Worldwide Sports News

On Saturday, July 11, Major League Baseball will host its 61st annual Rule 4 draft, better known as the first-year player draft. Thanks to their 83-79 record during the 2025 season, the Mets were lined up to make the 17th overall pick. Since the Mets exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax threshold by more than $40 million, their first-round selection will drop 10 places to 27 instead.

Because the Mets signed Bo Bichette, a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer over the off-season, the team forfeited its second-highest pick in the draft, meaning they will not be making a pick in the second round. Their next pick will instead be in the third round, the 92nd selection overall. Following that, they will be making the 120th overall pick in the fourth round, 152nd pick in the fifth round, 181st pick in the sixth round, 210th pick in the seventh round, 240th pick in the eighth round, 270th pick in the ninth round, 300th pick in the tenth round, and a selection every thirty picks in rounds 11-20.

The Mets have a $6,730,900 bonus pool to work with in the 2026 MLB Draft, the third lowest behind the Blue Jays and their $5,543,100 pool and the Dodgers and their $3,951,900 pool. In entirety, all 30 teams have been allotted $358,662,500 by Major League Baseball, an increase from $350,357,700 last season, as pick values have increased by 2.5 percent, reflecting MLB revenue increases.

The Mets’ first-round selection, the 27th overall pick, has an MLB-assigned slot value of $3,466,500. Their third-round selection, the 92nd overall pick, has an $859,900 slot value. Their fourth-round selection, the 120th overall pick, has a $645,100. Their fifth-round selection, the 152nd overall pick, $472,500 slot value. Their sixth-round selection, the 181st overall pick, has a $364,600 slot value. Their seventh-round selection, the 210th overall pick, has a $287,800 slot value. Their eighth-round selection, the 240th overall pick, has a $232,100 slot value. Their ninth-round selection, the 270th overall pick, has a $207,200 slot value. Their tenth-round selection, the 300th overall pick, has a $195,200 slot value.

In order to be eligible to be selected in the 2026 MLB Draft, a player must meet the criteria applicable to them:

• Be a resident of, or have attended an educational institution in, the United States, Canada, or a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico. Players from other countries are not subject to the draft and can be signed by any team unless they have attended an educational institution in the aforementioned areas.
• Have never signed a major or minor league contract.
• High school players are eligible only after graduation, and if they have not attended college.
• Players at four-year colleges and universities are eligible three years after first enrolling in such an institution, or after their 21st birthdays (whichever occurs first).
• Junior and community college players are eligible to be drafted at any time.

MJ Melendez

Week: 6 G, 21 AB, .286/.375/.857, 6 H, 0 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 3 BB, 6 K, 0/0 SB (Triple-A)

2026 Season: 20 G, 72 AB, .236/.313/.556, 17 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 8 BB, 19 K, 1/3 SB, .234 BABIP (Triple-A) / 56 G, 120 AB, .192/.315/.350, 23 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 17 BB, 50 K, 0/1 SB, .284 BABIP (MLB)

Following his optioning back down to Triple-A, MJ Melendez made about as good a case as one can make that it was the wrong move, slugging four home runs in his six games back with the Syracuse Mets. Coming into this series against the Worcester Red Sox, the outfielder/DH had a .216/.286/.431 batting line in his 14 games with Syracuse; now, Melendez is hitting .236/.313/.556, his batting average up .20 points, his on-base percentage up about .30 points, and his slugging percentage up roughly .120 points.

Melendez was optioned down to Triple-A because Tyrone Taylor was activated from the Injured List after spending a month on it due to a right hip flexor strain. All things considered, Melendez has been the better player of the two, posting a 92 wRC+ in limited at-bats to Taylor’s 61 in a similar amount of limited at-bats. With that in mind, Taylor has defensive utility that Melendez does not have, has more versatile as a bench player, and seemingly has the favor of GM David Stearns, who had Taylor rostered on the Milwaukee Brewers when he was GM there and then traded for him in one of his first moves as Mets President of Baseball Operations.

Optimally, with Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing really having established themselves, Juan Soto being Juan Soto, and Luis Robert Jr. making his way back from injury, the Mets have enough starter outfield depth that neither Melendez nor Taylor or anyone else see too many at-bats in Queens.

Daviel Hurtado

Week: 2 G (1 GS), 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (Single-A)

2026 Season: 4 G (3 GS), 9.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 5 ER (5.00 ERA), 1 BB, 15 K, .409 BABIP (Single-A) / 8 G (7 GS), 36.1 IP, 15 H, 6 R, 6 ER (1.49 ERA), 5 BB, 35 K, .165 BABIP (High-A)

For a little bit, it looked as if we were going to have dual winners, as Jack Wenninger and Daviel Hurtado both had identical Game Scores of 77, the former throwing seven scoreless innings against the Worcester Red Sox with one hit allowed, three walks, and five strikeouts, and the latter throwing six scoreless innings against the Frederick Keyes, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out 8. Had that been it, it would have been the first time in almost a calendar year that two pitchers won; last year, Wellington Aracena & Brandon Sproat both won during Week Fourteen, which took place between June 24th and June 29th.

But then on Sunday, Hurtado entered the game in the bottom of the fifth and pitched two additional scoreless innings, allowing a single hit and striking out three more. While the game was technically never completed, suspended in the eighth because of rain, I am counting it regardless and Daviel Hurtado is our Pitcher of the Week; already the reigning, defending, undisputed Pitcher of the Week, Hurtado is the first pitcher this season to win it in back-to-back weeks, and becomes the fourth pitcher in 2026 to win twice, joining Channing Austin, Jose Chirinos, and Jonathan Santucci.

Since joining the Cyclones, the Cuban left-hander has thrown 18.2 innings at home at Maimonides Park and 17.2 innings at three different away stadiums- ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood, Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, and Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick. At home, Hurtado has allowed just one run (0.48 ERA), scattering 7 hits, walking 3, and striking out 14. On the road, he has allowed five runs (2.55 ERA), scattering 9 hits, walking 2, and striking out 21. While Brooklyn has certainly helped Hurtado’s surface numbers a bit, it’s not like he’s been disastrous or anything like that outside of the friendly confines of Coney Island.

While it’s great to see Hurtado having success, I’m still not exactly sure how viable he is as an actual prospect. As I discussed last week, his four-seam fastball doesn’t have great shape and should be scrapped in favor of his sinker, with Hurtado seeing most of his positive results from his slider and curveball. At this moment, I would not say that either pitch is above-average at this point; to me, both are as effective as they are currently due to pure movement, rather than effective movement. That is, at the lower level of the minor leagues, a pitch with a ton of movement, like a casually sweeping slider that starts at one side of the plate and breaks to the other or a big 12-6 curveball that starts at the letters and lands below the knees, can be extremely devastating. Against the more advanced hitters in the upper level of the minors, batters can sit on pitches like that. Pitches that have sharper, more sudden, late movement are generally more effective than pitches that just have a lot of movement.

There’s a good chance that the southpaw ends up on the backend of the 2027 Mets Top 25 Prospect list anyway, simply because the system is so paper thin as of this moment, but it is my opinion that the left-hander is going to need to sharpen up his repertoire if he is going to have success in Double-A and potentially beyond.

Players of the Week 2026

Week One/Two (March 27-April 5): Hayden Senger/Cam Tilly

Week Three (April 7-April 12): A.J. Ewing/Christian Scott

Week Four (April 14-April 18): Randy Guzman/Jose Chirinos

Week Five (April 21-April 26): A.J. Ewing/Channing Austin

Week Six (April 30-May 3): A.J. Ewing/Jonah Tong

Week Seven (May 5-May 10): Ryan Clifford/Jonathan Santucci

Week Eight: (May 12-May 17): Jacob Reimer/Zach Thornton

Week Nine: (May 19-May 24): Ryan Clifford/Channing Austin

Week Ten: (May 26-May 31): Ryan Clifford/Jose Chirinos

Week Eleven: (June 2-June 7): Vincent Perozo/Frank Camarillo

Week Twelve: (June 9-June 14): JT Benson/Nick Carreno

Week Thirteen (June 16-June 21): Nick Morabito/Jonathan Santucci

Week Fourteen (June 23-June 28): JT Benson/Daviel Hurtado

Here is a look at the Astros prospects who were hot last week.

HITTERS:

Chase Call – Call has been a little boom or bust this year but when he’s hot, he’s hot. This week he hit .526 with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 13 runs batted in. Call is hitting .237 this season with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 18 stolen bases through 61 games.

Josh Wakefield – Wakefield got off to a nice start but an injured derailed him a bit. He’s back now and had a nice week hitting .381 with 2 doubles, a home run and 6 runs batted in. He also stole 3 bases and had more walks than strikeouts. He has 32 stolen bases this year. 

Waner Luciano – Luciano has been on a roll and he was great this week. In six games for the Woodpeckers, Luciano hit .348 with 2 doubles, 4 home runs and 10 runs batted in. He has a .843 OPS through 26 games in Single-A this season.

Nehomar Ochoa – Ochoa has put together a really strong season at just 20 years old. This week, Ochoa hit .455 with 4 doubles, a home run and 7 runs batted in. He’s hitting .283 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs and 28 stolen bases between 62 games this season.

Jack Moss – Moss was signed by the Astros this year after being released by the Reds earlier this year. The 24-year-old first baseman has been great since joining Asheville and had a nice week hitting .500 with 2 doubles, a home run and 9 runs batted in. He’s hitting .389 in Asheville.

PITCHERS:

Brett Gillis – Gillis has been on a roll for the Hooks and turned in another strong outing. He relieved Wesneski after a rehab start and went 5 innings allowing just 1 run. He has a 3.33 ERA this through 67.2 innings, allowing just 49 hits for the Hooks.

Kellan Oakes – Oakes got off to a great start this year but struggled a bit in Asheville. This week he had his best outing allowing 1 run over 6 innings. While he has a 4.75 ERA overall, he has racked up 58 strikeouts over 47.1 innings between Single-A and High-A.

Jackson Nezuh – Like some others on the list, Nezuh has really started to get it rolling. This week he went 7 innings allowing 1 run while striking out 5. He has a 4.18 ERA and allowed just 2 runs over his last 12 innings while striking out 14 for the Hooks.

Javier Perez – Perez has arguably been the best pitcher in the system this season. This week the right-hander tossed 5 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts for the Woodpeckers. He has a 3.10 ERA with just 10 walks to 86 strikeouts over 72.2 innings this season.

Yeriel Santos – Santos has had a tough year but he had his best outing of the season this week. In his one start for Asheville, the right-hander tossed 6 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts.

The trade deadline is approaching, and the Kansas City Royals have decisions to make. Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco use this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast to work through every angle of what should be one of the most consequential stretches in the organization’s near-term future.

The episode opens with a look at the recent homestand struggles, including a matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies, defensive inconsistency, and a bullpen that has not been able to stabilize for any sustained period. The coaching staff’s decision-making and lineup management draw comparison to how the Phillies have navigated their own challenges.

The injury report continues to be long and consequential. Kyle Isbel has suffered a setback, Vinnie Pasquantino heads to Omaha, and Maikel Garcia’s status is cloudier than a Kansas spring sky. Cole Ragans’ injury gives him a trifecta of surgeries that no pitcher should look to achieve.

On a more celebratory note, Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha earned All-Star selections, recognition that the hosts acknowledge with appropriate pride before turning the conversation back to what the trade value could look like if the front office decides to be aggressive sellers. The Lugo and Wacha trade conversation from previous episodes gets expanded here, with Salvador Perez’s potential trade value, injury concerns, and legacy also entering the discussion.

The talent pipeline evaluation is thorough. Jacob and Jeremy work through prospect valuations, FanGraphs future value grades, and specific names the organization should be targeting in return if they move established pieces. The hosts also examine the Minnesota Twins’ recent fire sale as a case study for what a bold deadline approach could look like, and whether the Royals’ front office has the appetite to follow that model.

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

BlueSky
– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

Twitter / X
– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod

The trade deadline is a time of wonder and curiosity. Teams are on the lookout for ways to improve themselves when the options they have internally are no longer good enough. We have been blessed to have relative blockbusters go down in the past few trade deadlines, making the news exciting to cover. Talking about trades is always fun, which is why I included a post in The Feed.

You were kind enough to respond with a lot of great and thoughtful responses, so let’s talk about some of them.

It still is quite strange that Alex McFarlane remains in Reading. His season has been a successful transition from being a starter to a full-time reliever. The stuff he is showing is big league ready, followed up by results that match. And yet, at Double-A he remains. He has yet to throw the major league baseball that is used in Lehigh Valley, meaning there might have to be some kind of adjustment to the ball whenever he does get a promotion somewhere. Maybe he becomes the 2026 version of Orion Kerkering, maybe he just is getting ready for 2027.

Yet the idea of including him in the big league bullpen and expecting instant success might be a little far fetched. As mentioned, the actual baseball is going to be different in the two leagues, so adjustment must be accounted for. Then there is the natural adjustment pitchers go through in their jump to the majors. Put that all together with his being included in a pennant race and the ingredients are there for a less than successful move.

As far as the idea of trading Andrew Painter and Gage Wood for Aroldis Chapman and Sonny Gray, that’s something I just cannot get on board with. I’ve been pretty critical of Painter lately, not really impressed by his latest start in Lehigh Valley despite the on box score results he had. Chapman is a rental only and Painter does still possess tantalizing upside if he can figure out how to tap into it.

There is always a flaw in thinking that a team has an excess of anything – pitching, infield, whatever position it is on the field. We have seen in the past the Phillies believe they have a lot of something only to find themselves left empty handed when the time is near. Remember the Baby Aces?

However, yes, there are some infield prospects to move in potential deals. Escobar has been the biggest name the team has had based on past reputation, yet his season this year has been disappointing. Rincon has taken a leap a bit this year, but probably isn’t one that would lead any kind of trade, instead finding himself as more of a secondary piece than anything. In the outfield, Nori would probably have fetched something decent based somewhat on the improvement he showed in the WBC and at the beginning of the season, but a recent injury that the team has been quite mum about clouds any trade value he had.

Agreed that these are some of the names the Phillies could look to move in a deal, but a combination of injury and regression has hurt a few of them.

Alirio Ferrebus is a name that I would expect to come up quite a bit in trade talks. He has had an outstanding season, rocking a 132 wRC+ in Clearwater as a 20 year old catcher. There are some things to worry about in his profile (the whole “catcher” thing, swinging a lot), but he hits the ball hard and doesn’t strike out much at all. If he can improve as an actual catcher, that’s a valuable commodity to have so long as the bat continues to improve. Is that something that would lead a trade package? Obviously would depend on what it is the team is trading for. If we’re talking about an impact bat, then probably not. If a team is going to move that impact bat, they would probably want something more of a high upside arm (re: Gage Wood) or a similarly high upside bat that plays somewhere else on the diamond.

The issue that is continuing to become obvious is lack of those high upside players the team has that they would be willing to dangle in a trade. The injury to Aidan Miller, the slight regression of Andrew Painter and the big league promotion of Justin Crawford has left them with a system that has precious little other teams would covet in a deal. Maybe there is a pop-up prospect that teams would like to take (Juan Villavicencio, Ramon Marquez to name two), maybe there is someone other teams might feel they can do more with than what the Phillies have done.

They will get a deal done and when they do, we’ll probably sit back and say “That’s it?” when it happens. It’s usually the case. But, we can continue debating here in the comments until the deadline hits. Go Phillies.

2026 MLB Draft Preview: AJ Gracia scouting report.

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

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

AJ Gracia is a 6’3”, 195 lb. lefthanded hitting outfielder at the University of Virginia. Coming out of high school in New Jersey in 2023, Gracia was in the back half of the BA top 500 draft list that year but went undrafted. He spent two years at Duke before transferring to Virginia when his coach at Duke took the Virginia job. Gracia turns 22 in October.

Gracia is a well-rounded hitter with quality pitch recognition and excellent contact rates. He rarely chases out of the strike zone — Baseball America calls him “hyper-selective” — and set a school record for walks at Duke in his sophomore season. He is strong and makes good contact with a swing that’s described as “uphill,” but his exit velocities aren’t as impressive as you’d like to see. He has above-average raw power that translate well into game power due to his contact ability. He’s also seen as being able to potentially add some power going forward.

Gracia played right field for Duke as a freshman, and has primarily been a center fielder the past two seasons. However, he’s not considered a particularly strong defender, and there’s a very good likelihood he ends up having to move to a corner outfield spot, though MLB Pipeline says his “excellent instincts and efficient routes” give him a chance to stick in center. His arm is underpowered for right field, so if he does have to move off out of center field, he will probably end up in left field. His speed and his arm both get 45 grades from BA and MLB Pipeline.

As a freshman, Gracia slashed .305/.440/.559 with 48 walks against 55 Ks in 278 plate appearances, with 14 homers. His sophomore season saw him slash .293/.449/.558 in 285 plate appearances, with 15 homers, 57 walks and 36 Ks. This year for Virginia — still in the ACC — he slashed .354/.489/.632 in 272 plate appearances, homering 14 times, drawing 47 walks and striking out 38 times.

Baseball America has Gracia at #15 on their board. MLB Pipeline has Gracia at #19 on their board. Kiley McDaniel puts Gracia at #27 on his top 150 list. Keith Law has Gracia at #22 on his board. Fangraphs has Gracia at #2 on their board. Baseball Prospectus has Gracia at #16 on their top 30 draft board.

In the June 8 Baseball America mock draft, Carlos Collazo has Condon going to the Astros at #17, though he’s mentioned as a possibility with a number of teams before then, beginning with the Orioles at #7. The BA staff draft on June 15 has Gracia going to the Marlins at #14. The BA mock draft 5.0 of June 29 has Gracia going to the Diamondbacks at #15, though he’s also mentioned with a half-dozen other teams ahead of them. The BA staff draft 4.0 on July 6 has Gracia going to the Cardinals at #13. Jonathan Mayo’s June 11 mock draft has Gracia going to the Astros at #17. Jim Callis’s June 18 mock draft has Gracia mocked to the Cardinals at #13. The June 25 Callis/Mayo mock has Gracia going to the D-Backs at #15. Jonathan Mayo’s July 2 mock draft has Gracia going to the Rockies at #10. Law’s June 10 mock draft Gracia going to the Cubs at #23. Law’s July 6 mock has Gracia going to the Mariners at #24. Kiley McDaniel’s June 18 mock draft does not have Gracia going in the first 40 picks.

Gracia seems likely to go somewhere in the teens, and could well be off the board when the Rangers pick. Texas would have to really like his contact ability and plate discipline, though the lack of upper end exit velocities doesn’t necessarily fit what they are looking for in a position player.

Gracia’s future likely hinges on his ability to generate more power going forward. If a team thinks that there’s more exit velocity they can tap into, or that will come as he fills out, he’s got value as a guy who would offer above-average OBPs and above-average power. If not, his defensive limitations and lack of speed make him limited as far as major league value is concerned.

Previously:

Liam Peterson

Tyler Bell

Aiden Robbins

Jared Grindlinger

Logan Reddemann

Cooper Harris

Justin Lebron

Cameron Flukey

Derek Curiel

Hunter Dietz

Logan Hughes

Carson Wiggins

Peyton Bonds

Ace Reese

Sawyer Strosnider

Gio Rojas

Chris Rembert

Jack Natili

Andrew Williamson

Trevor Condon

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here.

The San Diego Padres were blown out by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the series opener of this NL West battle.

My Diamondbacks vs. Padres predictions and MLB picks see value in backing the home team to respond in Game 2.

Who will win Diamondbacks vs Padres today: Padres moneyline (-125)

Neither offense is potent against right-handed pitching, but the San Diego Padres are in better form. They are +1.6 weighted runs above average vs. righties over the last month, while the Arizona Diamondbacks come in at -12.4.

The Padres have potential for a ceiling performance against Zac Gallen, who has posted a 5.85 xERA or worse in seven consecutive starts — and conceded at least four runs in six of them.

If German Marquez can pitch an inning or two, Johnny Brito and his extreme ground-ball profile in the minors should help him survive. Bet this to -135.

COVERS INTEL: Zac Gallen has been one of the league's worst pitchers, ranking in the second percentile in pitcher run value.

Diamondbacks vs Padres Over/Under pick: Over 9 (-105)

These offenses are nothing to write home about, and I’m not sure it matters. The pitching is that poor.

Gallen has posted a 7.24 ERA over his past 12 starts, conceding an average of 4.6 runs when he takes the bump. Only once during that stretch did he allow fewer than three runs.

The Padres are going with Marquez as an opener, a minor leaguer in bulk, then turning to a bullpen that ranks dead last in FIP over the past two weeks.

I like the Over and would play it to -115.

Diamondbacks vs Padres weather

Temperatures are expected to be in the low 70s with winds blowing east. This weather shouldn't be impactful one way or the other. 

Diamondbacks vs Padres odds

• Moneyline: Diamondbacks +105 | Padres -125
• Run line: Diamondbacks +1.5 (-180) | Padres -1.5 (+155)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 (-120) | Under 8.5 (+100)

Diamondbacks vs Padres trend

The Diamondbacks have only cashed the moneyline in 14 of their last 35 games for -8.45 units and a -21% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Diamondbacks vs. Padres.

How to watch Diamondbacks vs Padres and game info

Diamondbacks vs Padres latest injuries

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

For a team in a position where every win matters, continuing to hand away games simply cannot continue.

At some point, every branch will break. The branch carrying Mike Burrows on the Astros broke yesterday.

Staked to a 6-1 lead, Burrows proceeded to hand it all back in the 3rd inning, giving up a 5 spot as fans (and likely teammates) watched in horror as Burrows continues to get banged around the yard. He wasn’t fooling anyone, his manager Joe Espada admitted in the post game, lamenting Burrows inability to get a swing and miss with either his fastball or his changeup.

Burrows fastball has been the stuff of legend this season, for all the wrong reasons. It has been among the worst pitches in baseball this season. The league is batting .309 with an incredible .721 SLG vs Burrows 4-seam. He did not get a single swing and miss on 18 4-seamers yesterday against the Nationals. That is astounding. Astoundingly awful.

After 94.2 IP this season, Burrows is now 4-9 with a 5.99 ERA. That is the highest ERA for any Astros pitcher after 50 innings in the Astros uniform ever. Worse than Colton Gordon (5.95). Worse that Frances Martes (5.80). Worse than the Traitorous Rat Fink who shall not be named (5.22).

This isn’t “early struggles” anymore. This is broken.

That doesn’t mean Burrows cannot be fixed. As Espada so often reminds us, he is a young pitcher, and his stuff is there. The Astros Lab, which has made countless pitchers far more effective in a short period of time, has thus far been unable to solve the riddle of Burrows.

This far into the season, those riddles need to be solved in the minors.

Houston cannot in good conscience continue to send Burrows out every 5th to 6th day, and look the rest of the team in the yes and say they are committed to winning. Burrows is now a reclamation project.

Perhaps if this were not the 3rd straight year in which the Astros pitching staff had been beset by a plethora of injuries, things would be a little different. Maybe he would feel less pressure. Alas, that isn’t the reality in Houston.

To have seen Burrows be so thoroughly dominant in Spring Training and so abjectly awful in the regular season is also a point of frustration.

Yes, there was a point in time where Burrows was grading as an “unlucky” pitcher. The issue with that is he would give up an unlucky hit or two, and then groove one that got blasted into the seats with alarming regularity.

Where is the bulldog? Where is the desire to battle back?

Too often it seems Burrows simply melts down when there are men on base. It happened again yesterday, in the 3rd inning when he surrendered 5 runs without recording an out. He then allowed a leadoff homer in the 5th, and loaded the bases with one out before being lifted.

He put 11 men on base in 4.1 innings, he also committed an error.

By the time the 5th inning was over, Burrows allowed 10 runs, 7 earned. The Astros 6-1 lead had become a 12-6 deficit, one they would not be able to overcome in a 12-11 loss.

6-1 leads should be automatic.

This was the 10th start in which Burrows allowed at least 4 earned runs. He’s made 17 total starts. That is nearly 60% of his starts, the Astros need at least 5 runs to win. Houston is 2-8 is those 10 starts.

The Astros have been patient enough. Espada continues to speak in a coddling manner of him, always mentioning he is a young pitcher, and they need to put him in good situations. Is a 6-1 lead not a good situation?

The time has come and the time is now.

Cristian Javier is on the active roster. Lance McCullers Jr. and Ronel Blanco are both making what could be their final rehab appearances tonight for Sugar Land, in which they could both be looking at 70-75 pitches (they each threw 60 pitches in their last rehab starts). Ethan Pecko was just named PCL pitcher of the month after posting a 2.48 ERA in 29 IP with a 20/6 K/BB ratio.

All of them are better options than Burrows. Considering the Astros have relied on pitchers coming back from injury in the second half each of the past two seasons with suboptimal results, it is likely important to assess what you can expect from McCullers and Blanco (and later Hayden Wesneski, who isn’t far behind either of them) so that they don’t potentially make that mistake again this season. Houston needs to assess it’s needs at starting pitcher over the next few weeks leading to the trade deadline, because it already knows it needs a lefthanded outfield bat.

Houston has shown there is a limit to it’s patience with players they have invested in (time or money) this season when they recently demoted CF Jake Meyers. Meyers has been on the team since 2021, and they have tolerated awful offense from him before. That patience finally wore out, and centerfield has been turned over to the platoon of Taylor Trammell and Brice Matthews.

They need to do the same now with Burrows. Cut your losses. Quarterize the wound. Get him right at Sugar Land.

Maybe he comes back later in the year. Maybe he comes back next year. Maybe the deal winds up being a bust.

Should Mike Burrows be optioned is no longer a maybe. It’s a necessity. Time is up.

On Monday, ahead of their entertaining blowout victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, the San Francisco Giants released a bunch of medical updates for their injured players.

Perhaps most important is that third baseman Matt Chapman, who is dealing with an abdominal strain, was set to re-join the team on Monday, and will be re-evaluated. The Giants aren’t giving a timeline, but it seems likely that his return date will be the first game out of the All-Star break, which is on July 17.

Catcher Daniel Susac, who has a lower back strain, has started his swing progression, and is throwing up to 105 feet. He’ll start running later this week, so he’s still a little ways away, but not too far.

Center fielder Harrison Bader, who has left plantar fasciitis, took batting practice yesterday and will run today. The Giants will take it very carefully with him, but he’s at least trending in the right direction.

Lefty reliever Matt Gage, who left a game over the weekend with an elbow strain, had an MRI yesterday and was set to be re-evaluated. It unfortunately looks likely that Tommy John surgery is in his future.

Righty reliever Joel Peguero, who has been rehabbing his left hamstring strain in Arizona, is set to throw a live batting practice session today. Hopefully he can kick off a rehab assignment soon. Fellow righty reliever José Buttó is throwing four times a week, and up to 75 feet. It seems unlikely that he’ll pitch again this season, though.