Over the weekend, Boyd Petry, the son of former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry, celebrated his 11th birthday, and even though his dad has played for four teams since being traded by the Habs (twice), it was Canadiens colors he wore on his birthday.
Photo credit: Julie Petry Instagram account
Boyd, once a social media darling among Canadiens’ fans, was rocking a red, white, and blue shirt that matched his “Goal Caufield” T-shirt in the picture posted on Instagram by his mother, Julie Petry. Back when Petry was still patrolling the Canadiens’ blueline, the social media team mic’d up the youngster for a Habs game with hilarious results. The video was seen over 600,000 times on YouTube
Since GM Kent Hughes granted Petry’s trade request back in the 2022 offseason, the blueliner has played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Florida Panthers and the Minnesota Wild. In the 2025 offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Panthers, hoping to finally capture the Stanley Cup, but the plan backfired as Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk were both injured and the Florida outfit ended up missing the playoffs. On trade deadline day, he was sent to the Minnesota Wild, who had big aspirations but were eliminated in the second round in five games by the Colorado Avalanche.
The right-shot defenseman is now 38 years old and remains unsigned ahead of next season. He has not announced his retirement, but at his age, it would be surprising if a team decided to add him; the veteran played only 67 games last season and put up nine points, light-years away from his 46-point season in Montreal. If he does decide to hang them up, he won’t lack entertainment as the Petrys have four sons, who are sure to keep him busy.
Petry was a great asset for the Habs, playing parts of eight seasons in town. He skated in 508 games with Montreal and put up 248 points. Over the course of his career, he has featured in 1,048 games and gathered 394 points.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 24: Pitching coach Mike Maddux #88 of the Los Angeles Angels walks to the dugout after a mound visit against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on July 24, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Anaheim Angels have fired pitching coach Mike Maddux, assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott, and bullpen coach Dom Chiti, per Jeff Passan, underscoring that the Anaheim Angels are an unserious organization that should continue to be relegated to clown car status in MLB.
The Angels came into the season with their general manager, Perry Minasian, entering the last year of his deal. Minasian hired first-time manager Kurt Suzuki on just a one year deal. Maddux, Scott and Chiti were all in their first season with the Angels in 2026, and it is believed that they were all working on one year deals, as well. Speculation was that owner Arte Moreno did not want to have folks under contract past 2026 that he would have to pay during a potential work stoppage.
Minasian was fired by the Angels six weeks ago, and was replaced by John Mozeliak, the former St. Louis Cardinals head guy who was eased out of St. Louis after almost two decades because of concerns that he was behind the times, particularly in the player development arena. Mozeliak actually traded away some players at the trade deadline, a departure from the past with Anaheim, leading some to wonder if maybe things were getting straightened out in Anaheim, especially given that Mozeliak previously publicly stated, right after he was hired:
“I met with Kurt and most of (the coaches) this morning, and I told them they’re all fine for this year,” Mozeliak, the former St. Louis Cardinals’ baseball operations head, said at a news conference before Saturday night’s game against the Athletics.
“There’s nothing they have to worry about. … They all have jobs moving forward. There’s no reason for massive change right away.”
Apparently not.
The Angels are 25th in the majors in runs allowed per game, at 4.87, just a hair behind the Pirates and Astros at 4.84. The Angels are tied for 24th in the majors in ERA+ with the Astros and the Giants. I’m pretty sure none of those teams have fired their pitching coaches this season, though all three of those teams were expected to have better pitching staffs this year than the Angels were.
What is kind of ironically amusing about this is that the Angels are firing their pitching coaches the day after they held the Rangers to just one run in nine innings. The Angels did give up three runs in the tenth inning, leading to a loss, though those runs were allowed by Luke Murphy, making his fourth major league appearance, and Blake Weiman, making his third, so I’m not sure what exactly they expected.
The Angels did allow a combined 19 runs in Miami on Saturday and Sunday, and I guess maybe that was the breaking point, but you’d think they’d have fired everyone after they returned home on Sunday, not after a game the first game of a homestand on Monday. Also, the Angels had allowed just 15 runs in their six games prior to that, so things were kinda looking up.
That said, the Angels came into the season with a couple of quality pitchers and a whole host of guys (and this describes both their newly acquired pitchers and position players) who were either once good, but aren’t anymore, or who were once supposed to be good but hadn’t panned out yet.
Among the success stories this year for the Angels pitching staff has been Jose Soriano, who rebounded from a down 2025 season and was traded to Toronto; 22 year old rookie Walbert Urena, who has put up a 2.83 ERA in 101 innings over 21 appearances; and Reid Detmers, who, after spending the 2025 season in the bullpen, returned to the rotation and has been a solid league average innings eater. Ryan Zeferjahn, Chase Silseth, Kirby Yates and Brent Suter all were varying degrees of decent in the bullpen, and were all traded at the deadline.
On the other hand, Alek Manoah was terrible and then released; Jordan Romano was terrible, was released in late April, signed with the Colorado Rockies, and currently leads both the Angels and Rockies in saves; Jack Kochanowicz was terrible (though marginally less terrible than last year) and is now on the injured list; Grayson Rodriguez, acquired from the pitching-starved Baltimore Orioles for a rental outfielder (which should be sending red flags up everywhere), has been terrible, although he’s at least healthy currently, for a change; Ryan Johnson, their 2024 2nd rounder out of Dallas Baptist (you can read our draft preview of him here), was rushed to the majors in a bullpen role last year, was terrible, was sent down to be a starter at high-A (!!!) to “work on his pitching skills,” according to 2025 manager Ron Washington, until missing six weeks with injury, has spent most of 2026 in the majors, and has been terrible; Yusei Kikuchi was bad and is now on the 60 day injured list; and Drew Pomeranz was bad and was released.
The 64 year old Maddux has a lengthy, and successful, resume as a pitching coach, including two stints with the Rangers, in 2009-15 and 2023-25. The 67 year old Chiti started his career as a coach in the Rangers’ minor league system all the way back in 1982, and has been a coach, a scout, or a front office guy in various capacities ever since, including four years in the Rangers’ front office under John Hart and three seasons as the team’s bullpen coach from 2006-08. The 58 year old Scott spent almost 20 years in the Rockies’ organization as a pitching coach, including being the bullpen coach from 2020-21 and the pitching coach from 2022-25.
I am, as y’all probably know, a skeptic when it comes to how much influence a pitching coach, or a hitting coach, has on a team, so maybe I’m not the best person to listen to in this regard. But if the Angels are blaming the fired pitching coaches for Alek Manoah’s continued failures, for Jack Kochanowicz continuing not to miss bats, for Grayson Rodriguez struggling and Jordan Romano continuing to flounder and Ryan Johnson being rushed, well, it just underscores the clown car nature of the franchise.
Maddux left for Anaheim after Bruce Bochy departed as the Rangers manager after 2025, with Skip Schumaker seemingly wanting his own person in the job. It seemed like, at best, a lateral move, especially on a one year deal. Whatever you think of Maddux, he deserves better than being shitcanned by a joke of a franchise that is currently sporting the worst record in the majors.
Maybe the Rangers fans who have been blaming the Rangers’ pitching problems this year on Maddux being gone will get their wish and see Maddux return in some capacity. After all, he wouldn’t even have to pack his bags to join the team right now. He could maybe have some sort of advisory role. Or maybe Maddux would prefer to take the rest of the year off, collect his Artebucks and listen to his brother Greg tell stories about throwing a changeup to a particular hitter when he had a big lead so that the hitter would be looking for that pitch in the future.
And if the Rangers score just two runs over the next three games in Anaheim, you all have permission to yell at me.
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 07: Daylen Lile #4 of the Washington Nationals hits a three-run home run in the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park on August 07, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If there was ever a series to point to as the turning point for a playoff run for this Nationals team, it might just be their weekend sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. The Nats were scuffling through the start of August, but handled business against the Reds to put themselves close to striking distance of a playoff spot. The second test comes this week, as the scorching hot Chicago Cubs come to Washington, vying to tighten up their division race and bury the Nats in the standings.
If Washington wants to get closer than 5.0 games back of the last Wild Card spot, Chicago is certainly a team that would give them momentum if they can pull off a series win. The Cubbies are 7-3 in their last 10 games and sitting 19 games above .500, holding firm in the top Wild Card spot and sitting 5.0 games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Game One – Tuesday 6:45 PM EST
CHC: LHP Shota Imanaga (8-9, 3.60 ERA)
WSH: RHP Jake Irvin (2-5, 5.37 ERA)
The crafty Imanaga has been nothing but consistent since entering the MLB in 2024, and this year has been no different. Washington is catching him at a rough time as well, with the Japanese southpaw having allowed just 2 or fewer runs in every start dating back to June 24th.
Irvin has thrown twice since returning from the injured list, with 2 very different results. The Nats will hope for a similar result as his last time out, where he went 5.1 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing just 3 hits and 2 earned runs.
Game Two – Wednesday 6:45 PM EST
CHC: LHP David Peterson (6-7, 5.35 ERA)
WSH: TBA
It’s been a rough ride for Peterson this year, but, like Imanaga, the Nats are seeing him when he seems to be at his best. His first 2 starts of August were among the most productive he’s had in 2026, looking much more like the 2024 version of himself that emerged as a valuable starter for the New York Mets.
The Nats have yet to announce a starter for the middle game of the series, with one possible candidate being newly-called-up lefty Jackson Kent. In any sense, the Washington bullpen depth and effectiveness will be tested.
Game Three – Thursday 4:05 PM EST
CHC: RHP Kevin Gausman (6-10, 4.29 ERA)
WSH: RHP Cade Cavalli (2-5, 5.56 ERA)
Gausman was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays prior to the trade deadline as a proven veteran arm to fuel their playoff push, and he more than looked the part in his first start with Chicago. The 35-year-old is in the midst of his worst season since 2019 based on ERA, but he’s always a tough matchup for hitters.
Cavalli keeps on pushing through the dog days of summer, going another 6.0 strong innings against Cincinnati and finishing off his 6th quality start in a row. The Nats’ top arm is positioned to start in what could be a huge series finale to end the brief homestand.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 20: the sneakers of Nique Clifford #5 of the Sacramento Kings against the Charlotte Hornets during the 2025 NBA Summer League Championship game on July 20, 2025 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 2025 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 04: A detail shot of the USA 250 jersey worn by Cooper Ingle #30 of the Cleveland Guardians prior to the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Grace Hoppel/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s been a while, but it’s time to check in on what current Guardians’ minor league prospects have been doing for the past two months.
When we last checked in, one month had elapsed in the Guardians’ system. So, a lot has happened since then, including the promotions of Travis Bazzana, Cooper Ingle (back down now), Angel Genao, and Franco Aleman… and the injury of basically every pitching prospect worthy of interest (Kahl Stephen, Franklin Gomez, Braylon Doughty and the list goes on and on). So, let’s see what’s been happening over the past 60 days or so:
Analysis: Back down in Columbus, Ingle deserves credit for responding to his demotion by continuing to post great numbers as a hitter while splitting time between left field/catcher/DH. He should get another chance to hit in Cleveland before long. Next, don’t completely ignore Tolentino; he’s great depth to have and if there is an injury or if Travis Bazzana or Angel Genao need to recalibrate in Columbus, I think Tolentino will get a look and has a chance to be a solid utility infielder in the Schneemann mold. Tolentino is still only 24 years old, as well. Meanwhile, Velazquez’s numbers have been carried by his recent performance, which could be a sign of his adjustment to Triple-A pitching. I think Ralphy will REALLY have to explode to force a call-up, because, as is, he can continue to play in 2027 if there is an extended lockout because he does not yet need to be on the 40-man. It’s exciting to see Velazquez begin to figure things out at the upper levels because he is still only 21 years old and has maintained mostly even splits against RHP/LHP.
Analysis: You will soon notice a theme here… Guardian’s minor league pitching prospects are STRUGGLING. Peterson still looks like a viable fifth starter. Hopefully, the Guardians will not need him and their top five starters will stay healthy, but Peterson and Logan Allen are definitely front of the line replacements now with Slade Cecconi on the IL with arm fatigue.
Analysis: Advincula is old for his level (25), but he might have got a shot in Columbus had he not just gone down with an elbow strain. Schubart is such an interesting player; you can’t help but doubt if his extreme whiff issues will doom him, but he is lowering his K-numbers to a point where he looks like he could potentially be a Joey Gallo-type major league hitter. Cesarini’s numbers are probably small sample size but could be an interesting platoon bat for someone. Walton is the most exciting of this bunch as he has managed to cut his whiff-rates and still display some excellent power while looking viable in centerfield. He’s definitely a bat to monitor closely as the season ends; perhaps others will join FanGraphs in putting him on an MLB Top 100 list if it goes well.
Analysis: Doughty is thankfully scheduled to make a return to the mound this week from the ambiguous arm-fatigue before the season is over. He looks like a front of the rotation prospect. Jahec is 25 years old but is looking like a potentially viable major league relief arm at some point, likely for the middle innings, and should get a look in Columbus soon. Jasiak is also 25 but just got the promotion to Columbus, so we’ll see if he can show himself to be a solid middle relief option there.
Analysis: Pay attention to Howard as a catching prospect who can really hit. Curley is busy trying to figure things out in Akron now, but he definitely showed some promising signs in Lake County while running an absolutely unsustainable walk-rate. Gonzalex is a little old for the level and only 5 foot 6 but dude can hit a little. Francisca seems to be putting things together after a lengthy struggle (perhaps injury-driven) and showing not to give up on him being another short, switch-hitting infield success story for Cleveland as a 20 year-old, and should be in Akron soon. Caceres beginning by holding his own as an 18 year-old in High-A is very good news and makes him definitely a top-3-type prospect for the Guardians’ system at the moment. Hopefully, he finishes the season strong and could be pushing for a debut as a 20 year-old in Cleveland (rivaling Jose Ramirez for earliest recent debut??).
High-A Lake County Pitchers:
Izaak Martinez, 1.32 ERA, 3.74 FIP, 12/4.6 K/BB/9
Analysis: He’s up in Akron and things aren’t going well, yet, but given the state of this system, we better hope this is a potential matchup lefty in the bullpen for us. He’s 24 years old, though, so it’s not very likely.
Low-A Hill City Hitters:
Luis De La Cruz, SH 157 wRC+, 11/14 K/BB/% Reiner Herrera, LHH 135 wRC+, 14/15 K/BB%
Analysis: De La Cruz is a corner infielder and I don’t know that he has enough power to really be something, but he’s only 19 and worth monitoring. Herrera is a catcher who makes great, quality contact. Worth watching to see what he does as the season ends.
Low-A Hill City Pitchers:
NONE
Analysis: The Guardians’ should probably be targeting minor league pitching if they trade a player like Steven Kwan, Kyle Manzardo or Gavin Williams in the offseason… just saying.
With all the promotions the Guardians have done this season, the minor league systems are looking a little bare. They should get a boost from their 2026 draft class and the Arizona Complex and Dominican Winter leagues soon, but there is some work to be done here. Still, having Ingle, Velazquez, Walton, Caceres and Francisca is good news for the Guardians’ continued miasma of offensive issues and there are some fun storylines to follow as the season ends.
And, here’s an update on some recent moves for the affiliates just as I hit publish:
The Cleveland Guardians Player Development System has announced the following moves for today:
Place Jonah Advincula on the 7-Day IL in HC (right elbow strain).
Transfer RHP Jack Jasiak from Akron to Columbus.
Transfer INF Jhorvic Abreus from Akron to Hill City.
As the National Hockey League enters the second month of free agency, a number of former Buffalo Sabres still remain unsigned. At this point of the offseason, players who have not latched on with an NHL club might consider playing in Europe, or taking a short-term deal or professional tryout to earn a one-year deal.
The decline and fall of Skinner over the last three years puts into focus how bad a decision it was for former Sabres GM Jason Botterill to sign the diminutive winger to an eight-year, $72 million contract in 2019 after scoring 40 goals. A coaching change to Ralph Krueger was not a good fit for the offensive winger, who was relegated to a bottom-six role and scored only 21 goals in 112 games the next two years, but his goal scoring returned under Don Granato, with 33 and 35-goal campaigns in 2022 and 2023.
After dropping to 24 goals in 2023-24, the Sabres bought out the final three years of his contract; something that has resulted in over $6 million in dead cap space this season. The 33-year-old hooked up with Edmonton in 2025, and played in his first postseason games during the Oilers run to a Cup Final loss.
Who had the best and worst offseason in the Atlantic Division?
Last season, he signed a one-year deal with San Jose, but after suffering a lower-body injury in mid-November and returning three weeks later, he was used sporadically and was healthy scratched and placed on waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract in mid-February. Surprisingly the veteran forward was not signed by a team before the trade deadline.
Outlook: The fact that there seemed to be no interest or even an inkling of interest after the contract termination is a sign that Skinner’s career is over. Skinner depended on superior edgework and skating ability to be a difference maker, but his effectiveness has declined dramatically as he has lost a step. A PTO is a possibility, but remote one.
John Mozeliak, who was hired six weeks ago as the Los Angeles Angels interim GM, made his most sweeping changes yet Tuesday by firing three veteran pitching coaches.
The Angels fired well-respected veteran pitching coach Mike Maddux, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott. They were all on one-year contracts along with manager Kurt Suzuki.
The new pitching coach will be Tim Leveque, who was in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for 20 years with Mozeliak with Michael Wuertz as the interim bullpen coach.
“After spending time discussing with Kurt where we are as a coaching staff and where we want to go in the future, we felt it was best to make a change,” Mozeliak said in a release. “With seven weeks remaining, we plan to use this time to evaluate what additional steps are needed to elevate our entire pitching program and best position us for success moving forward.”
The Angels’ pitching staff was yielding a 4.53 ERA, but Maddux and his staff also oversaw the breakout seasons of Reid Detmers, Rafael Soriano, Walbert Urena, Ryan Zeferjahn and Chase Silseth.
“I had a great time in Anaheim," Maddux said in a text message with USA TODAY Sports. “Pitching was our strong suit. Glad to see some improvement… The coaches room is a solid cast of characters."
Leveque was in his first year as the Angels Class AA Rocket City’s pitching coach. He worked in the Cardinals’ scouting department in 2025 after being a minor-league pitching coach and pitching coordinator for the previous 19 years with the Cardinals.
Wuertz is in his 11th year with the Angels, and was the Angels minor league assistant pitching coordinator.
The Phillies are both mediocre and the National League’s biggest threat to upset the Los Angeles Dodgers in this year’s playoffs.
How can both be true?
The 2026 Phillies enter Tuesday night’s game in St. Louis at 64-56, a .533 winning percentage, 7.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East and tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2nd wild card, both of whom are just one game up on the San Diego Padres for the NL’s final playoff spot.
Since the Phillies reached their high-water mark of 11 games over .500 on July 1 (49-38), they have gone 15-18 in their last 33 games. Over that stretch they are 15th in runs scored, 18th in OPS, 19th in batting average, and 22nd in home runs. Their 4.45 staff ERA is 22nd and their tied for 20th in walk rate, 22nd in home runs per nine innings, and 16th in batting average allowed. The rotation’s numbers are better than the bullpen’s, whose 5.46 ERA is 2nd-worst in baseball, and the defense’s -35 Defensive Runs Saved is also last.
That’s mediocre.
And yet, as The Athletic’s Jayson Stark wrote, there are those inside baseball who believe the Phillies remain the greatest threat to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ quest for a three-peat this October.
Should they get there.
So the team that got the most mentions as the Dodgers’ biggest threat was a surprise to me: the same Phillies team that just made a trade (for Arraez) that was so unorthodox they had to shake up half their defensive lineup just to fit him onto the field.
“I still think it comes back to the team, in the playoffs, with the best 1-2-3 starters,” said the former exec. “And that’s the Phillies.”
On the latest edition of WHYY’s Hittin’ Season, we discussed the seeming contradiction.
It is true the Phillies are both mediocre, and the National League team best positioned to knock the Dodgers off in a short postseason series.
You can listen to the FULL podcast below on Spotify, watch it on the WHYY YouTube channel, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and anywhere else podcasts are free!
KLUGH: “Yes, having three awesome starting pitchers in playoff series is going to get you the advantage almost every time. But we’ve also seen how having three big horses like that in your rotation doesn’t get you all the way there all the time. I have my doubts that the Phillies are the best team to challenge the Dodgers when the Brewers have been playing so well and are cited for doing the things well the Phillies don’t do, which is the little things.”
Jesus Luzardo is in the midst of a hot streak reminiscent of what we saw earlier in the season from Cristopher Sanchez. And with Zack Wheeler continuing to roll right along, there is perhaps no team in baseball that can feature three pitchers this dominant in a playoff series.
Of course, there are teams who can counter with a pretty comparable 1-2 punch. The key is the Game 3 starter the Phillies can run out there in a playoff series. It’s a difference maker.
And while the Phils have a major issue with their bullpen right now, the Dodgers had a similarly leaky group of relievers heading into last year’s playoffs. They solved it by using their starters out of the ‘pen to secure key outs late in games. The Phillies won’t have quite that kind of ability, although Andrew Painter’s improvements over his last three starts makes him an intriguing bullpen add.
Still, unless some relief pitchers emerge over the final 40 games of the regular season, the Phils may not even make it to October, let along go on a run to the Fall Classic.
And in the postseason, the offense must come to play and perform under pressure in a way they haven’t since Game 2 of the 2023 NLCS.
There are other more well-rounded teams in the NL that could perhaps be a bigger threat. Milwaukee is once again playing at an elite level, with an ace pitcher that is just about as unbeatable as a person can be right now. The Chicago Cubs acquired pitching at the trade deadline that could make them very dangerous, and don’t count out the Atlanta Braves, who have been up-and-down.
Are the Phillies playing mediocre baseball right now? Yes. You know what other team played mediocre baseball late in the season?
The 2022 Phils, who went 11-14 in September and just barely squeaked into the postseason as the third wild card. Last year’s Phillies went 18-11 in August and 17-8 in September and went into the playoffs on an absolute roll.
So yes, it’s fair to say the Phillies are, right now, mediocre. And yes, it’s also fair to say they are the team with the biggest threat to the Dodgers in the playoffs.
Basketball: Phoenix Suns Tom Chambers (24) in action vs New York Knicks Mark Jackson (13) at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.Phoenix, AZ 1/27/1989CREDIT: John W. McDonough (Photo by John W. McDonough /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)(Set Number: X37759 )
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year, we ask questions of the most plugged-in Suns fans and fans across the country.
It’s Hall of Fame week here at Bright Side of the Sun as we prepare for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to welcome a new class into its sacred halls. Among those being inducted, the Seven Seconds or Less era will be well represented, as Mike D’Antoni and Amar’e Stoudemire are set to be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts.
And we’ll do our celebrating. Make no mistake about that. But Hall of Fame week also creates another conversation, one centered around the players who still haven’t made it.
On the most recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons went through a list of 7 players he believes should be in the Hall of Fame but currently aren’t. And well represented among that group were three former members of the Phoenix Suns.
The first was Paul Silas, the man who still sits atop the Suns’ single-season rebounding leaderboard after averaging 12.5 rebounds per game in 1971. He spent three seasons in Phoenix and was a pit bull in all the right ways, earning an All-Star nod and two All-Defensive Second team honors. Holistically, he played 16 years, won three championships, and was a five-time All-Defensive player in the era of Redwood trees roaming the paint. At 6’7”, Silas was pound-for-pound one of the best interior players of his generation.
Then there’s Kevin Johnson, my favorite player growing up, and someone who was an absolute force before his body began to fail him in the mid 90s. When you look at his 12-year career and see averages of 17.9 points and 9.1 assists per game, it’s hard to understand why he still isn’t in the Hall of Fame. Of course, there may be off-court factors that play into that discussion.
And then there’s Tom Chambers. Chambers spent five seasons with the Suns and averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game during his time in Phoenix. He still holds the franchise record for points per game in a single season after averaging 27.2 in 1989–90. He’s also most notably remembered as the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history, something you would think deserves recognition in Springfield.
Chambers was a four-time All-Star, with three of those selections coming as a member of the Suns, and he also holds the unenviable distinction of being one of only four players in NBA history to score more than 20,000 career points and not be in the Hall of Fame.
Perhaps this is a biased question, but it also sets up a point I plan to make later this week. So for this week’s Suns Reacts survey, I’ll ask you this: Should Tom Chambers be in the Hall of Fame?
Cast your vote, then let me know why or why not in the comments below. And while you’re there, share your favorite Tom Chambers memory.
HARTFORD, CT - APRIL 02: Jake Brooks #32 of the Hartford Yard Goats pitches during the game between the Chesapeake Baysox and the Hartford Yard Goats at Dunkin' Park on Thursday, April 2, 2026 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Ryan Desantis/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
The phone range in the middle of the offseason. Jake Brooks was a couple of weeks from leaving for Marlins camp in Florida, and the name on the screen was John Savage, his head coach at UCLA.
“He gave me a ring and was like, ‘Hey man, how you feeling?’” Brooks said. “I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And he’s like, ‘Come on, man, how you feeling?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, what are you talking about?’ And he’s like, ‘I think you’re getting traded to the Rockies.’”
Brooks had never been traded before. He didn’t know how any of it was supposed to work — who calls, in what order, how long you sit with it before anyone official confirms anything.
“I was shocked, obviously,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve got to start calling some people. I’ve got to figure this out.’”
He called his parents first. Then the calls started coming in the other direction — Miami, then Colorado. Somewhere in there, he texted Kyle Karros.
That trade, on January 20, sent Brooks to the Rockies from the Marlins for Bradley Blalock. Six months later, the 25-year-old right-hander is making starts at Triple-A Albuquerque, learning an environment that has humbled better-known arms, and discovering that the organization he landed in had things to tell him about himself that his old one never did.
The seven feet
Brooks throws from a low three-quarters arm slot — a Statcast arm angle of 24.4 degrees — and it’s the thing everything else about him is built on.
“I’ve always been, I guess, a lower three-quarters arm slot kind of guy, and that has helped me get the natural sink that I have,” he said
That much he knew. What he didn’t know was how far down the mound he gets before he lets go of the ball.
“My extension that I’ve honestly come to realize this year is pretty far,” Brooks said. “I think I have over seven feet of extension, so that creates a little bit more deception to the hitters as well. But that’s something I didn’t even realize when I was with the Marlins in that organization. I wasn’t really brought to that knowledge that I had that elite extension, so that’s something that I’ve kind of learned about this year and used it to my advantage.”
He’s right about it, and the number backs him up. Brooks releases the ball an average of 7.0 feet from the rubber this season, which grades in the 96th percentile among pitchers in his cohort.
It’s also a real change: In 2024, at Low-A Jupiter, he was releasing around 6.6 feet. He has found roughly five inches, and five inches at that arm slot is the difference between a 91-mph sinker that looks like 91 and one that doesn’t.
Brooks is careful about where credit goes. The pitches themselves were built in Miami.
“They had a higher emphasis on ‘stuff,’ and it was all on like a stuff metric scale,“ he said. ”And I developed stuff there; like my stuff did get better, and I did add a sweeper, which is one of my better pitches, as well as that kick change with them. So I attribute a lot of my stuff to the Marlins and what they gave me. But being in an org where I can use that stuff and use the strength that I do well is really cool.“
The strength he does well is throwing the ball over the plate, and Colorado made a point of telling him to do so.
“The comfort level with Alon [Leichman] was great during spring training,” Brooks said. “I had a couple of conversations with him and some of the other pitching coaches up in the big league staff, and it’s just good to be with an organization that values what you do at an elite level. I know that, ‘Hey, I’m going to pound the zone, I’m going to attack hitters, I’m going to compete.’”
He does. Brooks has thrown 54.1 percent of his Triple-A pitches inside the strike zone and 66.5 percent for strikes overall, both near the top of the level, with a 5.8 percent walk rate. He’s walked 10 hitters in 37 innings.
Learning to pitch backward
The version of Brooks who dominated the Florida State League in 2024 threw his sinker 52 percent of the time. He was a sinker with three pitches behind it. The version in Albuquerque is a different design. The sinker is down to 29 percent. The sweeper has gone from an eighth of his pitches to more than a fifth. He now throws five pitches, and none of them account for even 30 percent of his mix.
Some of that is deliberate, and some of it is Triple-A forcing the issue.
“There’s learning curves at every level, and one of the biggest for me in this Triple-A level is seeing how my stuff best plays off each other, facing better hitters and more veteran hitters,” Brooks said. “Using that four-seam fastball does set up that split change that I have a little bit better. Set that high fastball up to set up that low changeup, because you can’t just use stuff to overpower these guys. Especially with the stuff that I have, it isn’t necessarily overpowering, but I can pitch, and I can locate.”
He isn’t overselling the pitch. Asked what makes it work, Brooks went straight at its limitations.
“That high-four seam fastball, which isn’t metrically great, but still the differential off of the changeup that I throw definitely works and tricks batters,” he said.
The four-seam is a 91-mph pitch with about eight and a half inches of induced vertical break — a fastball that doesn’t ride, thrown from a slot that isn’t built to make it ride. On its own, it isn’t beating anybody at this level.
The differential is the point. Brooks’ changeup arrives ten miles per hour slower with roughly nine inches less carry, out of the same arm slot and the same seven feet of extension. Throw one at the top of the zone and the other under it, and a hitter has to decide early on two pitches that look identical leaving the hand and finish nearly a foot apart.
It’s working the way he says. The changeup has produced a 28.1 percent whiff rate this season, the highest of all his offerings. And the four-seam — the pitch he just told you isn’t metrically great — had held Triple-A hitters to a .288 expected wOBA, better than the sinker it’s spelling.
The pitch above them all is the sweeper. At 80.7 miles per hour with about a foot of glove-side break, it has held Triple-A hitters to a .198 expected wOBA with a 21.1 percent whiff rate. It’s the one offering in the mix that grades out as an unambiguous plus by pitch-model standards, and it’s the one he named unprompted as the thing Miami gave him.
He also got a week with someone who has pitched successfully in the hardest place there is: Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP).
“I obviously don’t cut it as much as him — his cut fastball is insane,” Brooks said of Rockies right-hander. “But I spoke with him a little bit, and he emphasized just the ability to pitch and be in zone with different speeds was the biggest contributor to his success. I was only with him for half a week, maybe a week, until he got called up.”
Starting lanes
Then there is the altitude, which Brooks describes better than most people who write about it.
“Pitching for me has always been locating first and then stuff second,” he said. “Coming up to Albuquerque and elevation, it’s more so just starting lanes, and knowing that your pitch isn’t going to move as much, but just feeling out throughout the game what your pitch is doing, and then starting them in locations where you want them. So maybe my sinker, I’m starting it more middle instead of outer third to get it in. My sweeper, I’m starting more middle to get it out instead of starting at the batter’s hips.”
He learned it the way everyone learns it.
“That’s been something I’ve learned through adversity, really,” Brooks said. “Because I’ll get guys to two strikes, I’ll get ahead of guys, and then I’ll spin a breaking ball, and it just won’t end up where I want it. And then they’ll hit it for an easy single. More veteran guys are going to take their knocks if they have them. I’m leaving elevated changeups maybe out of the zone, but lefties are flicking it the other way for a single instead of fouling it off or swinging and missing.”
That is, essentially, a scouting report on his own season. Brooks carries a 6.81 ERA in seven Albuquerque starts. He has allowed almost nothing hard: an average exit velocity of 87.0 mph, a hard-hit rate in the 90th percentile of the level, and one barrel across 136 batted balls. His wOBA against is .405. His expected wOBA, based on how the ball has actually left the bat, is .312.
The gap between those two numbers is a .389 batting average on balls in play, and Brooks just told you where it comes from. Singles. Flicked the other way, at 5,000 feet, by hitters who have seen a lot of pitching.
The recovery side of altitude has been easier than the pitching side.
“More hydration tablets, definitely more electrolytes, and a couple more minutes of stretching each day,” he said. “But the recovery has been honestly not too bad.”
The Karros crew
The best part of the trade, for Brooks, had nothing to do with pitch design.
He and Kyle Karros met as freshmen at UCLA, didn’t know each other beforehand, and became close almost immediately. He’s tight with Kyle’s older brother Jared, now in the Dodgers system. The three of them have lived together in the offseason, train together, surf, and play volleyball.
“It’s a childhood dream to be able to play with one of your best friends in the big leagues,” Brooks said. “It was honestly surreal when it happened, the trade, because it’s like, what are the odds that I get traded to the same team that he’s on?”
Karros was, by Brooks’ count, roughly his second phone call that day — ahead of the Marlins, who hadn’t reached him yet.
“I definitely shot him a text, and I was like, ‘Dude, I might be coming to the Rockies. I don’t know yet.’”
There is also a running fantasy football league with the Karros brothers, which Brooks entered once, finished last in, and walked away in embarrassment.
“It was so embarrassing that I had to step away for a few years and do my research, then come back,” he said. “So this is my first year back in, I think, two or three years with that crew. Hopefully I make a new name for myself.
One more Colorado thread runs back further than any of it. In the summer of 2020, Brooks pitched for the Fond Du Lac Dock Spiders of the Northwoods League, where he met a shortstop named Ryan Ritter.
“That’s a fun league,” Brooks said. “That’s the best depiction of pro ball that you can get in summer ball. It’s a grind up there.”
So is this. Brooks spent the first half of the season in Hartford, on a Yard Goats club that won its division’s first half, and he lit up talking about it — “just being on a pitching staff and on a team that wants to win helps you perform to a higher level.”
Then he came to Albuquerque, where the sweeper doesn’t sweep as far, and veteran hitters take what you give them.
He’s still throwing strikes. He’s still finding the lanes. And for the first time, he’s doing it with an organization that told him exactly what he had.
Albuquerque took four of six from the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Houston Astros) at Isotopes Park, extending a run in which they have won 10 of their last 12. The series had everything: a 10-1 rout, a pair of one-run games, and an 18-10 loss in which Sugar Land scored 11 in the tenth inning and three Isotopes — Zac Veen, Blas Castaño, and manager Pedro Lopez were ejected. The bullpen was otherwise outstanding, with eight different arms finishing the series without allowing an earned run. Albuquerque sits at 20-19 in the second half, still seven games back of first place.
⬆️ Stock Up: Veen’s Three-Homer Night
Zac Veen (PuRP No. 9) went 5-for-5 with three home runs, a triple, and a double on Saturday, driving in seven of Albuquerque’s 10 runs and finishing a single shy of the cycle with 17 total bases. It was the centerpiece of a series in which he hit .478 (11-for-23) with four homers, 10 RBIS, and nine runs scored across all six games. Veen is now at 24 home runs and 87 RBIS — the second straight series in which he has been the best hitter on the field, and the kind of stretch that makes the next roster decision in Denver an interesting one.
ZAC VEEN TRIPLES TO COMPLETE THE GREATEST INDIVIDUAL SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE IN ISOTOPES HISTORY!!! pic.twitter.com/bkcdouocCB
Ryan Ritter quietly outhit even Veen, collecting 11 hits in 17 at-bats for a .657 average over five games. He added three doubles, a triple, and three stolen bases, going 4-for-4 with two steals in Friday’s slugfest and 3-for-4 in Sunday’s series-clinching win. Ritter did damage from multiple spots in the order, giving Albuquerque a second bat that opposing pitchers couldn’t navigate.
Upcoming
The Isotopes will visit Oklahoma City for a six-game series with the Comets (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Hartford was swept in six games at Binghamton (New York Mets) — the last-place club in their own division, which entered the week 26 games under .500. The Yard Goats scored 14 runs across the series, and three of those runs came in a 23-3 loss, meaning 11 runs total in the other five games. They hit .18- as a team and struck out 76 times, and they now sit at 15-24 in the second half.
⬆️ Stock Up: Flesland Deserved Better
Stu Flesland III threw seven innings of one-hit baseball Friday, walking one and striking out seven, and left with the game scoreless. Hartford lost it 1-0 an inning later. It continued a strong run of starts following a five-inning no-hit stint at Chesapeake and a win at Richmond, and it dropped his ERA to 2.09 with a 3-0 record. In a week when almost nothing went right for the Yard Goats, Flesland gave them the one game they should have won.
Mike Antico struck out 10 times in 19 at-bats, finishing the series 2-for-19. One of those hits was a home run in the blowout loss, and it accounted for his only RBI of the week. He was the most frequent out in a lineup that made a great many of them.
Upcoming
Hartford returns home for six games with the Erie Seawolves (Detroit Tigers)
High-A: Spokane Indians (1-4, 50-57 Overall)
Spokane drew the toughest opponent on the schedule and paid for it, losing four of five to the Eugene Emeralds (San Francisco Giants). Sunday’s finale was cancelled because of poor air quality in Spokane, ending the series a game early. The Indians were outscored 43-21 and lost three of the four by lopsided margins, though they salvaged the last one on a walk-off — a 7-6 win in which they trailed by three in the sixth. Kelvin Hidaglo’s three-run homer sparked that comeback. The Indians sit in third place in the Northwest League second-half standings, just two games back of first place.
⬆️ Stock Up: Brito Finds His Footing
Roldy Brito (PuRP No. 11) was the Spokane hitter Eugene couldn’t solve, going 11-for-24 (.458) with two home runs, four doubles, and two stolen bases while playing all five games. His homer in the opener accounted for the Indians’ only run in a 13-1 loss, and he closed the series 4-for-5 with a homer, a double, and two RBIs in the walk-off win. Promoted from Fresno in July, Brito has needed a few weeks to settle in at High-A; this was the week he did.
Tommy Hopfe went 0-for-18 across all five games. The at-bats weren’t ugly — he struck out only once and drew a pair of walks — but nothing found grass, and the one run he drove in came on an out. Two series ago Hopfe hit 542 against Tri-City and appeared in this space for it; this was the mirror image, and it came in a week when Spokane needed anyone in the lineup to get hot.
Upcoming
The Indians head on the road to face the Everett Aqua-Sox (Seattle Mariners) in a six-game set.
Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (2-4, 59-49 Overall)
Fresno dropped four of six at home to Visalia (Arizona Diamondbacks), a club sitting 18 games under .500 and fell to fourth place in the California League second-half standings. The losses came in different flavors: a 10-9 defeat in 11 innings after leading by three in the eighth, a seven-run fourth inning on Friday, and a finale played in 109-degree heat. Wilder Dalis (PuRP No. 24) kept producing with six RBIs and two triples, and Ronny Ugarte hit .400 with his first Low-A home run.
⬆️ Stock Up: Arguelles Hasn’t Missed a Beat
Two weeks after finishing an Arizona Complex League title run, Cristian Arguelles (HM PuRP) is hitting .333 at Low-A. He collected 1o hits in 23 at-bats across all six games with a home run, two doubles, and two stolen bases, and his biggest swing came Thursday — a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, one half-inning after Visalia had taken the lead, in a game Fresno won by a run. Arguelles hit .402 in the ACL regular season before the promotion. The level changed; the production hasn’t.
Cristian Arguelles is going to be a household name among #Rockies fans sooner rather than later.
Landyn Vidourek went 1-for-18 with 10 strikeouts, the second series in which he has appeared in this space since his acquisition. Two weeks ago it was 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts, and the two stretches combine for 2-for-25 with 19 punch outs. The one silver lining last time — seven walks that kept him on base despite the empty batting line — didn’t carry over either; he drew a single walk this week. Derek Bernard is scuffling alongside him at 1-for-15, leaving Fresno with two regulars simultaneously unable to find a hit.
Upcoming
The Grizzlies head to northern California for a six-game series with the San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants)
DSL: DSL Colorado (3-1-1) & DSL Rockies (1-5)
The gap between the two Dominican Summer League affiliates widened. DSL Colorado won three, lost one, and tied one — a 4-4 game called with nobody out in the ninth — and moved to 32-16 atop the DSL Southeast, closing the week with a 14-5 rout built on a 10-run fourth and an 8-0 combined shutout in which six pitches held the Rangers Blue hitless with runners in scoring position. Nine different Colorado arms threw scoreless outings across the week. DSL Rockies lost five of six and fell to 19-29, though they did snap a seven-game skid on Friday behind Carlos Mota’s five-RBI afternoon — a win that also featured a triple play.
⬆️ Stock Up: Ferrufino Does the Most Damage
William Ferrufino turned 12 at-bats into four extra-base hits, going 5-for-12 (.417) with a home run, two triples, a stolen base, and a share of the team lead with six RBIs. His three-run homer was the biggest swing of the 10-run fourth inning that buried the Blue Jays Blue on Thursday, and he tripled and drove in another run during Saturday’s shutout. For a lineup with several hitters above .400 for the week, Ferrufino was the one doing damage in bulk.
⬆️ Stock Up: Ramirez Keeps Reaching
On a club that lost five of six and was shut out once, Ramirez reached base 14 times in six games. He hit .500 (7-for-14) with a home run, two doubles, and seven walks, scoring five runs and driving in four. Nobody else in the Rockies’ lineup hit better than .333 for the week, and only two others reached base more than five times.
Boston, MA - April 19: Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the sixth inning. The Red Sox played the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park on April 19, 2026. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
We talk a lot about the supposed value of GMs being able to hire their own manager. Neither Chaim Bloom, nor Craig Breslow got that opportunity, as Alex Cora was seemingly foisted upon both by ownership. And even as he’s fired Cora, Breslow still hasn’t really gotten that opportunity, as Chad Tracy predates his Red Sox tenure. So, is that why the interim tag hasn’t yet been removed from Tracy? “I think he’s been good for the team and a great manager so far. He’s been there for us,” said Ceddanne Rafaela. “He’s a great person; that’s first. I think he gave everybody the freedom to play the game and do what they needed to do. He cares about us and not just what we do on the field.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Meanwhile, Alex Cora is still working through the emotions of his firing, recently saying on a podcast that he has three different competing emotions about how it went down. “I’ll say it again, it’s three different feelings: happy for my family, upset that they didn’t let me finish the job and honestly, relieved I don’t have to go through scouting reports and the matrix and talk to the media twice a day and live in the bubble of, ‘We have to do this.” (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Regardless of what you think of either Tracy or Cora, in baseball no manager is successful without production from the players on the field. The Sox have gotten plenty of that from Wilyer Abreu this season, and he was just honored with his second American League Player of the Week award. (Aiden Stepansky, MLB.com)
But last week was last week. This week, the Red Sox find themselves on a three-game losing streak during which they haven’t hit a single home run. And last night’s loss featuring strong pitching but a languid lineup looked early similar to the way they were losing games at the beginning of the year. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
In that sense, Adley Rutschman is returning to action at the perfect time. “I miss playing,” Rutschman said. “I want to be out there, and to be able to go out and play baseball is such a blessing. And I think you realize that when you’re on the IL and you’re not able to play it. For me, it’s just excitement. This team’s rolling. This locker room, the guys are really tight, as you can tell. So I’m just excited to be a part of it.” (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
And hopefully Rutschman will be soon followed by Roman Anthony, who recently started hitting off a pitching machine. “All things are positive,” said Chad Tracy. “Let him keep taking steps, temper expectations until he crosses and checks all these boxes, then we’ll see when we can get him here.” (Daniel Yanofsky, NESN)
With over 40 games remaining in the MLB season, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the best years for Japanese-born hitters — and it’s being led by a pair of rookies.
USA TODAY analyzed home run data for Japanese-born players to uncover the single seasons with the most homers hit by such players.
Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox has hit 26 home runs in his first MLB season so far. That is tied for the ninth-best home run season by a Japanese-born player.
Fellow rookie Kazuma Okamoto of Toronto is two home runs back with 24. Both players have hit more homers than any other Japanese-born rookie, eclipsing the 22-homer season Shohei Ohtani had in 2018.
It’s also worth noting that Ohtani is at 26 homers, too, although he is well past being a rookie in his ninth MLB season.
Murakami is on pace to hit 40 home runs if he maintains his current pace and plays in all 45 of the White Sox’s remaining games. A 40-home run year would rank as the fifth-highest single-season total by a Japanese-born MLB player, behind four Ohtani seasons.
Okamoto, meanwhile, is on pace for 33, which would be near Ohtani’s 34-homer season in 2022.
Ohtani is between Murakami and Okamoto with a projected home run total of 36.
Should Murakami, Okamoto and Ohtani all hit 30-plus home runs, it’ll be the first season that three Japanese-born players have hit 30 or more home runs in a single MLB season.
Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki became the first pair to do so in the same season in 2025. Suzuki has 19 homers for the Chicago Cubs this season and is projected to finish with 27.
Aside from Ohtani and Suzuki, only one other Japanese player has hit more than 30 homers in a single season: Hideki Matsui, who hit 31 for the New York Yankees in 2004.
Methodology: Home run data from Stathead and Baseball-Reference. Ages are calculated as of June 30 for the given season. 2026 totals are through August 10. Projections use each player’s current home-run rate per game and assume he appears in every remaining team game.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 28: Chase Burns #26 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians during game one of a doubleheader at Great American Ball Park on July 28, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Reds fans and fans across the country.
The most recent start from Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns was a uniquely poor one. He yielded 5 ER and 6 H with a trio of walks in just 5.1 IP, exiting earlier than anyone would have liked in an eventual 8-2 loss to the Washington Nationals that may just have been the final nail in the coffin for the 2026 Reds club.
As you can see from the fine folks at FanGraphs, the average fastball velocities in his starts has also begun to decline over the course of the season, something that’s not at all uncommon for a young pitcher who’s being tasked with throwing more innings this year than he ever has before.
To date, Burns has fired 124.0 IP for the Reds, already topping the 109.1 IP he threw across all levels of professional ball last year. That in itself eclipsed the 100.0 IP mark he logged in his 2024 season with Wake Forest at the collegiate level, as Burns – who was oft-used as a reliever at Tennessee prior to transferring to Wake for his senior year – simply hasn’t ever had a huge workload put on his prized right arm.
The Reds, obviously, hope that changes over the course of the long-term contract Burns signed earlier this season. But in a year where they’re mired in last place and effectively out of a playoff spot, just how far should the Reds let him go in 2026?
Obviously, they don’t want to push him too far in a lost year. On the other hand, they want him to build up enough IP this year so that he can build on that mark next year, and cutting his 2026 season too short could end up with a ripple effect in 2027, too.
There’s also the issue with the Reds simply needing someone, anyone to soak up IP between now and the end of the year. Hunter Greene is hurt, again, and Nick Lodolo is only just now getting back (with a completely different grip on his breaking pitches).
What say you? At what innings threshold should the Reds look to limit their burgeoning ace this year?
The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, and the organization’s developmental model has begun to yield results, with 2023 first rounder Zach Benson making an impact in the playoffs, and 2024 top pick Konsta Helenius appearing as one of the AHL’s top prospects the last two seasons.
Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look at the club's top 40 prospects. These players are all 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and have played less than 82 NHL games.
Who had the best and worst offseason in the Atlantic Division?
28. Melvin Novotny - LW (Muskegon - USHL)
The Sabres had a trio of seventh-round picks in the 2025 NHL Draft, and with the first pick (195th overall) they selected left winger Melvin Novotny. The 19-year-old had a breakout season in the SHL junior system, scoring 38 points (12 goals, 26 assists) in 41 games for Leksands IF, and also played for Sweden at the World Junior under-18s.
Instead of following the usual path toward playing in the SHL, Novotny headed to North America to play with Muskegon in the USHL and is committed to playing for U.Mass (Amherst) in 2026. His season with the Lumberjacks was extremely encouraging, as the 6’1”, 185 lb. winger scored over a point-per-game (22 goals, 35 assists in 48 games)
Another positive sign was Novotny’s appearance for Sweden at the World Junior Summer Showcase in Windsor, ON last month. He played primarily fourth line duty throughout the tournament, but Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis indicated that he was one of Tre Kronor’s most noticeable forwards, showing flashes of skill and hockey IQ, and he believes he could put up great numbers in the NCAA.
Do you have an extra $2,000 lying around or burning a hole in your pocket?
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If you do and you want to enjoy either the Philadelphia 76ers or the New York Knicks, you will have to pay at least that much to get inside Madison Square Garden when those teams open the 2026-27 regular season.
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The NBA released part of its regular season schedule this week, and the world champion Knicks, featuring NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, will receive their championship rings and get a banner raised to the rafters of the "World's Most Famous Arena" when the visiting 76ers, featuring LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, come calling on Oct. 20.
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Despite the roster turnover, the 76ers are still salty after New York humiliated them on the way to a four-game series sweep in the second round on their way to breaking a 53-year-old championship drought.
According to TickPick, the get-in price for the season opener is currently at $1,999. For that price, you will get the privilege of sitting nowhere near Celebrity Row, but in Section 400, where you can squint your eyes to enjoy four quarters of basketball and, on your way out of the arena, you can look through the large windows to watch people file in and out of Penn Station. A few rows behind courtside, two tickets are listed at $166,109 each.
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By comparison, for New York's Game 3 of the NBA Finals at MSG against the San Antonio Spurs, tickets were hovering around $8,000 on the secondary market.
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At Vivid Seats, the price is just as steep, where sitting in the same section will set you back at least $2,092, and for the average price of a used car, you can sit where you can at least see the jersey numbers on the players.
