The Yankees are still figuring out their third base situation with Opening Day starter Ryan McMahon struggling mightily at the plate.

But until they do, McMahon will be riding the bench. 

Manager Aaron Boone's lineup in the team's series opener with the Royals has Amed Rosario starting at third. What makes that notable is that Michael Wacha, a right-hander, is on the mound for Kansas City.

Now, Wacha is a neutral right-hander in his career, but it shows how poorly McMahon has hit -- and conversely, how well Rosario has performed -- that Boone would rather have McMahon come off the bench.

Boone's decision is more about matchups over the next six games. After Wacha, the Royals will start two southpaws and the Red Sox series should feature two lefties as well.

"This is probably a stretch [where he won't start] and he's working on a lot of things behind the scenes that I actually feel like I'm seeing some progress on," Boone explained. "We need him and expect him to be a real factor for us, not just defensively but offensively as well, so with these next several matchups being a little more difficult, probably be a lot of Rosey in there. While McMahon continues to kind of work through it."

Boone didn't commit to Rosario starting all three games of the Royals series. The skipper revealed there will be lefties in the lineup against Cole Ragans on Sunday because of the reverse splits, but he hopes this stretch allows McMahon to continue to work behind the scenes. 

So what is McMahon working on?

"More, just kind of staying more square with his shoulders. He can kind of rotate that front side, which kind of gets him in and out of the zone a little bit, and I actually feel like he's making some progress on it. Again, he's really talented offensively. There's real juice in the bat. There's knowledge of the strike zone. Hopefully, we can get him to a better place ....we need his production, especially down at the bottom of the lineup."

So far this season, McMahon is 5-for-42 (all singles) with two RBI and eight walks. Rosario is 9-for-34 with a double, two home runs and six RBI. 

Going into the Mets’ matinee with the Cubs, things were bleak. The Mets lost eight straight, the bats were dead, and the starting pitching has been inconsistent.

Well, things got worse, and the Mets dropped their ninth straight, losing to the Cubs 12-4.

The Mets managed to make fairly good contact off of Cubs starter Edward Cabrera, but were only able to break through once. In the first, Francisco Lindor lined a double off of Pete Crow Armstrong’s glove, but he was stranded at second.

However, before the Mets came up to bat a second time, they were already deep in the hole. Kodai Senga walked the second batter of the game in Michael Busch, who was pushed to third on an Alex Bregman single. Senga struck out Ian Happ and looked close to getting out of the jam. However, a Seiya Suzuki single put the Cubs up 1-0. One batter later, Moisés Ballesteros hit a three run shot to left field, and the Mets were down four.

However, the Mets showed some fight in the second, when Francisco Alvarez and MJ Melendez each singled to start the frame. Marcus Semien then hit a sharp double to left, scoring Alvy. After a Brett Baty strikeout, Tyrone Taylor hit a two-run single, bringing the Mets within one.

However, the Cubs came roaring back in the bottom of the inning. With a walked Dansby Swanson on first, Nico Hoerner homered to left, the it was all of a sudden it was a three-run lead.

Senga made it to the fourth, effectively bettering his disastrous start against the Athletics, but was pulled after Swanson singled with one out. Huascar Brazobán was first out of the bullpen, and he induced fairly weak contact, but good speed (Hoerner) and bad defense (Brett Baty x2) led to an additional run.

If there is good news from the offensive side of this game, it is that the Mets were making solid contact all game, and would’ve had a couple extra singles if not for some very, very good defense. Bo Bichette in particular got good wood on the ball a few times, but it was hit in the wrong places. This is cold comfort, but it is better than the team looking totally listless.

Sean Manaea relieved Brazobán and looked good in the fifth and sixth innings, with Manaea’s diminished stuff looking fine. However, in the seventh, the wheels came off. This is exactly what happened after Happ flew out for the first out: Suzuki double, a Matt Shaw double (Suzuki scores), a Carson Kelly single, a Crow-Armstrong walk, a wild pitch to Swanson (Shaw scores), followed by a Swanson sac fly (Kelly scores), and Hoerner grounded out. It was 10-3 Chicago after seven.

In the eighth, Jacob “I hit Kevin Pillar in the face but I seem like a good dude” Webb relieved Riley Martin, and promptly gave up three hits. Lindor reached on an infield hit, Luis Robert Jr. lined a double down the left-field line, and Alvarez legged out a swinging bunt, allowing Lindor to score. After a MJ Melendez strikeout, Semien lofted a ball to left to load the bases for Mark Vientos. Vientos it a grounder to short, which was turned into a double play, and the threat was over.

Despite looking like cooked bread, Manaea returned for the eighth and gave up a two-run dinger to Happ to put the Cubs up by eight. The Mets went quietly in the top of the ninth, and the longest losing streak in 22 years continues.

Freddy Peralta will try to stop the skid tomorrow against Jameson Taillon at 2:20 EDT.

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Win Probability Added

What’s WPA?

Big Mets winner: LOL
Big Mets loser: Kodai Senga, -42.0% WPA
Mets pitchers: -46.0% WPA
Mets hitters: -4.0% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s RBI double, +10.1% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Moisês Ballesteros’s three-run home, -20.6% WPA

The Mets suffered their ninth straight loss, falling to the Cubs 12-4 on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

This is New York's longest losing streak since 2004.

Here are some takeaways...

- The Mets' offense finally counterpunched after falling behind early. Kodai Senga spotted the Cubs four runs in the first, but the shaken up lineup was able to string together some second inning hits and struck three times on a Marcus Semien double and Tyrone Taylor two-run single to close the gap. 

New York had scored three runs in their previous 39 innings before the big top of the second.  

- Unfortunately for the Mets, Senga didn't fare much better the rest of the way. The right-hander gave up a monstrous two-run shot after walking the No. 9 hitter in the bottom of the second, then was able to work out of a two-out jam in the third before being pulled with a man on in the fourth. 

Senga lasted just 3.1 innings this time out after going just 2.1 in his last outing. 

- Things went from bad to worse after Senga left as some shoddy Mets defense helped the Cubs load the bases against Huascar Brazoban. The big righty appeared to get out of the jam, but Brett Baty booted a routine grounder to first, bringing in Chicago's seventh run of the game. 

Senga's ERA is up to 8.83 after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks. 

- Sean Manaea put together two scoreless innings of work out the bullpen before running into trouble. The Cubs loaded the bases and tacked on three runs against him in the seventh, then Ian Happ crushed a 411 foot two-run homer to put the finishing touches on this one in the eighth.  

- While it was wasted by the poor pitching performance, the Mets' offense did finally enjoy a decent showing. They recorded the eight hardest-hit balls in the game and finished with a total of 14 hits, with nine different players recording one and five of them finishing with two. 

New York still couldn't come up with the big knock needed, though, finishing 4-for-11 with RISP. 

- Carson Benge put together a nice day in his first big-league appearance in the leadoff spot. The lefty-hitting rookie smacked a 105.2 mph lineout to left in his first at-bat, then laced a single up the middle in his second, giving him hits in three straight and six of his last seven games. 

Benge finished 1-for-4, and also made a diving catch in shallow right field. 

- MJ Melendez enjoyed his second straight good game after being called up from Syracuse. He's now 4-for-7 to start his Mets tenure after reaching in each of his first three plate appearances with a walk and two hard-hit singles, before striking out in the eighth.

- Francisco Alvarez reached three times with two hits and walk, bringing his OPS to .959 on the season. 

Game MVP: Nico Hoerner

Hoerner was tremendous on both sides of the ball, finishing with three hits and flashing the leather at second.

Highlights

MJ Melendez is 3-for-5 to start his Mets career pic.twitter.com/oycPIAJ2Qa

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

Marcus Semien is first-pitch swinging and drives an RBI double to get the Mets on the board pic.twitter.com/qikwbEUcij

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

Tyrone Taylor drives one off the wall to drive in a pair

He's out at second base after oversliding the bag pic.twitter.com/pQWF35cTty

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

MJ Melendez has reached base all three times today and is 4-for-6 to start his Mets tenure pic.twitter.com/HB7gWmOtMi

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 17, 2026

What's next

The Mets turn to Freddy Peralta looking to stop the skid against Jameson Taillon and the Cubs on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. on SNY.

Here are the lineups. For the Phillies:

For the Braves:

Let’s talk about it.

After getting banged up repeatedly in Thursday’s victory, utilityman Zach McKinstry has been placed on the 10-day injured list with left hip/abdominal inflammation. Infielder Hao-Yu Lee has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo to make his major league debut. He’ll wear number 50, and is batting eighth and playing third base on Friday night in Boston.

The Tigers acquired Lee from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen back in 2023. Currently ranked sixth on MLB Pipeline’s ranking of Tigers’ prospect, the right-handed hitting infielder has good power and hit 14 home runs while stealing 22 bases last year in his first full season at the Triple-A level. Lee has solid plate discipline and will take his walks and generally keeps his strikeouts under control. Now 23 years old, Lee was injured this spring with an oblique strain before he got a chance to play for his native Team Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic, and missed most of the rest of spring camp.

As a hitter, Lee likes to go the opposite way and tends to spray a good amount of line drives. He’s much better against left-handed pitching, and that might be the majority of his role in McKinstry’s stead. The main flaw at the plate for Lee is handling good breaking balls. He’s shown some modest signs of improvement in terms of laying off the breaking stuff, but he’ll certainly be tested in the major leagues. If he can take the junk without chasing too much and get himself some fastballs to hit he should do fine, and this will be a good experience for him to take back to Toledo to keep refining his game.

Lee can handle both second and third base, but is generally better at second, while third is still a position he’s learning. He’s an aggressive hard-nosed player all around, running the bases better than his size and speed might suggest, and generally grinding out at-bats.

Congratulations to Hao-Yu Lee on his major league debut.

Thursday was a good day for the San Francisco Giants, as they finally won a game. It wasn’t as good of a day for their Minor League Baseball affiliates, though, who we have grown accustomed to winning, winning, and winning some more this year. They did a little bit of that on Thursday, but there were more losses than usual as well. Still a fun day, so let’s dive on in.

Link to the 2026 McCovey Chronicles Community Prospect List (CPL)

All listed positions in the roundup are the position played in that particular game.

News

A few big pieces of news. Most notably, RHP Reid Worley (No. 36 CPL) appeared to announce on his social media that he recently underwent Tommy John surgery. Shoutout to Twitter user @porkblds for catching this.

Worley was the Giants 9th-round pick in July, and signed well overslot, for a signing bonus commensurate with a late 3rd-round pick, as they bought the high schooler out of his commitment to Kennesaw State. He has some outrageous spin metrics, but for now, the focus is simply on getting back on the mound. It’s a long process, and hopefully one that doesn’t take too much of a mental toll on the youngster.

In milder injury news, Jesús Cano reports that shortstop Josuar González (No. 2 CPL) left an extended Spring Training game after falling over while running the basepaths. Cano listed the removal as “precautionary,” but noted that González was feeling some pain.

As long as we’re talking about injuries, AA Richmond second baseman Dayson Croes was placed on the Injured List. Roger Munter had reported that Croes left Wednesday’s game after a collision on the basepaths, while playing defense, and was holding his ankle. He’s replaced on Richmond’s roster by RHP Brad Deppermann, who was activated off the Development List. Deppermann, who is about to turn 30, signed with the Giants as a Minor League free agent this winter.

In happier news, Cano reports that third baseman Parks Harber (No. 17 CPL) is rehabbing in extended, and hit a home run. That means Harber should be back to affiliated ball shortly, and he’ll be ticketed for AA, though the Giants may have him rehab at a few lower levels first.

AAA Sacramento (10-6)

Sacramento River Cats lost a 7-inning doubleheader to the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners) 3-1 and 8-1
Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score

A very offensively-challenged pair of games for the River Cats, especially in the opener when they were held to just 1 hit. That came on a double by second baseman Nate Furman (No. 39 CPL), who hit 3-7 with 2 doubles and 1 strikeout over the pair of games, which accounted for 100% of Sacramento’s extra-base hits. Given that Furman is a fairly light-hitting lefty, and that the Pacific Coast League is where offense normally goes to blossom, I’d say this is probably the only time this year that Furman will have all of the team’s extra-base knocks over a 2-game stretch. But Furman has been awesome this year, posting a 1.012 OPS and a 182 wRC+ in his debut pass through AAA. The Giants are clearly high on Furman — they gave him a camp invite and a AAA assignment despite just 22 games in AA — and he’s certainly rewarding that faith.

No one had a horrible weekend offensively but, other than Furman there weren’t any standouts, either. So let’s just look at the players on the 40-man roster: first baseman Bryce Eldridge (No. 1 CPL) hit 2-7 with a strikeout, and has a 1.006 OPS and a 176 wRC+; catcher/designated hitter Jesús Rodríguez (No. 16 CPL) went 2-5 with a walk, a sac fly, a strikeout, and 2 errors, moving his OPS to .926 and his wRC+ to 146; and center fielder Grant McCray hit 1-5 with a walk and 3 strikeouts, as he now has a .588 OPS and an 81 wRC+.

The starting pitching was a tale of 2 pitchers in similar situations who had very dissimilar outings. RHP Carson Seymour kicked off the doubleheader and had a so-so game. Seymour pitched 5 innings, which is the longest start that a Sacramento pitcher has had this year and, impressively, didn’t allow a single walk. But he did get hit fairly hard, with 7 hits (which included a home run and 2 doubles), as well as 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. Seymour also hit a batter and, despite the absence of walks, didn’t have a stellar strike-throwing game, with 47 of 73 pitches for strikes, though he did strike out 5 hitters.

While Seymour hasn’t shown off the strikeout stuff we’ve sometimes seen from him in the past, he has done a good job holding batters in check … this was his 4th game of the year, and those were the 1st runs he’s allowed, while his WHIP sits at just 0.83, to go with a 1.15 ERA and a 3.66 FIP. It’s been assumed that LHP Carson Whisenhunt (No. 8 CPL) would be next in line if the Giants need help in the rotation, but I kind of wonder if Seymour might actually be ahead of Whisenhunt due to the vastly better walk numbers. Seymour has just 3 walks in 15.2 innings, while Whisenhunt (who has a 4.11 ERA and a 3.14 FIP) has given up 11 in 15.1 innings (and his WHIP of 1.76 is more than double Seymour’s).

The Game 2 starter was RHP Trevor McDonald (No. 12 CPL) and he had, yet again, a brutal outing. McDonald only gave up 3 hits in 3 innings, but absolutely could not find the strike zone. He managed to throw just 28 strikes out of his 62 pitches, which led to a whopping 7 walks and 4 runs, against just 2 strikeouts. It’s been an absolutely brutal start to the year for McDonald, who has struggled in all 4 of his starts, and has gotten progressively worse in each one. He now has 13 walks — plus 2 hit batters — in just 10 innings this year, and is rocking an 8.10 ERA and a 6.30 FIP. Add in his awful final few spring outings, and he’s quickly gone from looking like he might make the Opening Day roster to being at the very back of the depth chart.

There were a trio of encouraging relief appearances, including from the pair of relievers on the 40-man roster who pitched: RHP Spencer Bivens hit a batter but didn’t allow any hits or walks, while striking out 1 in an inning of work, while RHP Dylan Smith issued a walk in a no-hit inning, with a strikeout. LHP Juan Sánchez (No. 41 CPL) entered at the end of Game 2 to an ugly situation, with runners at the corners and just 1 out, and struck out both batters he faced, stranding the runners. Sánchez now has 7 strikeouts in 3.2 innings and a 0.00 ERA, though he’s walked 4 batters.

AA Richmond (10-2)

Richmond Flying Squirrels lost to the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) 6-5
Box score

Richmond’s magical 10-game winning streak finally came to a close, though only barely. The Squirrels trailed 6-2 entering the 8th inning, and gave it a hell of a run as they tried to tie the game.

That rally included a pair of runs in the 8th inning, which came off of a truly majestic swing of the bat, as center fielder Bo Davidson (No. 4 CPL) launched one deep, deep, deep into the night sky.

Per the great Trey Wilson, who is Richmond’s broadcaster and head of communications, people in Hartford were saying that they’d never seen a ball hit to that part of the stadium before. Which points to just how special Davidson’s power is, and makes it all the more impressive that he displays it while also playing a strong center field (though he had his 1st error of the season in this game).

Davidson finished the day 2-5 and earned a share of the organization’s home run lead, and now has an .889 OPS and a 109 wRC+ (might be the first time I’ve ever seen an OPS that high and a wRC+ that low in the Eastern League, where the average OPS usually starts with a 6). There’s still a bit for Davidson to work on in AA — namely his 5.3% walk rate and 26.3% strikeout rate — but the Giants have to be thrilled with the way the 23-year old has started the season. It’s always exciting when someone looks to build on a breakout, rather than regress from it.

Catcher Adrián Sugastey also went deep, hitting 2-4 with a solo blast and a strikeout.

Sugastey is on the weak end of a catcher platoon, after getting surpassed on the depth chart by Drew Cavanaugh (No. 19 CPL). He’s back in Richmond for a 3rd season, and while the offensive numbers aren’t very good — .701 OPS, 74 wRC+ — they certainly look better than they did before that game! He’s still just 23 years old with very, very strong defensive chops, so he’s a valuable part of the depth behind the dish.

Also a really nice game for shortstop Aeverson Arteaga, who continues to put his awful 2025 behind him. Arteaga hit 2-3 in this game, while also drawing a walk and hitting a sacrifice fly, and striking out once. Like Sugastey, Arteaga — also a 23-year old with strong defense — has seen his prospect shine decline as he’s been replaced on the depth chart by someone the Giants like more (in Arteaga’s case, Maui Ahuna [No. 33 CPL]).

Last year, in Arteaga’s return from injury, he hit a lowly .189, had just a .508 OPS and a 49 wRC+, and struck out 26.2% of the time. This year he’s nearly doubled his batting average to .353, has an .831 OPS and a 137 wRC+, and is only striking out 17.4% of the time. That said, it’s a sample size of just 23 plate appearances … but still. Arteaga didn’t have a single 23-PA sample last year that was good, so this is nice to see.

Speaking of offensive resurgences, right fielder Jonah Cox hit 1-2 and drew 3 walks. After posting a .731 OPS and a 103 wRC+ in High-A Eugene last year, Cox has a mesmerizing .921 OPS and 146 wRC+ in Richmond, with 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts. He’s done a fantastic job cutting back on strikeouts since joining the organization in the Ross Stripling trade 2 years ago, and his outfield defense is still among the best in the organization, even if he rarely plays center these days due to prioritizing Davidson’s development.

LHP Joe Whitman (No. 26 CPL) got the start, and he had an extremely Joe Whitman start, which is to say it wasn’t good but there was also a lot to like. Most notably, Whitman struck out 7 batters in just 5 innings, while throwing 50 of 77 pitches for strikes. He challenged hitters all day long, giving up just 1 walk (though he also hit a batter).

On the less happy side, Whitman’s 4 hits allowed — which included a home run — tagged him for 4 earned runs, running his ERA up to 6.49 (though his FIP is once again lagging well behind, at a still-not-that-good 4.19).

There are some really encouraging signs for Whitman, who was a compensation round selection in 2023, and is repeating AA. Through a trio of starts this year, he’s really improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio … a year after having 9.5 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per 9 innings, Whitman has pushed those numbers in opposite directions, with 12.5 strikeouts and just 2.0 walks per 9. That’s great. Unfortunately, the issue that has plagued him — giving up hits, and loud ones in particular — continues to do so. Through 13.2 innings he’s ceded 13 hits, 5 of which have gone for extra bases, including 2 that have cleared the fence. There’s work to do, but there’s also work being done, it seems!

High-A Eugene (10-2)

Eugene Emeralds beat the Everett AquaSox (Mariners) 3-0
Box score

Just like the Giants, the Emeralds won 3-0 on Thursday. Keep them coming, I say.

When you win a shutout, it’s a sign of a battery performing well. But that understates just how strong Eugene’s battery was. Because not only did catcher Onil Perez help direct a 2-hitter, but he also provided the only 2 hits of the game for the Emeralds, as well! Hard to carry a team much more than catching a shutout on one end and having 100% of the hits on the other.

But that’s what Perez did, going 2-2 on a day when his teammates combined to hit 0-24. But Perez did more than just slap hits, as he smashed a solo home run in the 5th inning, while also drawing a walk and stealing a base. What a day!

Like Sugastey in AA, Perez was once one of the top backstop prospects in the organization, and has since been passed on the depth chart. Despite posting a 122 wRC+ for Eugene last year, the now-23 year old is back in High-A for a 3rd stint, as the team prioritizes Sugastey and Cavanaugh in Richmond. Perez has mostly been the second fiddle to Diego Cartaya in Eugene, though Cartaya’s recent injury — which hopefully is minor — opens the door a bit there.

On Thursday, at least, he ran with it, boosting his OPS to .761 and his wRC+ to 93, while nabbing his 1st stolen base of the year (Perez stole 23 bases in 2023 and 20 in 2024, but just 9 last year). Here’s to more days like that!

As for the players that Perez caught, it was a dynamic game for the starter, RHP Niko Mazza. As has been a theme a bit lately for the Giants prospects, Mazza was effectively wild, as he only threw 42 of 75 pitches for strikes, while walking 2 batters in 4 innings, and hitting another. But he gave up just 1 hit on the day — a single — and he struck out 7 batters. He didn’t give the Everrett batters anything to hit, and more often than not they futilely tried anyway.

It’s still too early to develop strong trend lines, but so far we’re really seeing an uptick in strikeout stuff across the organization. That’s been extremely true for Mazza, an 8th round pick in 2024. The recently-turned 24-year old struck out just 8.7 batters per 9 innings in his debut season with Low-A San Jose last year, but is up to a staggering 14.5 through 3 starts in High-A. But again, it’s a very small sample size — he’s thrown just 9.2 innings — and unfortunately the walks have accompanied the strikeouts.

RHP Cade Vernon, taken 2 rounds after Mazza, had his 2nd straight great outing, with a single being the only baserunner he allowed in 3 innings, while striking out a pair. In his 1st 2 games of the year, Vernon allowed 5 hits, 4 walks, and 4 runs in just 3.1 innings … but in 2 games since, has ceded just 1 hit and 0 walks in 5.2 scoreless frames.

And finally, it was RHP Liam Simon, who again struggled with command but did have his best game of the year. Simon threw just 19 of 39 pitches for strikes — which, admittedly, is a huge improvement — while tossing 2 no-hit innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Simon has turned into an extreme all-or-nothing player as he looks to find his command following a string of severe injuries. Through 4 innings he’s faced 31 batters, and only 12 of those 31 have put the ball in play, as he has 9 walks, 2 hit batters, and 8 strikeouts.

Low-A San Jose (9-3)

San Jose Giants beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Angels) 13-3
Box score

You want evidence of an offense that’s rolling? The Baby Giants have played 12 games this year, and they’ve scored double digits in 5 of those games. If you remove the pair of 7-inning doubleheaders, San Jose is hitting 10 runs or more in half of their full games. Remarkable!

And they did it Thursday the way they’ve been doing it: with a lot of hits, a lot of extra-base hits, and a lot of home runs. Specifically, with 15 hits, 10 extra-base knocks, and 4 big flies.

On Wednesday, right fielder Cam Maldonado (No. 34 CPL) hit a home run, his 1st extra-base hit of the season. Here’s what I wrote in yesterday’s roundup:

Maldonado isn’t a huge power guy, but he’s not a stranger to power, either. Not to have a beloved former prospect catch a stray, but he’s no Wade Meckler. You can expect him to hit a few homers here and there. But his real calling card is his all-around game

Apparently Maldonado took great offense to that characterization, because last year’s 7th-round pick exploded on Thursday, hitting 3-5 with not1, but 2 more home runs, and also a double, with 3 total runs knocked in and 1 strikeout. That’ll teach me!

And with that, the right-handed hitter now has an .861 OPS and a 116 wRC+, and suddenly his debut full season is going quite swimmingly indeed.

Also in that article, I wrote the following about shortstop Jhonny Level (No. 3 CPL):

Level will probably not continue having 1+ extra-base hits per game, which is what he currently has

And apparently he took offense to that characterization as well, because the switch-hitter, playing designated hitter in this game, went 2-6 with both of his hits being doubles, while recording 1 RBI and 1 strikeout.

Through 9 games, the recently-turned 19-year old has a whopping 8 doubles, to go along with 3 home runs, and he looks oh-so-comfortable on both sides of the plate. Level is significantly more than 2 years younger than the average Cal League hitter, yet currently has a 1.327 OPS and a 219 wRC+. If you’re new to stats, those ones are really, really, really, really good.

A pair of late-rounders left the yard as well, as left fielder Damian Bravo and first baseman Jeremiah Jenkins both hit solo shots. Bravo finished 2-5 and also added a double and 2 strikeouts, as he cleared the fences for the 2nd day in a row. The 15th-round pick in July started the year 5-30 with 1 home run and no doubles, and in 4 games since then has hit 6-20 with 2 homers and 3 doubles. Sometimes you just need a week to settle in!

Jenkins, on the other hand, hit 2-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts, as the strong season continues for the 2024 14th-round pick. After hitting below league average in the Cal League last year, the lefty is mashing to the tune of a 1.221 OPS and a 192 wRC+, though he does have a 32.4% strikeout rate. A year ago, Jenkins had 4 home runs in 50 games with San Jose; this year, he has 3 in just 8 games.

So many hot performances have forced some players to fly under the radar, which is the case with second baseman Isaiah Barkett, last year’s 10th-round selection out of Stetson. The 22-year old righty has been hitting and hitting and hitting some more, and Thursday he went 2-4 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout, raising his OPS to 1.158 and his wRC+ to 184. This is his debut season, and he’s started it with an 8-game hitting streak! That’s quite an introduction!

The pitching was good, with the stars coming in relief. RHP Ubert Mejias, in particular, had a standout day, as he recorded 5 outs, 4 of which came by strikes (though he did allow a hit and a walk in his 1.2 shutout innings). The Cuban has a 1.29 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 7 innings, though he’s also issued 4 walks, and is 25 years old. RHP Garrett Langrell, a 24-year old taken in the 16th round in July, hit a batter in a no-hit, no-walk inning, with 1 strikeout. After ceding 2 runs in his professional debut, Langrell has pitched 3 consecutive scoreless outings, and has 8 strikeouts against just 1 walk in 5 innings this year.

The starter was LHP Jordan Gottesman, last year’s 6th-round selection, and he struggled quite a bit, throwing just 44 of 77 pitches for strikes, while walking 3 batters in 4 innings, and hitting another. The Northeastern southpaw gave up just 3 hits in those 4 innings, but 2 of those hits were home runs, which tagged him for 3 earned runs. He did strike out 5 batters, though. Gottesman is only 3 starts into his career, but he’s showing a lot of electricity, while also showing a good amount of things that he still needs to work on. That’s what the Minors are for!

Home run tracker

4 — Bo Davidson — [AA]
3 — Cam Maldonado x2 — [Low-A]
3 — Jeremiah Jenkins — [Low-A]
3 — Damian Bravo — [Low-A]
2 — Onil Perez — [High-A]
1 — Adrián Sugastey — [AA]

Friday schedule

Sacramento: 7:05 p.m. PT at Tacoma (SP: Seth Lonsway)
Richmond: 4:10 p.m. PT at Hartford (SP: Trystan Vrieling)
Eugene: 6:35 p.m. PT vs. Everett (SP: Hunter Dryden)
San Jose: 6:30 p.m. PT at Rancho Cucamonga (SP: Argenis Cayama)

Reminder that almost all MiLB games can be watched on MLB TV.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Chip23 asks: Is George Lombard Jr. the Yankees’ starting third baseman by the middle of July?

Lombard is certainly carving up minor league pitching down in Double-A right now, fueling hope that he’ll make the jump from top prospect to an impact bat in the lineup this year. Of course, we’re very early in the MiLB season and Lombard has only played 10 games and they’ve been played two levels away from the majors — important things to note.

Last year, Lombard started off on a similar hot streak and earned a promotion from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A after posting a .329/.495/.488 triple-slash in 24 games, a breakout performance after a down 2024 season that saw him never really figure things out at the plate. However, that step up in competition caused Lombard to struggle again once he started facing Double-A pitchers, as he posted a .695 OPS the rest of the way, nearly 200 points lower than his initial surge. The Yankees would have to see enough out of this start to give him the green light up to Scranton first, a promotion that is probably a good couple of weeks away if he comes close to maintaining the elite 1.186 OPS he currently has, and then also monitor how he handles the jump before making any kind of considerations on how he could impact the big league club.

It’s not out of the question that Lombard could make that happen — the talent is there and is being recognized by plenty of scouts now, as he’s been a fast riser in top 100 lists. The bigger question is how fast and loose will the Yankees play with their best prospect, especially given how they handled the last middle infielder to come up as their top prospect. Anthony Volpe’s development is surely a parallel they’re hoping to avoid — Volpe wowed the crowd in 2021, produced a very solid 2022 that got him a cup of coffee in Triple-A and then went straight to the big leagues with little time to ensure his bat was ready, to underwhelming results offensively thus far. The team is under pressure to compete this year, and they have a glaring need in their infield right now, but patience may outweigh everything else with Lombard’s ETA to try and ensure he can succeed as both an elite defender and hitter. Lombard’s currently covering third base down in Somerset with Volpe rehabbing there, and we may be getting a preview of the Yankee infield down the line, but a lot still has to go right for that to be the infield in 2026.

MSP Giant asks:He may walk a lot but he sure ain’t hitting. What if Grisham reverts to his pre 2025 play and is again, best off the bench. Then what?

Grisham got his get-right game on Monday against the Angels, pinch-hitting for Randal Grichuk and proceeding to go 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs including a two-run shot to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Or at least, it would’ve been nice if that breakout performance was his get-right game, because in reality he followed that up with an 0-for-4 night with three strikeouts, getting just a two-run single in the second inning of Wednesday’s win before going 0-for again on Thursday. The results haven’t been there for Grisham, but out of all of the hitters pulling down the lineup, there’s the most to be optimistic with the Yankee center fielder.

Despite posting a paltry .155 batting average, the contact that Grisham is generating has been very good. He’s in the 94th percentile for hard hit percentage at 55.6 and his average exit velocity of 90.9 mph is good for the 71st percentile. His Statcast page doesn’t quite read as unlucky as Ben Rice was looking last year, but it looks clear that the process has been good for Grisham and that he’s just not finding the outfield grass as much as he should be. Couple that with the elite eye for strikes that he’s shown, and there’s good reason that he’s still regularly been the leadoff hitter for New York.

The idiot that said, “Harper is coming” asks:I’m sorry, I have to say this. It is managerial malpractice that Ben Rice, who currently ranks fourth in MLB in batting Average, first in OBP, and first in SLG% ranks 140th in plate appearances. FIVE Yankees have more plate appearances than he does right now. A healthy Ben Rice needs to be in the lineup EVERY single day.

I get the frustration with not seeing Rice in the lineup, and share the sentiment in wanting the team’s best hitter to this point to get in the game as much as possible. Whether or not there’s a platoon being deployed with him and Paul Goldschmidt has been the biggest gripe fans have had with Aaron Boone’s management of the team this year, and you could argue that he’s sat a game or two more than is necessary, but they’re also making sure that their star in the making is going to ramp up to a full season of work and be in it for the long haul. The PSA editors (myself, Jake Devin, and Andrew Mearns) discussed Rice’s torrid start and the conversation around his starts recently, and as Jake noted, Rice is on pace to play in about 150 games and earn 620 plate appearances anyway despite the occasional spot on the bench. That’d also be the most he’s ever played in a single season, and as Andrew pointed out, Rice hasn’t had that full-year volume of games played due to having built-in days off as a catcher and having his college games cut down due to COVID.

Ultimately, I’d like to see the Yankees utilize that catcher flexibility a bit and get him behind the plate occasionally (especially with J.C. Escarra not providing much), and that would help bridge the gap between playing Goldschmidt the proper amount while also getting Rice his at-bats, but I’m not as compelled to raise the alarm over him sitting the occasional game as most are. He’ll get into plenty of games, and as the season goes on I imagine the Yankees will be sitting him less and less whether that’s due to him being built up and ready to roll through longer stretches without off-days or injuries to the rest of the roster forcing him into action elsewhere.

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The New York Yankees aren’t looking much like a World Series contender this month, but they’ll have a chance to get back on track tonight at home to the Kansas City Royals.

Though New York spiraled to a heavy loss yesterday with Max Fried on the mound, my Royals vs. Yankees predictions buy into the hosts’ current No. 2 ace and signal a bounce-back effort here.

Get the lowdown on this April 17 matchup with my free MLB picks.

Who will win Royals vs Yankees tonight: Yankees moneyline (-173)

With eight straight wins over the Kansas City Royals, it’s fair to say the New York Yankees have their number. So I’m brushing aside the Bronx Bombers’ 3-7 mark across their past 10 contests, partly because Kansas City has the exact same record in that span.

As well as Michael Wacha has pitched this year, including a 0.43 ERA, the New York lineup has plenty of prior at-bats to lean on against the veteran righty.

In contrast, none of the Royals’ hitters have faced Cam Schlittler before, and the Yankees phenom has racked up 7+ strikeouts in each of his four outings this season.

COVERS INTEL:The underwhelming Kansas City offense has scored two runs or fewer in seven of its last 10 games and ranks in the bottom five in runs, hits, SLG and OPS.

Royals vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Under 8 (-115)

With both of tonight’s starters in a nice rhythm, I’m sticking with the trends that point to the Under, which is 7-2 in the last nine meetings between these teams – and 4-0 in the past four matchups at Yankee Stadium.

The Royals are giving their pitchers minimal run support. They’re averaging just 3.42 RPG, and all three of Wacha’s outings this season have fallen short of this 8.0 O/U mark.

Meanwhile, for all the unquestionable offensive firepower that Aaron Judge and Co. bring to the party, the hosts have only posted a .214 batting average, the fourth-lowest in the majors.

Royals vs Yankees odds

• Moneyline: Kansas City +152 | New York -180
• Run line: Kansas City +1.5 (-146) | New York -1.5 (+122)
• Over/Under: Over 8 (-102) | Under 8 (-120)

Royals vs Yankees trend

The Under is 7-3 in the Royals’ last 10 games. Find more MLB betting trends for Royals vs. Yankees.

How to watch Royals vs Yankees and game info

Royals vs Yankees latest injuries

Royals vs Yankees weather

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