organically build is super rewarding. And don’t fret if everyone doesn’t like it. Everything isn’t going to be for everybody and that’s okay. Don’t focus on the comments, focus on your work and your prep. As long as you can be true to yourself and feel at peace when your head hits the pillow, you’re on the right path.  

Zac: Okay, some quick hitters: favourite current Buck, favourite all-time Buck, and Buck you were just wrong on for whatever reason?

Camille: Current Buck… I honestly don’t know yet. I like what I’ve seen from Ryan Rollins last season and Brayden Burries in Summer League, but I can’t call either a favorite yet. This season will be an audition for the role of my favorite Buck—ever since Middleton left there’s been an opening, so we’ll see who can take it (laughs).

My favorite all-time Buck is Khris Middleton. And if you would’ve told me that would end up being the case 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. Again, this is why getting in on the ground floor is so fun for me. 

And the Buck I was wrong on was Nate Wolters. I thought that kid was gonna be part of this team for a long time. He wasn’t, but that’s alright ‘cause Naters always gonna Nate.  

Zac: Before we go, we have to touch on the season ahead. First, how do you see the rest of the offseason playing out?

Camille: I think it’ll be relatively uneventful for the Bucks. The roster sits at 17, so we know something has to happen before the season kicks off, but that something might just end up being waiving two players instead of another trade. We’ll see though! 

“I truly believe that this Bucks team will be a really fun watch, whether they surprise and win more games than expected or find themselves at the bottom of the East.”

Camille Davis

Zac: What are you most looking forward to about the year ahead?

Camille: I think it’s a tie between watching the development of the young Bucks on the roster and seeing how Taylor Jenkins decides to run things. I truly believe that this Bucks team will be a really fun watch, whether they surprise and win more games than expected or find themselves at the bottom of the East. Why? ‘Cause I expect a lot more consistent effort from this team. I expect them to play hard. Too many times last season it felt like the effort and intentionality wasn’t there for the Bucks. Based on everything we’ve heard this offseason, that shouldn’t be the case this season and that will be a breath of fresh air. 

Zac: Taylor Jenkins is sick and you get the call-up to coach on opening night. Who’s in your rotation—starters, bench—and who gets a DNP-CD?

Camille: Ooooh. Okay. It’s been reported that the Bucks will lean on the vets heavily to start the season but that the roster will look different after the trade deadline. So, on opening night, I expect more vets starting and in the rotation. But this is about what I would do and not what I’m projecting the Bucks to do. 

So, I’d start Rollins, Burries, Jaquez, Sims, Ware. KPJ and Herro lead the bench mob that also features Dieng, Turner, Jakučionis and Ament. That’s already a 12-man rotation before even getting to Green, Markovic, and Kuzma. I don’t know how Jenkins is going to handle these rotations; there’s a lot of mouths to feed to start. My only for sure DNPs, if I had my way, would be Trent and LeVert. No disrespect, there’s just a lot of guards!

Zac: Let’s finish on one I posed to our readers. Finish the sentence: I will judge the 2026-27 season a success if…

Camille: I can clearly tell you what the identity of this team is. If we walk away with an understanding of what Bucks basketball is under Taylor Jenkins, we’ve already made so much progress after three rudderless seasons. 

To hear more from Davis, make sure you check out her work on Locked On Bucks and the TECKnical Foul Podcast. If they aren’t already, they’ll soon become part of your regular Bucks rotation.

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Who’s Clippers executive at center of Kawhi Leonard scandal?

An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sits on the sideline at an NBA basketball game, Image 2 shows The CBA and Dennis Robertson’s role help explain why Kawhi Leonard avoided suspension and kept his contract despite the Clippers’ historic punishment, Image 3 shows Gillian Zucker, president of business operations for the Los Angeles Clippers, talks about the construction on the Intuit Dome, future home of the NBA basketball team, on Thursday, July 21, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif

When the NBA announced the findings and penalties from the investigation into the Clippers’ alleged salary cap circumvention for star forward Kawhi Leonard, the summary report prepared by Wachtell Lipton had a clear statement toward the end of the 36-page report.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker were the three individuals most responsible for the Clippers’ rule-breaking.

Gillian Zucker, president of business operations for the Los Angeles Clippers, was at the center of the Clippers’ salary cap circumvention scandal. Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP

Ballmer’s punishment: a one-year suspension from all league and team activities, in addition to his franchise being fined $30 million for “knowingly seeking to help” Leonard obtain off-court income opportunities, approving a business deal that he knew was a “precondition for Aspiration” to enter an endorsement deal with Leonard and for failing “to create conditions under which his organization abided by the NBA’s circumvention rules.”

Frank’s punishment: a six-month suspension for his involvement with the “impermissible endorsement arrangements” and approving Leonard’s and his family’s “impermissible expenses.”

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has been suspended for one year by the NBA. AP Photo/Ryan Sun

And Zucker’s punishment: a one-year suspension for being “primarily and directly culpable for the impermissible endorsement arrangements” and for “providing false and misleading statements to investigators.”

The nature of Zucker’s suspension — twice as long as Frank’s — and the frequency in which she was in the report put her at the center of the Clippers’ scandal in which the investigation concluded the Clippers violated the league’s rules by “initiating off-court income opportunities” for Leonard with four different companies that did business with the team. 

Zucker’s name was mentioned in the summary report more times (57) than Ballmer’s (32) and Frank’s (22) combined.

The report stated Zucker was the most involved from the Clippers’ side in facilitating the endorsement deals for Leonard with Aspiration Partners, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics and Lockton Insurance.

“Ms. Zucker was the point person on all four deals between these companies and the Clippers, and directly initiated, facilitated, and induced each of Mr. Leonard’s endorsement agreements with those companies,” the report stated. “Ms. Zucker acted on Mr. [Dennis] Robertson’s demands to help Mr. Leonard achieve lucrative endorsement opportunities, and when interviewed, she made misleading and false statements to investigators about her and the Clippers’ role in doing so.”

Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, posing with his uncle, Dennis Robertson, and his mother, Kim Robertson, is expected to return to Toronto via trade. AP

Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO, and Frank, a former NBA head/assistant coach who’s been a Clippers executive for a decade, have been household names within Clippers fandom.

But who is Zucker?

Before joining the Clippers in 2014, Zucker was a longtime auto racing executive, having previously served as the president of Auto Club Speedway in Fontana for nine years (2005-14). 

She was previously Daytona International Speedway’s vice president of business and development and a former Triple-A baseball assistant general manager.

Zucker joined the Clippers in November 2014 as Ballmer’s first major hire after he purchased the franchise earlier that year.

Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president, received a six-month suspension compared to Gillian Zucker’s yearlong suspension. NBAE via Getty Images

“I am extremely happy to add a leader like Gillian to our team,” Ballmer said in a 2014 statement. “Her clear and creative business vision, innovative approach to marketing and experience working in the Los Angeles sports market make her the perfect fit to lead the Clippers during this transcendent time.”

Less than a year later, the Clippers were fined $250,000 for violating the league’s cap circumvention rules when the franchise tried facilitating an endorsement deal between DeAndre Jordan — a top free agent they were hoping to re-sign — and an incoming team sponsor.

The Athletic reported Zucker came up with the idea at the time. 

And nearly a decade later, Zucker’s name was in the spotlight for her role in the franchise’s latest scandal, which according to the report, included Zucker writing phony introductory emails to show that the companies requested to meet with Leonard (the report states the Clippers started the deals to increase Leonard’s off-court earnings), suggesting that Daktronics’ “spend back” deal with the Clippers could be satisfied with an endorsement deal with Leonard and lying about her and the franchise’s involvement in Leonard’s endorsement deals.

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Eight Penguins players featured in EA Sports NHL 27

PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 18: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates during the first period of the Philadelphia Flyers versus Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round on April 18, 2026, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Fans got a first look this week at what Pittsburgh Penguins players will look like in the upcoming release of EA Sports’ NHL 27.

X user @TestOnAQuest shared screenshots of what are reportedly player face scans from the new game, which will be released worldwide this Friday.

EA Sports has previously released rankings for the Penguins players featured in the game. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson are ranked within the top 100 players in the game.

Here’s a look at the overall rankings for the Penguins players according to EA Sports:

  • No. 8: Sidney Crosby, OVR 95
  • No. 73: Evgeni Malkin, OVR 89
  • No. 89: Erik Karlsson, OVR 88
  • No. 164: Rickard Rakell, OVR 86
  • No. 172: Bryan Rust, OVR 86
  • No. 240: Samuel Girard, OVR 85
  • No. 261: Kris Letang, OVR 85
  • No. 295: Benjamin Kindel, OVR 84

Players who pre-ordered the deluxe edition have had access to the game since Sept. 4. The game will officially release Friday, the day before Penguins prospects kick off the 2026 NHL prospect tournament Saturday in Detroit.

The Penguins have yet to announce which players will be featured on that roster, although last year the franchise waited until the day before the event started to confirm which participants would be attending.

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Chicago Cubs news — PCA, Conforto, Jeferzahn, Hoerner, Happ

Today’s Reflections

I hope you enjoyed the holiday weekend. I’m sure the baseball writers did, given the paltry number of articles written that weren’t repetitive ones about PCA’s 40th.

Obviously, Pete Crow-Armstrong joining Billy Williams as the only Chicago Cubs lefthanded hitters to hit 40 home runs in a season was the highlight of the weekend. It should have pumped up the Cubs on the road to a sweep of the Marlins, but while the team held on to win Saturday and the series, the loss Sunday highlighted the moderate success of the offense, and the lukewarm-to-poor showing of the starting pitching this weekend.

PCA became the 10th Cub in history to hit 40 home runs in a season when he hit an 85 mile per hour sweeper down the right-field line in the top of the fifth. He stood at the plate and watched at the ball screamed down the line into the right field corner to tie the game at three.

The rest of weekend wasn’t as explosive. Michael Conforto was 3-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored and a home run, which was the 200th HR of the season for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner was 4-for-8 with an RBI. Seiya Suzuki was 2-for-6 with three walks, a double and a run scored. PCA finished going 2-for-7 with a walk, three RBI and the home run.

On Saturday, Ian Happ was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI, while Michael Busch was 2-for-5 with a run scored and a double. And Miguel Amaya was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a double. Sunday, Carson Kelly went 1-for-4 with a run scored, and Tyrone Taylor 1-for-3 with a double and a great defensive play.

On the pitching side, there wasn’t a whole lot of very good over the two games. Javier Assad got the recall for the Saturday start. The start wasn’t horrible. He threw 88 pitches and lasted 4.2 innings. He had allowed three hits and struck out three, but he limited the damage of five walks. To start the fifth inning, Assad allowed a single before having chalked up a strikeout and a pop-up and left with game with a 5-2 lead. Caleb Thielbar entered the game and promptly gave up a two-run home run, one of those runs charged to Assad.

A pair of relievers carried the game into the eighth, where with one out, Ryan Jeferzahn entered the game, Cubs still up, 6-5. It took him just 19 pitches to get the last five outs for his first save as a Cub and his fifth for the year.

Clay Holmes just didn’t have it on Sunday, having allowed eight runs in 4.1 innings of work in the 10-3 loss. Chris Rea pitched 2.2 innings and allowed the other two runs. The only plus? Daniel Palencia pitched a scoreless eighth inning, having allowed just a walk while he added a strikeout. However, only six of his 16 pitches were for strikes.

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Sunday Afternoon’s Game Stories:

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Saturday Night’s Game Stories:

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Assorted Pitching Stories:

Assorted Hitting (or PCA-MVP-HR-WAR) Stories:

Assorted Stories:

Food For Thought:

Based in Lucerne, Switzerland, Biscuit Jack is a driven and charismatic band with a unique approach to their blend of blues, country and rock. The combo has been around since 2005, when some friends got together to play gigs for the love of music. Led by passionate frontman Sascha Koch, the band is all about personal lyricism and unforgettable hooks.

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This week in the Orioles minors: Frederick sets record, heads for postseason

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - AUGUST 05: The Baltimore Orioles mascot on the field before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 5, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Across the whole of the Orioles organization, it may end up that only the High-A affiliate in Frederick has much to play for in the month of September. The rest of the farm teams haven’t done much all season, and as for the big league team, well, they started out playing meaningful September games and rapidly moved towards making them meaningless.

This week-long look at the action on the Orioles farm tends to focus on players who are on the midseason updated top prospect lists, guys who will hopefully make their way into the major league picture eventually.

The regular seasons for Low-A Delmarva and High-A Frederick are both over now. Chesapeake’s season ends after this week. Norfolk has two more weeks to go.

Here’s how things shook out over the minor league week that just finished:

Triple-A Norfolk Tides

  • Last week’s record: 3-3 vs. Jacksonville (Marlins)
  • This week’s opponent: at Memphis (Cardinals)
  • Second half record: 24-36, last place (12 GB) in International League East

In Baltimore, another random outfielder has recently arrived – Rece Hinds. That’s twice now that the Orioles have chosen to just call up some random dude instead of giving Enrique Bradfield Jr. a chance; they brought Christian Franklin into the mix rather than trying Bradfield after the trade deadline. It’s weird. As for Bradfield’s performance this week, he batted 7-24 across six games, with four walks and four stolen bases.

To some extent, I get it: Bradfield is hitting .264/.352/.354 in 79 games and you have to wonder how that slugging percentage will translate to MLB. But, again, instead we’re seeing Rece Hinds, who can’t hit and also screwed up a routine fly ball yesterday.

Relatively recent Norfolk arrival Brandon Butterworth, from last year’s Padres trade, went 5-19 across six games, with two of his five hits being homers. His 18 games since getting promoted have generated a .631 OPS. It’d be nice to see him raise that to more respectable levels by season’s end. This week makes for a move in the right direction.

I’d like to tell you that Michael Forret, who the Orioles re-acquired from the Rays for Tyler Wells after including him in the Shane Baz trade, pitched well. Instead, what I can tell you is that he had just a three-inning start and managed to allow two runs on three hits and three walks. The 22-year-old has a 5.43 ERA in 14 games between Tampa’s and Baltimore’s Triple-A teams this year. Eh.

Others of interest

  • RHP Félix Bautista – The Mountain’s rehab continued. He walked three batters over 1.2 innings in two games.
  • C/1B Creed Willems – 2-12 with no extra-base hits; he slumped in August and so far September is worse.

Norfolk season-to-date stats.

Double-A Chesapeake Baysox

  • Last week’s record: 3-3 vs. Portland (Red Sox)
  • This week’s opponent: at Richmond (Giants) – end of regular season
  • Second half record: 34-28, second place (6.5 GB) in Eastern League Southwest

The Baysox are eliminated from Eastern League postseason contention. The second half went better than the first half (29-39).

My guy Aron Estrada went just 2-22 with no extra-base hits and only one walk. He’s still my guy. I just won’t be waving the flag too high right now.

The ever-enigmatic Vance Honeycutt was about as far from Estrada’s performance as can be over these games. He packed nine hits into six games, with three doubles and two homers, and he stole three bases. Honeycutt, who you’d be forgiven for bailing on based on his Frederick batting, has a .339/.431/.661 in 16 games with Chesapeake.

Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy did one better than Honeycutt for homers, with three homers in his five games. Aloy has nine homers in 35 games since joining this level. He struck out 10 times in 21 at-bats. That’s going to be the thing to keep an eye on as much as anything else.

Three of the organization’s top four prospects are currently in the Baysox rotation. The headliner from the Adley Rutschman trade, Anthony Eyanson, had the best outing of this group of guys this week, allowing just a run over six innings while striking out eight and walking none. That’ll play! Eyanson has a 2.00 ERA in five starts since joining the Baysox.

Lefty Caden Hunter, this season’s big surprise, struck out nine over five innings, with two runs allowed. Joseph Dzierwa had a nice K/BB rate (7/1) though four runs allowed in three innings isn’t so good. Still, he has a 2.43 ERA and 0.961 WHIP in 17 games with the Double-A affiliate.

Others of interest

  • C/1B Ethan Anderson – 5-19 with a homer across five games; .871 OPS for the season
  • 1B Victor Figueroa 6-19, also with a homer, across five games. He’s got an .808 OPS in 32 games since getting promoted here
  • RHP JT Quinn – Five shutout innings with just three hits allowed, five strikeouts. Quinn has a 2.50 ERA in four games with the Baysox
  • RHP Patrick Reilly – Two runs allowed in seven innings, with eight strikeouts and only one walk. Reilly has a 3.97 ERA in seven starts here since returning from Tommy John surgery

Chesapeake season-to-date stats.

High-A Frederick Keys

  • Last week’s record: 6-1 at Brooklyn (Mets)
  • This week’s opponent: Division Series vs. Greensboro (Pirates)
  • Second half record: 42-23, first place in South Atlantic League North

The Keys also won their first half division with a 41-23 record. Their 83 wins are a record for the affiliate. Their best-of-three against Greensboro this week pits them against the team that finished a combined 2.5 games back in the first and second halves of the season. If Frederick wins this series, they’ll play the winner of Bowling Green (Rays) and Winston-Salem (White Sox) for the league title.

It’s not only players who’ve already been promoted beyond Frederick who helped rack up those 83 wins. Recent arrivals are playing their part too, including a dynamic duo of age-19 infielders, DJ Layton and Jaiden Lo Re. Layton notched nine hits, including five doubles, in five games for the Keys, with four walks and five stolen bases. He’s already stolen 13 bases in 23 games here. Lo Re’s seven hits includes two doubles.

Not so much a part of this party were outfielders Enddy Azocar and Ty Head. Azocar, also 19, went just 4-19 with a double; still, he’s OPSing .9o1 in 25 games here. Head, the Orioles second round pick this year, was 5-18, and although he had no extra-base hits, he did steal three bases in his first week playing at High-A.

Others of interest

  • LHP Boston Bateman – Three innings, three runs, four hits, three walks. Finished with a 3.65 ERA and 1.378 WHIP in 24 games. Would really like to see that 5.0 BB/9 get cut down.
  • C Yasmil Bucce – He signed the same day as Samuel Basallo and has been on a slower development path, but still, at age 21, this is like where an American college player would be now. That’s totally fine! He hit two homers and walked six times; .860 OPS in 58 games, with 11 homers, isn’t nothing.

Frederick final regular season stats.

Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds

  • Last week’s record: 1-5 at Kannapolis (White Sox)
  • This week’s opponent: Season over
  • Second half record: 22-44, last place (18 GB) in Carolina League North

Delmarva finished last in the first half as well.

One piece of good news to send the Shorebirds into the offseason. First round pick Eric Booth Jr. racked up 11 hits over the six games in this series, adding three stolen bases. He had a .719 OPS over 18 games; he’ll probably start next season at this level as well, hopefully with a midseason promotion to Frederick in his future.

Delmarva final regular season stats.

**

The winner of last week’s minor league player of the week poll was Victor Figueroa, who took 55% of the vote in a head-to-head with Cade Povich after a week where Figueroa had a 1.102 OPS. That’s Figueroa’s second win of the season, joining a list of two-time winners that also includes Enddy Azocar, Caden Hunter, Ike Irish, and my guy Aron Estrada. Man, it sucks that Irish tore his meniscus in July.

The list of single-week winners: Payton Eeles, Braylin Tavera, Wehiwa Aloy, Jaiden Lo Re, Joseph Dzierwa, Luis De León, and Heston Kjerstad.

We’re going to crown a new winner this week. Though some of the players named above had nice weeks for themselves, particularly Aloy, I’m putting a set of choices into the poll where no one has taken a weekly crown yet.

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Tuesday Rockpile: How the Colorado Rockies are using technology to manage pitcher workload

Rockies bullpen coach Matt Buschmann works with pitcher Nick Frasso
Rockies bullpen coach Matt Buschmann works with pitcher Nick Frasso | Colorado Rockies | Kyle Cooper

This has been a year of rebuilding for the Colorado Rockies.

Understandably, the tendency is to focus on personnel, but don’t overlook the technology rebuild that’s happening as well. Prior to the Rockies decision to bring on president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, reporters documented extensively how the Rockies were behind their peers in terms of using technology to improve player performance. It’s an area in which the current front office is working to correct.

When Purple Row spoke with Rockies bullpen coach Matt Buschmann about bullpen usage, he mentioned the team was using Catapult, a wearable device that allows pitchers to track their work.

Manager Warren Schaefer noted that the Rockies were one of the last MLB teams to adopt this technology, but it’s become a significant factor in helping the organization manage pitcher workloads.

We wanted to know more about Catapule, so I spent last weekend asking coaches and players to explain what Catapult does and how it’s affected their approach to the game.

What do the numbers show?

Let’s start with the obvious: Bullpen management is key to any successful baseball team. A big part of that involves tracking pitcher workload.

“I think it’s more important here in Denver than it is anywhere,” Schaeffer said.

As a starting point, consider how many innings Rockies relievers have thrown over the last three seasons.

  • 2024: 601.0 IP (13th in MLB), 5.41 ERA (30th in MLB), -0.3fWAR (29th in MLB)
  • 2025: 631.0 IP (6th in MLB), 5.18 ERA (29th in MLB), -0.7 fWAR (30th in MLB)
  • 2026: 579.2 IP (5th in MLB), 4.72 ERA (26th in MLB), 3.3 fWAR (15th in MLB)

So, yes, the 2026 Rockies bullpen is significantly better than it was in the previous two years. Although it is on track to throw more innings than most other teams, the ERA is lower than that of previous Rockies teams, and the fWAR is significantly improved.

(I realize this leaves out many significant factors, but given that Catapult is primarily focused on workload management, that’s the factor I am most interested in examining.)

Here are the heaviest throwers in those seasons:

  • 2024: Victor Vodnik (73.2 IP), Tyler Kinley (64.0 IP), Justin Lawrence (59.2 IP)
  • 2025: Jimmy Herbert, (83.1 IP), Juan Mejia (61.1 IP), Angel Chivilli (58.2 IP)
  • 2026: Zach Agnos (69.2 IP, ), Juan Mejia (58.0 IP), Brennan Bernardino (56.0 IP)

Given Agnos’ status as a bulk reliever, it makes sense that his innings count would be so high. Notably, Mejia and most of the Rockies heavy-use relievers will exceed their 2025 numbers. But they are still being effective.

That’s where Catapult comes in.

What is Catapult?

Baseball teams know how many pitches a player throws in a game. That data is easily tracked.

Buschmann wanted to know how many pitches a pitcher throws outside the context of a game because all of those throws contribute to a pitcher becoming fatigued.

Think about it.

Pitchers are throwing all the time. They play catch with a teammate. They work on pitches. They warm up. And, as Schaeffer puts it, “It’s a ridiculous high amount of throws to get themselves feeling right.”

But all those throws add up over the course of the season.

“The majority of the throws are made outside the game,” Buschmann said. “So once we track that, we get a full idea of the throwing.

Rockies bullpen coach Matt Buschmann works with pitcher Jordan Romano

Plus, the intensity varies, and it’s not possible for a pitcher to accurately measure how much he has exerted himself over the course of a day.

“I’m a guy that always used to throw a lot,” Rockies closer Jordan Romano said, “and I didn’t even really know that. I would say, ‘Oh, I’m throwing light today.’ But my light day would actually be super heavy compared to everyone else, so (Catapult) kind of helps monitor you, keeps the arm feeling good, makes sure you’re not overdoing it.”

A visit to Catapult’s website shows this is an Australia-based company involved with many sports. It provides “[c]omprehensive baseball data & video analysis tracking technology to capture, analyze, plan, and share every aspect of team & player performance.”

A Catapult vest has a GPS system with an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer that measures a variety of activities.

When a player who has been wearing a Catapult vest finishes a throwing session, Buschmann uploads the data. Catapult then has a program that extracts each throw and determines how hard each throw was.

“So that gives you a score,” Buschmann said. “Then every day, we kind of add up all those scores to understand and make sure we’re kind of rolling a wave where you have high days and you have low days and mediums in between. But you want to make sure that you’re actually doing that, so kind of staying in one place throughout.”

The result is a visual report that he discusses with pitchers.

After a player has worn a Catapult vest long enough, the Rockies are able to establish a baseline, which guides, according to Buschmann, “What you should throw that day to make sure you stay within a certain throwing load to make sure we don’t spike it.”

Knowing this information provides additional data Buschmann and the Rockies can use in load management.

“Essentially, if we understand how much they’ve thrown, know what they did in the game,” Buschmann said, “it really comes down to what your workload was, what your output was in that workload, and then your response to it. So when we measure those three things, we get a really good idea of where that player is relative to their baseline.”

“But it kind of takes the guesswork out of what to do pregame throwing,” Romano said.

What do the pitchers say?

Romano is a Catapult enthusiast.

He first began using the technology in 2021 when he and Buschmann were with the Toronto Blue Jays.

“Then I then I got off it just because other teams didn’t have it,” Romano said.

That changed when he signed with the Rockies.

“I got here — I think a week or two in — Buschmann’s like, ‘Hey, do you want to get back on the Catapult?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I think that’d be a great idea just for myself.’ So I started wearing it, and then I think a lot of other guys are wearing it, too. And I think just talking with them, they’re finding it very helpful as well.”

For Romano, it’s taken a lot of the guesswork out of his training program.

“I just found it really helpful. It helps you understand what you’re supposed to do pregame. So if you’re throwing a lot pregame, then you get in the game, Catapult will tell you, ‘Hey, today needs to be within these parameters. It needs to be a light day.’”

Rockies pitcher Nick Frasso wears a Catapult vest

For the last month, starter Gabriel Hughes has also been experimenting with Catapult while playing catch.

“The (measures) that I look at are the amount of throws and the intensity building up in the throws,” Hughes said. “And so I think it’s allowed me to manage my workload a lot better, both in the number of throws and the way that I’m throwing, the manner that I’m throwing.”

Like Romano, Hughes appreciates having an additional information source.

“I think it’s been very valuable because it’s given me an objective measure to how much I’m throwing. That’s what I’m very bad at estimating,” Hughes said. “So I think, in the same vein, it’s helped me manage my workload better because it gives me an accurate number for how much I’m throwing and the intensity that I’m throwing at.”

Not all Rockies pitchers are experimenting with Catapult.

As Brennan Bernadino put it, “I’m just old school.”

And, to be fair, the numbers indicate that Bernadino’s current system is working just fine for him. It’s tough to beat a 2.09 ERA in 56.0 IP.)

(Per the Major League Baseball Players Association, players’ decisions to use wearable technology “shall be wholly voluntary.” Moreover, teams must be explicit about the data that will be collected and those who will have access to that information, which is considered highly confidential.)

Final thoughts

It can be easy to focus on roster and staffing decisions and lost sight of the fact that the Rockies are not only rebuilding but also trying to solve baseball at elevation.

Catapult is one tool the Rockies hope will help them do that.

They are also exploring other kinds of sports technologies, but that’s a subject for a separate discussion.

This week on the internet

Speaking of technology, in case you missed the recent feature on Rockies TV about Trajekt, here you go:

Improvements point to brighter future | MLB.com

This week in his Rockies Beat newsletter, Thomas Harding spoke with Rockies hitting coach Brett Pill about what he’s seeing in terms of hitting improvements on the part of a young Rockies team.

MLB Power Rankings: A top-5 shake-up; How do each team’s trade deadline moves look now? | The Athletic ($)

By this point in the season, I’ve generally stopped reading power rankings but this one caught my attention given that it factored in teams’ trade deadline moves. The good news is that the Rockies are not last. Instead, they have moved into a less-basement-y 27th place. However, they received a “C” from the evaluators based on the Rockies decision not to trade Mickey Moniak, especially in light of his terrible August. That’s a fair criticism, but to focus on Moniak as opposed to the pitchers the Rockies brought in seems to me to be missing the forest for the trees. The Rockies have already put some of those pitchers to work with promising results.

‘This is home’: The lights shine bright in the inaugural WPBL season | SB Nation

I wanted to be sure that Joelle Milholm’s terrific article on the WPBL didn’t get lost.

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Coby Mayo’s development presents an interesting problem for the Orioles

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 07: Coby Mayo #16 of the Baltimore Orioles tosses his bat after hitting a home run in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 07, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Not many things have gone right for the Orioles in 2026. And yet, the development of Coby Mayo is easily one of the biggest wins of the season.

Early in the season, the 24-year-old Mayo was viewed as another one of Baltimore’s talented young players who couldn’t translate that talent into major league production. Much of that initial skepticism was warranted. Through the first month of the season, Mayo slashed .169/.244/.325 with more strikeouts (25) than hits (13). The young 3B’s early defining moment was a negative one, as an error against his hometown team cost the Orioles a loss to the Marlins back in May.

We saw a brief uptick in his play after the error, with Mayo putting up a .876 OPS over 15 games the rest of May. As we saw in September of the 2025 season, the mammoth home runs and more consistent play provided us with a brief proof of concept that Mayo could succeed in the big leagues. However, another boom-or-bust period from the beginning of June to the All-Star break (.183 average, .698 OPS, 41.7% strikeout rate) brought back those questions about whether the holes in Mayo’s game were too big to ever become an every-day player.

The second half of his season has put a lot of those questions to bed. In 42 games since the All-Star break, Mayo has put up a triple slash of .279/.331/.574. His .905 OPS in the second half only trails Pete Alonso among Orioles regulars. Mayo also ranks second in post-All-Star home runs (9) and third in RBIs (24), all while cutting down his strikeout rate to a more respectable (but still high) 32.6%.

And while his performance has improved across the board over the last two months, the young 3B is still a drastic-splits player. Against LHPs, Mayo, simply put, is the best hitter in all of baseball. Against lefties, he leads MLB in home runs (16), slugging percentage (.752) and OPS (1.136). If you gave Mayo 500 ABs against southpaws at his current rates, he’d hit 60 home runs and put up numbers that rival Aaron Judge’s MVP seasons.

Against right-handers, it’s a different story. His season-long totals are about as good as Colton Cowser vs. changeups. In 219 ABs against RHPs this year, Mayo is hitting .163 with a .513 OPS, while striking out in 37.9% of his ABs.

However, like the rest of his numbers, that performance has gotten better in the second half of the season. Across April, May and June, Mayo had a .148 average with a .235 slugging percentage. Across July, August and the early bit of September, those numbers have jumped up to a .203 average and a .391 slugging percentage. Perhaps most impressive in his improvement against right-handers is Mayo’s increased discipline, with his strikeout rate dropping from 40.3% across April-June to 31.9% across July-September. And as we saw yesterday, he can turn on pitches from pitchers on both sides.

Mayo’s second-half surge should be enough to guarantee him more playing time in 2027. His profile—as a player with elite raw power—is one that often needs a longer runway to adjust to major league pitching. I’ve often viewed Mayo’s ceiling as that of former All-Star Troy Glaus. In Glaus’ first full season, he hit .240 with a .781 OPS and 29 homers in 551 ABs. The next season, Glaus led the AL with 47 home runs while posting a 1.008 OPS en route to his first All-Star appearance.

With a .224 average, .748 OPS and 21 homers in only 352 ABs, Mayo is in line with Glaus’ first full season. However, if the Orioles want to see a similar jump from their 24-year-old power hitter, they’ll need to give him a more regular role instead of just a super-platoon role.

However, fitting Mayo into the lineup on an everyday basis could require some flexibility from the rest of Baltimore’s infielders. Assuming Jordan Westburg comes back healthy from his Tommy John surgery, the Orioles will have five players to split time between 2B, 3B and DH. Westburg and Alexander can play at both 2B and 3B, whereas Mayo and CES only play the hot corner and Holliday has spent the vast majority of his career at second.

However, creative solutions may be what’s needed to revamp the Orioles order going forward. Alexander has played 120 innings in the outfield this year. As one of the few consistent on-base threats in the lineup, Alexander might need to take some of the ABs from Leody Taveras and Tyler O’Neill going into next year.

Alternatively, Mayo could find himself as a semi-permanent DH next year. Manager Craig Albernaz has rotated players like Pete Alonso, Taylor Ward and Adley Rutschman in the DH spot this year to try and keep them fresh. However, the best option going forward could be an even split with Mayo and Samuel Basallo at DH, instead of this year’s DH-by-committee approach.

We may also see a Grayson-Rodriguez-style trade to alleviate the infield surplus. Any one of Westburg, CES or even Holliday could be on the move this offseason if the right upgrade opportunity arises. This front office has shown a recent ruthlessness in trading away players who no longer fit their long-term goals, and a trade of any of those three would open up more ABs for Mayo.

The failures of this Orioles’ season will largely be pinned on an offense that often couldn’t carry its weight. If the O’s want to avoid that fate again in 2027, Mayo needs to play more, starting now. How Albernaz and the front office create that playing time will be something to watch throughout September and into next season.

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Tuesday BP: The quest for <100

Tony Vitello shaking hands in the dugout.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: Tony Vitello #23 and Christian Koss #50 of the San Francisco Giants prepare for the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park on August 26, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The San Francisco Giants are one of just three teams in Major League Baseball to be eliminated from playoff contention already. They’re one of five teams that has no chance whatsoever of having a winning season. They’re one of four teams that has no chance of having a .500 season.

But one thing is still in play: fewer than 100 losses.

Since moving to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants franchise has lost triple-digit games just one time, when they lost exactly 100 in 1985. If you’re looking for reasons for optimism, the Giants responded to that 62-100 campaign with five consecutive winning seasons in the following years. That would be a welcome sight for this Giants squad, given that it’s been a decade since they posted even two straight winning seasons.

After Monday’s walk-off victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Giants are 60-85. They need to win just three of their final 17 contests to avoid the second 100-loss campaign in San Francisco history. Even for the Giants, that seems very doable, though it’s worth noting that six of those games are against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the other 11 are against teams in the playoff race.

Still, the quest for a loss total in the 90s is not only on, but achievable, and the Giants are even in pole position. Sometimes you just have to aim low.

What time do the Giants play today?

The Giants host the Cardinals tonight at 6:45 p.m. PT.

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Kansas City Royals News: Maybe Jac will be back soon

Sep 5, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone (14) hits a one run single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jaylon Thompson writes about a statistical oddity that occurred in yesterday’s loss to the Diamondbacks.

The Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks dueled at Kauffman Stadium. Neither side scored through nine innings, and it set up for a fantastic finish.

The teams combined to score nine runs in the 10th frame. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, it was the third time since 1969 that a scoreless game (through nine innings) saw both teams score at least four runs in extras.

I’m not sure I would have called that fantastic.

Chris Higgins and Dylan Larsen at the Kansas City Star compared the proposed Royals stadium funding mechanism to the Power & Light District.

Famously in local lore, financial projections for a similar funding plan at the Power & Light District did not pan out, and the city has kicked in money from the general fund to pay off bonds — $15.3 million in the last budget for the KC Live! entertainment district, according to city documents — which has sparked fears that the same could happen with the Royals plan.

City Council member Johnathan Duncan of the 6th District has called the Royals plan “Power & Light on steroids.”

While the Power & Light project didn’t go as projected, city officials say they have been conservative in their financial models for the Crown Center stadium and will work to ensure the same thing doesn’t happen again.

Jaylon Thompson got details on how the Royals will proceed with Jac Caglianone.

On Sunday, the Royals received the test results. Caglianone has a Grade 1 flexor strain, but he isn’t expected to be placed on the injured list.

“We’ll have a couple of days with no throw and no activity today,” Quatraro said. “Then, we’ll see where he is come Tuesday or Wednesday. And hopefully, we dodged a bullet there.”

This is a new injury for Caglianone. He had previously dealt with right ankle soreness that sidelined him for a few games. However, he managed to return and play through the injury in August.

Now, the Royals say they are confident he can overcome his elbow injury. The club will build a recovery plan in the next couple of days.

“Now that we know it’s low grade, we can progress a little more aggressively when the time comes,” Quatraro said. “But definitely a day today (Sunday) with no activity.”

Anne Rogers wrote about Vinnie’s home run during Sunday’s game.

On Saturday, there were two at-bats Pasquantino wanted back, grounding out in the first inning and hitting into a double play in the eighth with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the Royals’ eventual one-run loss.

But such is the beauty of baseball: The next day, you’re probably getting another chance.

“That’s what my dad always said, and it’s something I kind of repeated here, which is: The only one that matters is the next one,” Pasquantino said. “You might hit a homer in one at-bat, but you still have to go up there the second time. You might strike out your first time, and you still got to go up there for your second one. It’s kind of like trying to erase the past a little bit and just focus on where your feet are and trying to go compete because it’s all you can do — is get to the next one.”

She also wrote about Noah Cameron’s continued hot stretch after yesterday’s brilliant start.

There are lots of reasons for Cameron’s turnaround this year. From calling his own pitches to increasing his slider usage to being in the zone more, Cameron has brought his season ERA down from 5.27 on July 19 to 3.93 after Monday. Heck, there even might be something to what glove he’s using in the second half, as he ditched the tan one he used early for the blue one he used for most of last year. (He doesn’t call himself superstitious, but … c’mon.)

All of it showed up Monday. Cameron threw a lot of strikes (67%), particularly early with a 68% first-pitch strike percentage, per Statcast. He befuddled the D-backs with his pitch mix and generated weak contact.

“I thought we were just attacking guys that are notorious for taking early,” Cameron said. “It was just kind of like, ‘Get in the zone, try to stay ahead, try to throw [fewer] pitches.’”

David Lesky recaps the weekend’s games.

Yirsandy Rodríguez at Royals Keep thinks Seth Lugo’s problems lie with his fastball.

The Yankees have activated Aaron Judge off the IL.

Thomas Pannone threw a perfect game last night in the minors, the first since 2017.

Shohei Ohtani is not likely to pitch again this season.

Nate Rasmussen has a neat tool for examining pitch grips.

In a surprise announcement, the KC Current and Sporting Director Vlatko Andonovski mutually agree to part ways.

SMU vs. FSU last night was played in unusual conditions due to a power outage.

The Atlanta Falcons have selected Tua Tagovailoa as their week 1 starter. Woof.

Nate Christensen has game-by-game predictions for the Chiefs.

This guy has trouble finishing books. I dunno, sounds like a skill issue.

Your song of the day is Sarah and the Safe Word with Old Gods of Television.

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Why Bruins' Fraser Minten contract extension is a smart bet for future

Why Bruins' Fraser Minten contract extension is a smart bet for future originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

How much do the Boston Bruins like Fraser Minten?

We got a good answer Tuesday morning when they announced a seven-year contract extension for the 22-year-old center worth $50.4 million ($7.2 milion salary cap hit). Minten has one more year remaining on his entry-level contract, so this extension will begin in 2027-28 and run through the 2033-34 season.

“We are excited to have signed Fraser to a long-term extension,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement. “Since joining our organization, Fraser has continued to grow and earn the accelerated trust of his teammates and coaching staff.

“His hockey sense, competitiveness, responsible two-way game, and offensive growth make him a valuable player for our group. This is a mutual long-term commitment that reflects our confidence in Fraser and the important role he will play, as well as Fraser’s belief in our team moving forward.”

The Bruins acquired Minten as part of the Brandon Carlo trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs in March of 2025. He enjoyed a breakout 2025-26 campaign with career highs of 17 goals, 18 assists and 82 games played. He was the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in January and his plus/minus of plus-21 led all rookie forwards.

Minten has the potential to be a 55-65 point scorer in the near future. But his skill set is much more than offense. He is a very smart two-way player with good defensive instincts. He had a meaningful role on the penalty kill last season and did not look overmatched when playing against top-tier forwards.

The Bruins had a plus-18 goal differential, a plus-19 edge in scoring chances and a .933 save percentage during Minten’s 1011:55 of 5-on-5 ice time last season. Minten plays the game the right way. He’s well-positioned, doesn’t take dumb risks, moves well without the puck, etc.

He doesn’t project to be a No. 1 center, but he could be a solid No. 2 center in the near future, and if that outcome plays out, his $7.2 million cap hit will be a steal.

And that’s why this deal is a smart bet for the Bruins.

The league’s salary cap has gone way up in recent years and it’s projected to keep climbing at a consistent rate. The salary cap ceiling in the 2025-26 season was $95.5 million, followed by $104 million this coming season and a projection of $113.5 million in 2027-28.

The rise in the salary cap has led to some massive contracts being signed this offseason. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar recently signed an eight-year extension worth a record $20.4 million per season. The rising player salaries makes it more worthwhile for teams to lock up young players to long-term extensions earlier than they might have in previous years.

Minten isn’t worth $7.2 million right now, but he easily could be worth much more than that in the near future. It’s a risk worth taking for the Bruins because it’s better to pay Minten $7.2 million than well over $10 million if he becomes a real second-line center.

The league has seen two different recent examples of how teams have handled the rising cap.

The Montreal Canadiens have handled it almost flawlessly. They have drafted, traded and developed very well over the last five to seven seasons, building a tremendous young core of Nick Suzuki (trade), Cole Caufield (draft), Juraj Slafkovsky (draft), Ivan Demidov (draft) and Lane Hutson (draft). Each of these five players have signed long term for under $9.2 million per season. Suzuki, Caufield and Slafkovsky all have a cap hit under $7.9 million. Starting goalie Jakub Dobes begins a team-friendly three-year extension with a $5.3 million cap hit in 2027-28.

The Canadiens were aggressive in signing their good young players early and taking that risk. It already has, and should continue to pay huge dividends for them. They are set up to win for a while.

The Anaheim Ducks have not handled their core in a similar fashion. They didn’t extend center Leo Carlsson early enough and he signed a five-year offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers this summer worth $18 million per year over the next five seasons. The Ducks matched the offer sheet to keep Carlsson, and now have to pay $18 million — or 17.3 percent of this season’s cap — for a 21-year-old forward who tallied 67 points last season.

The Ducks also have a 41-goal forward in Cutter Gauthier who’s still a restricted free agent with the regular season starting in three weeks. They didn’t sign him early, either, and it’ll likely cost them.

Anaheim’s situation is one that other teams should do everything to avoid. Drafting and developing at a high level is fantastic, but it’s often hard to pay everyone in a hard-cap league and still have enough flexibility to build enough depth to be a long-term contender.

There are some situations where a player is going to get huge money right away. The San Jose Sharks signed superstar center Macklin Celebrini to a five-year extension worth $18.8 million per season back in July. Celebrini just tallied 115 points in his second pro season and is already one of the league’s best players.

But in other cases, with players who don’t immediately jump to a top-tier level in their first two seasons, it makes sense to pay them early and try to save on the salary cap later in the deal.

There is risk for the Bruins with the Minten deal. If he only ends up being a two-way center who posts 40-50 points per season, then it won’t be an amazing contract. But the potential rewards far outweigh the potential risks, which is why the Bruins were smart to take this swing on a young player they very much believe in.

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Red Sox beat preseason projections, but still need more home run power

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Adley Rutschman #31 of the Boston Red Sox points skyward after his two-run home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the second inning at Fenway Park on September 7, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Do you remember when the Red Sox weren’t gonna have any player in 2026 who would hit 20 home runs?

I’m not gonna be gaslit by this by being told that I’m imagining things, because I know you remember this discourse leading up to Opening Day as well. FanGraphs’ ZiPS model said it themselves in the spring: Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu were going to lead Boston with 19 homers this season. Even if you wanted to be charitable and incorporate mid-season addition Adley Rutschman into the equation, his ZiPS projections still only accounted for 18 round-trippers.

This idea was (at least anecdotally) a consistent-enough of a conversation leading up to that first series in Cincinnatti. There’s a whole Reddit thread about it (yeah, one whole Reddit post!!!! WOW!!!!). Hell, we here at Over The Monster poised the question back in early March!

Here we are about a half a year later, and the Red Sox now have a trio of guys who have notched at least 20 dongs. Willson Contreras leads the way with 26 (compared to his projected 17 from FanGraphs) followed by Abreu’s 23. Duran logged his 20th on Labor Day, while the currently-injured Ceddanne Rafaela has an outside chance of hitting four more homers to get to 20 if he’s taken off of the injured list sooner rather than later. Hell, with the way he’s been hitting, maybe Mickey Gasper can get to 20 before the Pats begin their season tomorrow night.

As Mista Secatore pointed out in that March article here on OTM, baseball projections are inherently an exercise where there’s not going to be any bold takes. It’s just easier to project, say, 25 homers for a guy as opposed to 40. These models are never gonna stick their neck out for many players, so to speak. ZiPS projected that just eight players in MLB would reach the 35 homer mark by the end of the 2026 season—eight players have already done so as I’m writing this on Labor Day, while a handful of other guys could easily get to 35 by the time game 162 is played.

The point is: You can only take so much away from projections. They can maybe help give you a baseline, but they aren’t to be taken as bible. You know this, of course.

It’s just funny to look back at the noise regarding that talking point. This team, even at their worst, was not gonna play over half of their games in hitter friendly environments by proxy of calling Fenway Park home and not have at least one guy reach 20 homers. When you’ve got the benefit of hitting balls…….over the monster……….or towards Pesky’s Pole about 300 feet away, you almost have to go out of your way to not have even one guy with at least something resembling a modest power output. It was just a matter of who was going to do it, not if it was going to happen in the first place.

At the same time, though, this power output has to be something that’s addressed moving forward.

I commend Craig Breslow and Co. for building a legit American League contender, and I think we here at OTM have done more than enough to praise the hard work the players and coaching staff have put in to get themselves out of the early season hole that was dug. I don’t want to poo poo what’s sure to be an interesting end to the regular season and a fun postseason (HOPEFULLY, KNOCKING ON WOOD, DO NOT YELL AT ME ABOUT A JINX).

Yet the Red Sox rank in the bottom third of the league in terms of total home runs. Their team slugging is still pretty good—just over .400—but I’m talking pure old school taters here, baby. Boston hasn’t ranked worse than 20th in total team home runs in a full season since 2017 (and they even finished 12th in the COVID-shorted season in 2020, in spite of how stinky that team was). Not that home run output is the be-all-end-all for a championship team, but just to put this in perspective: three of the four World Series-winning Boston rosters this century have finished within the top-10 in total team homers in their respective seasons (guess which of the four title-winning teams was the exception in the comments below, and don’t cheat by looking it up!!!!!).

The 2026 Red Sox can absolutely succeed without someone like a Manny Ramirez, or a David Ortiz, or a J.D. Martinez. There are enough guys who, when healthy, can give us enough pop to make this fall a memorable one—even if no one is gonna confuse them with Barry Bonds or Hank Aaron (well, maybe outside of Gasper). Homers aren’t even the key part of the Red Sox’s current DNA; it’s the pitching and the defense that serves as the backbone of this iteration of the club. Even then, there are enough guys in the fold right now—as has been proven since late June—who can carry us to the promised land if things break our way.

With all of that said, I’m just curious to see how this matter of power is addressed moving forward. The Sox play 81 games at one of the most consistently hitter-friendly environments in the sport. Three of our four divisional opponents rank within the top-12 of the league in terms of park factor over the past three seasons (read as: the Orioles, Yankees, and Jays play in at least marginally hitter-friendly environments). Only six parks in the American League have ranked out as “pitcher-friendly” yards over the past three years if Savant’s park factor is to be believed. You can’t go wrong with more juice in the Junior Circuit. It’s too early to try and specifically predict how more power can be brought into Boston, but it’s something to think about moving forward.

In the meantime, let’s just be thankful that the ZiPS projections was wrong about the 2026 version of the Sox’s power output.

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Moneyball Mailbag – Dallas Mavericks Q&A

CHENGDU, CHINA - JUNE 27: American professional basketball player Kyrie Irving attends a fan meeting during his China tour on June 27, 2026 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. (Photo by You Fang/VCG via Getty Images) | VCG via Getty Images

Welcome to the first official installment of Moneyball Mailbag! Here we will be answering reader questions pertaining to all things Dallas Mavericks, gathered from far and wide (namely, our Feed, social media and maybe even some that were asked face-to-face).

If you asked a question, we’re grateful and thank you for joining in. If you haven’t, please both spread the word and also let us know what’s on your mind – We’ll have a post in The Feed where you can easily post questions to us.

We are on the cusp of training camp so there are plenty of expectations and things to ponder about the upcoming season. We’re excited to hear from you! Special shoutout to our reader, fabian_84, who goes down in Mavs Moneyball history as the provider of our first Moneyball Mailbag question. Without further ado, let’s hear what’s on your minds!

“Do you think Cooper Flagg is on a trajectory to win MVP at one point in his career? What would he have to show in year two to believe that he is on track?”

-Fabian_84

Winning MVP is no easy task. There are a lot of NBA legends who have never done it – Isiah Thomas,  John Havlicek, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, George Gervin, Chris Paul, Scottie Pippen – just to name a few. To do it takes a special combination. The player has to at least be exceptional, well-regarded (it’s difficult to believe there is no bias in the vote) and playing for a great team.

So far, I think it’s fair to say Flagg has two of those three things. I also expect he will continue to improve. I think he is a truly special talent with a drive that is unique even amongst professional athletes. Think back to the night he was drafted and the expectation his offensive game was going to need polish. Then think through November and into December and January. He almost instantly outperformed offensive expectations and improved significantly just over the first two or three months of the season. He did most of that as an 18-year-old.

So yes, I do think he is on an MVP level trajectory. To get there (in year two and beyond) he’s going to have to do what all the greats do, which is improve some aspect of his game every season. For year two in particular, I think it has to be an improved three-point percentage along with improved points per game. He has every tool imaginable to fill up virtually all statistical categories, so it’s just a matter of staying healthy and improving year-over-year. Hopefully the team will eventually be good enough to leave little doubt for him.

“How many games do you think Kyrie Irving will play this year”

-Various

I don’t expect him to play any more than 66 games this season for one simple reason. No, it’s not based on his recent history of average games played per season (which is brought low in some part due to New York covid-19 rules and Dwight Powell inflicting a fluke teammate-on-teammate injury). The reason I’m at or below 66 games is because the Mavericks have 16 back-to-back sets this season and I’d be surprise if he plays a complete set of any of them. I have to imagine he will rest on either the first or second night of all of them as a precaution.

That said, I do have what some call an irrational expectation he is going to be much better and much more available than people think. He has had a massive recovery window and everything about him screams “craft” to me. I just can’t envision a scenario where a guy like that didn’t go above and beyond the grueling task of rehabbing on another level.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

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Open Thread: Dr. J says Victor Wembanyama makes centers the heart of the MVP race

DENVER, CO - APRIL 4: Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs looks to pass while being defended by Aaron Gordon #32 of the Denver Nuggets as Nikola Jokic #15 looks on during the fourth quarter at Ball Arena on April 4, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Nuggets won the game 136-134 in overtime. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images

From its inception in 1956 until 1980, NBA’s coveted Most Valuable Player award was dominated by centers. Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain alone garnered nine of the first thirteen honors. Add it Wes Unseld, Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (credited the first time as Lew Alcindor), Dave Cowens, Bob McAdoo, Bill Walton, and

Moses Malone and it was almost a lock to go to the man in the middle. 

The emergence and recognition of the other positions on the court created a shift in the early 80s that saw Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and many other in who received the hardware.

In fact, from 1984 until the 2020 pandemic, only three times has the award been given to a center – Hakeem Olajuwan (1994), David Robinson (1995), and Shaquille O’Neal (2000). 

Basketball legend Julius Irving stated that he believes Victor Wembanyama will usher in a resurgence of centers in the mix for the MVP award.

“I think Wemby is going to change that. Today, wings and guards dominate the game. In my era, basketball was dominated by centers. In fact, between 1966 and 1982, every MVP was a center. Oscar Robertson was the one before that period, and I was the exception during it. Then, suddenly, guards and wings became the league’s MVPs, and that trend has continued to this day. But I think Wemby is going to change that.”

Since the pandemic, that shift has begun. Nikola Jokic has won the award three time and Joel Embiid took home the award as it was renamed the Michael Jordan Trophy in honor of the five-time winner.Wembanyama and Jokic were two of the finalists last season, but they lost out to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

As we head into the 2026-2027 season, Victor Wembanyama is Vegas the odds-on favorite (+200) to win this season. The question will be just how many times will he win if he stays healthy and plays with the same passion he has exhibited in his first three seasons. 

Welcome to The Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here

Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, do not troll and watch the language.

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What do Vukcevic’s doppelgangers tell us about whether he can earn a role?

Entering his fourth season, Tristan Vukcevic faces competition for even the limited minutes he’s played the past three seasons. | Getty Images

When the Wizards selected Tristan Vukcevic with the 42nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, I thought it was something of a steal. He was 25th in my YODA rankings — the last player in 2023 to notch a first-round grade in my stat-based prospect evaluation process.

So, I had hopes. Not exactly high but perhaps a bit higher than would be the norm for a second round pick.

Three years in, those hopes are not dashed, but they’re not met either. According to my PPA metric, Vukcevic has improved each of his three seasons — 55 to 66 to 73. That’s creeping into useful territory, but not stomping in and demanding attention. The year-to-year increments are small at an age when they’d typically be expected to be large. And that move from 66 to 73 is so small it might just be some statistical noise.

Entering his fourth season, Tristan Vukcevic faces competition for even the limited minutes he’s played the past three seasons. | NBAE via Getty Images

Note that his year two and year three PER scores were the same. On the other hand, PER says Vukcevic has been a bit above average each of those seasons, which I’d suggest is a view not shared by many.

Vukcevic is on his way back for a fourth season because…well…I was about to write “strengths,” which would not be completely accurate. He seems to have one strength, which is shooting. At least I think he’s good at shooting. His on-court behavior and the treatment he gets from teammates suggests they also think he’s good at shooting.

The problem, he has not actually made shots at a high level during NBA competition. Through three seasons, he’s finished well on at-rim attempts, been down-down-and-WAY-up from floater range, and not so good on longer twos. His three-point shooting (34.8% on 282 career attempts) is basically league average.

That three-point shooting is probably good enough for a center to make defenses at least pay attention, though it’s not likely to change game plans.

Vukcevic seems to enjoy setting up teammates, but the creativity comes at a cost. He’s had more turnovers than assists each of the past two seasons, and has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio for his career.

Vukcevic rebounds a little, though his career low in rebounding was last season.

Defense has been an adventure. The on/off metrics haven’t been atrocious, and he does generate blocks (better than two per 100 team possessions) and steals. The defensive playmaking comes with fouls, though — 5.9 per 100 team possessions for his career.

The positive-seeming on/off metrics are probably illusory. Throughout Vukcevic’s career, Washington’s defense has been historically bad when he’s been off the court. In his minutes — many of which have come during garbage time and blowouts — the team defense has been slightly less historically bad. I don’t think that “improvement” has been caused by Vukcevic.

As the team transitions to what they hope will be a competitive posture, Vukcevic faces increased competition for even the modest minutes he’s received. Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis, and DeAndre Ayton likely will take most of the big forward and center minutes. Vukcevic may be the fourth big, though the team could also choose to play smaller lineups when one of those guys can’t play. In other words, Vukcevic will also be battling Justin Champagnie, Keyshawn George, Will Riley, AJ Dybantsa, and others for playing time.

Okay, that’s a lot of preamble — we’re here for Statistical Doppelgangers. For the uninitiated, this is the latest installment in this year’s annual trip through the Statistical Doppelganger Machine, which is an algorithm I cooked up to tell me which player seasons (since 1977-78) were most like the reference player. In this case, Vukcevic. Keep up!

The Machine uses 14 categories, including various stats (per possession), age and playing time. While it doesn’t use position or size, comparison seasons tend to come from the same position grouping.

By the way, the player most similar to Vukcevic in 2026-26 was Vukcevic in 2024-25. This happens less often than you might expect. At least more often than I expected. To the doppelgangers:

  1. Mortiz Wagner | 2021-22 | Orlando Magic | Age: 24 — This was the fourth season and fourth team for Wagner. He’d spent the previous two seasons getting on opponents’ nerves for the Wizards. In subsequent seasons, he worked himself into a chippy, physical, annoying, and decent backup big man before tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
  2. Rodney White | 2003-04 | Denver Nuggets | Age: 23 — This season and the next were about as good as it would get for White, who I remembered as a PF type but Basketball-Reference lists as a SF and SG. I think my memory is right — he was 6-9 and 24o pounds. He had enough ball skills and shooting ability to play a stretch-four role in the aughts, but only just.
  3. Henry James | 1990-91 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Age: 25 — Nothing much to see here. This was James’ rookie year, and he made appearances in seven different NBA seasons. That could be Vukcevic’s fate — good enough to bounce around for a few years on minimum deals, but not good enough to secure a role. Kinda the next Thomas Bryant.
  4. Naz Reid | 2022-23 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Age: 23 — This would be the dream scenario for Washington, though I do think Reid has been more than a little overrated throughout his career. He’s had value as an off-the-bench scorer, though his overall production has been only so-so. His next above average season will be his first in my PPA metric.
  5. Jonathan Bender | 2003-04 | Indiana Pacers | Age: 23 — Bender’s mix of physical tools and ball skills were enough to make him the fifth overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft — skipping college and making the leap straight to the NBA. He never lived up to the hype, and by 23 was already declining.

The honorable mentions don’t trend any better — seasons from Wang Zhizhi, Jordan Nwora, Cam Whitmore, and (weirdly) Lawrence Moten. Michael Beasley makes an appearance.

Probably the best hope not too far down the list is Ryan Anderson, who had a few superb three-and-D seasons in 20-teens before his career got waylaid by a back injury and personal tragedy. The game has evolved away from the more specialized role Anderson played, but there’s still room for a center who can shoot, pass, and block a few shots.