The Cincinnati Reds clearly began to put an emphasis on defense at some point over the last year. It was the driving reason behind their acquisition of 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh at last season’s trade deadline, a move that locked them into a glove-first (if not glove-only) player for a handful of guaranteed years into the future.

Of the 116 MLB players who have logged at least 650 PA since the start of the 2025 season, none have a lower total wRC+ than Hayes’ 55. However, his DEF – per FanGraphs – has been the 6th best in the time, and clearly the team feels that what he provides at the hot corner with the glove is enough to offset his bat (for the time being).

Chalking up a position like 3B to being glove-only is rare in this day and age, as that has typically been reserved for players who also carry a pretty potent bat. It helps that Cincinnati sports Elly De La Cruz right next to him at short, since the combined output of those two positions wouldn’t totally make you blink if, say, you were getting Elly’s production out of 3B and Hayes’ out of SS.

Things get complicated when you begin to realize that the Reds don’t just have one infield position being chalked up to being glove-only, but they’ve had two – and had it that way for quite awhile now.

If we circle back to that list of 116 MLB players who have logged at least 650 PA since the start of 2025 – the one where Hayes ranks at the bottom on the wRC+ leaderboard – you’ll find Matt McLain ranking as the second worst by that metric. He owns a 76 wRC+ over that time (in a larger 720 PA sample), and while that’s still light years better than the 55 of Hayes, it’s an unavoidable fact that the Reds are now rolling out just about every single day the two lightest-hitting regulars in all of baseball together.

There are parallels between the two beyond that. Back in 2023, Hayes had seemingly cemented himself as a 3+ WAR per season regular after hitting .271/.309/.453 with 15 homers for the Pirates, good for a 101 wRC+ that more than complemented his elite defense. McLain, meanwhile, broke into the big leagues that year in a huge way with a .290/.357/.507 line in 403 PA that had FanGraphs value him at an identical 3.2 fWAR to that of Hayes that season.

Both, though, have hit significant hiccups since. Hayes has dealt with a back issue off and on that’s cost him time, and McLain famously lost his entire 2024 campaign after oblique and shoulder problems. So, ever since those duel 2023 breakouts, the two have looked like complete shells of themselves.

FanGraphs has at least loved McLain’s defense enough this season to value him at just 0.0 fWAR despite a 71 wRC+, one that has featured one game in which he hit 2 homers and 33 others in which he’s hit zero. He’s mired in a 3 for 31 slump since that game towards the end of April, and his collective work has Baseball Reference valuing his 2026 season a -0.5 bWAR so far.

McLain will turn 27 this summer, so it’s not as if he’s still got a ton of ‘maturing’ left to do. The question, as it was last year, is just how long it will take him to find his 2023 form again after major shoulder surgery, and the timetable to find out whether that’s a reality is beginning to extend a lot further than I think a lot of us imagined it would. In the meantime, we’re also now getting a glimpse at what prospect Edwin Arroyo can do two years removed from his own similar shoulder surgery, and the former consensus Top 100 overall middle infielder is off to a roaring .305/.386/.489 start in 160 PA with AAA Louisville in his age-22 season.

It’s not yet time to pull the plug on McLain completely. His glovework provides legit big league value at both 2B and SS, and those don’t grow on trees. But as he inches closer to both being 27 years old and to his first trip through the arbitration process, the clock is certainly ticking on just how much longer the Reds can wait to find out if he can truly be a co-star on this team as they try like heck to establish a recurring winner.

“I think we have the best talent in all of Minor League baseball”. That is what Nationals 11th round pick Jack Moroknek said about the Low-A Fredericksburg Nationals team he plays on. That is not much of an exaggeration either, with MLB.comranking them as the 5th most stacked roster in the minors. I got to see this group live and in the flesh yesterday, and they did not let me down.

Fredericksburg is your classic minor league town. As I entered the town with my dad, we passed a duck crossing sign and a plethora of fast casual food options. Before the game began, we were serenaded by the Garrison Elementary choir, who delivered a cute, but excellent rendition of the National Anthem. I got to see minor league baseball at its finest.

As much as I was charmed by the pageantry, I was here to see a ball game. While prized prospects Gavin Fien and Coy James were not playing, due to injury and an off day, I still got to see plenty of talent. The Fred Nats top three hitters were first overall pick Eli Willits, top 10 prospect in the system Luke Dickerson, and MacKenzie Gore trade piece Yeremy Cabrera. Those three players combined to get on base 8 times in this game. 

Eli Willits was the main attraction though, and seeing him live and in the flesh was quite the experience. He is such a well rounded player, with hitting skills, outstanding defense and insanely aggressive base running. Willits got a base hit on the first pitch he saw yesterday afternoon, and finished the game with two hits, a walk and two stolen bases.

Jack Moroknek raved about Willits when I asked about him. He said that Willits is “35 in an 18 year old’s body. He is the most mature 18 year old I have ever met”. You can see that maturity on the field, with Willits playing shortstop at a big league level already on the defensive end.

Willits is just such a smooth player, and you could tell who the former first overall pick was pretty easily. Once he gets to the big leagues, fans are going to have so much fun watching Willits in the field and on the bases. He already has 21 stolen bases on the season, and is an absolute mad man when he reaches first base. Eventually, he may need to be tamed a little bit on the bases, but for now, his all out aggression is super exciting.

The fun thing about A ball is that you have elite prospects like Willits, but you also have lesser known guys chasing their dreams like Moroknek and Juan Cruz. Moroknek told me that, “I never thought baseball was going to be my job, so every day is a dream for me”. 

While Moroknek acknowledged the velocity is different in pro ball compared to what he saw in college at Butler, he has adapted well. He has a .344 average and an OPS over 1.000. The 22 year old also had a 16 game hitting streak that was recently snapped, though he did say plenty of those hits came on “broken bat flub shots”.

Like Moroknek, Juan Cruz was also a small school guy, going to Alabama State University. He had an offer in the transfer portal to go play at Georgia, but when the Nats drafted him in the 20th round, he could not pass up the opportunity. Cruz told me he decided to sign because “it is every kid’s dream to play professional baseball”.

Cruz and Moroknek are two underdogs just following their dreams, while Eli Willits is the son of a big leaguer who is a former first overall pick. The great thing about minor league baseball is that these guys become brothers as they play six days a week, and ride the bus to small towns across Virginia and North Carolina.

Minor league baseball is so much fun, and it is not just because of the big name prospects. Players like Cruz and Moroknek who are the lifeblood of the system. It will be an uphill climb for these guys to make the big leagues, but the great thing about baseball is that it is possible. Baseball is a true meritocracy, and if these guys put up numbers as they climb through the system, they will make the big leagues eventually.

Back to the prospect side of things though, another player who really stood out yesterday was Yeremy Cabrera. At one point, Cabrera was an underdog just like Cruz and Moroknek. He signed for only $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic. Cabrera managed to turn himself into a real prospect in the Rangers system. This winter, he was traded to the Nationals as part of the MacKenzie Gore deal.

Last year, Cabrera played for the same Hickory Crawdads team he was facing yesterday. He put up solid numbers, but the Nats wanted him to repeat the level. Based on what he has done this season, a promotion should be on the way. Cabrera went 3-5 with a homer and a double yesterday. He is now hitting .297 with a 1.022 OPS at just 20 years old. 

If you want to see this Fred Nats team, which is 19-8 to start the season, you should come down soon. Before too long, players like Willits, Cabrera and maybe even Moroknek will be promoted to High-A Wilmington with how they are performing. Minor League games are always fun, but they are even better when you get to see high end prospects like the Fred Nats have.

Even with a couple absences, this Fred Nats lineup was absolutely stacked. They set the tone in the first inning, with four runs against Hickory. It was a nice and easy win for the Fred Nats, who cruised to a 9-1 victory.

I did not get to see Miguel Sime Jr., or Landon Harmon, the Fred Nats top two arms, but the pitching was solid. Grant Manning, a minor league free agent signing, impressed me, striking out four in three scoreless innings.

As I was talking to Jack Moroknek in a little tunnel down the left field line, I could not help but compare the Fred Nats locker room I was looking at to the Nats locker room. Obviously, things are much more glamorous in the big leagues. However, these guys are not here for glamor, they are here to grind and play ball. As Jack Moroknek told me, “The grind is fun. With the group of guys we have, it does not make it seem like a grind for me”.

This time a week ago, it felt like the Orioles were treading water and that as long as they could continue doing that, they might avoid a disastrous outcome to the season. It’s harder now to feel like the Orioles are staying afloat after what we’ve watched over the first three games of this series against the Yankees. Problems that feel like they don’t have immediate solutions have been exposed and the team is going to have to contend with those or it will once again sink.

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I’m thinking about a number of the assumptions that Mike Elias made in assembling the roster this way and how they have or mostly haven’t worked out so far this season. Some things aren’t fair to blame on Elias, like Zach Eflin needing Tommy John surgery after one start. That’s just plain bad luck. Other things are the direct result of decisions that he has made where there were alternatives available to him.

There are seven big areas that are looking like bad bets right now, starting with “A top of the rotation of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, and Shane Baz will be competitive” and going down through, “The defense will be fine enough when considering the offense that comes with it.” The team is not yet in the same kind of free fall that they went into a year ago, but if you’re feeling like they’re right at the start of one, that’s probably because it’s hard to picture short-term solutions to some of these problems. It’s rough.

Check out the episode here:

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How are you feeling about the way things are going so far? Answers could make it into the mailbag section of the next episode of the podcast.

Recaps

[AZ Central] Starting pitching tanks again, Diamondbacks swept by the Chicago Cubs – Right-hander Merrill Kelly was hit hard for the third consecutive start, allowing six runs in 4 1/3 innings, and the Diamondbacks lost, 8-4, to the Chicago Cubs, who completed a three-game sweep on Sunday, May 3, at Wrigley Field. The loss wrapped up a miserable 2-6 road trip for the Diamondbacks, who split two games against the San Diego Padres in Mexico City before dropping two of three in Milwaukee before arriving here. Kelly’s performance was the latest poor outing for a Diamondbacks starting pitcher. Over the past 12 games, the unit has posted a 10.10 ERA while logging just a shade over four innings per start.

[dbacks.com] Road-weary D-backs head home determined to get back on track – The Diamondbacks opened the trip three games above .500, a good start for a team that battled injuries and a tough schedule. They split two games against the Padres, dropped two of three to the Brewers and were swept by the Cubs. They return home a game under .500, searching for answers. “Bad,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “Really bad. Win two out of eight? That’s not us. It was really bad. It was a disaster.” Spotting the problems is easier than finding solutions. For now, all they can do is vow to keep pushing forward.

[SI] Merrill Kelly’s Start vs Cubs Wasn’t As Bad As it Looked – Overall, Kelly picked up 15 whiffs and 12 called strikes. He struck out five batters, and was landing his pitches for strikes around the edges of the zone. He threw 58 of his 92 pitches for strikes — a 63% strike rate that was by far his best in a start this season. The main concern was how quickly that command evaporated, though if he had not been bitten for so many tough-luck hits, he may have had enough stamina to push his decline back an inning or two. Certainly, Kelly’s ineffectiveness this season has been a concern, and his numbers look no better. But if a few more balls went his way Sunday, the outlook might have been different.

[AP] Merrill Kelly’s struggles continue as Diamondbacks fall to Cubs in series sweep – Gabriel Moreno and Adrian Del Castillo each hit two-run homers for Arizona. Merrill Kelly (1-3) allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. The Diamondbacks had a chance to get back in the game in the seventh, loading the bases with two down. But Ketel Marte struck out swinging against Phil Maton, ending the inning. The Diamondbacks are off Monday before LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.03 ERA) starts Tuesday night at Chase Field against Pittsburgh in the opener of a six-game homestand.

Team news

[Defector] It’s Ildemaro Vargas Time In Major League Baseball – A career like Vargas’s can’t really be read by scanning his career OPS+ figures and making various distressed faces. Baseball is a job and a baseball team is a workplace, and Vargas’s role within that bigger whole was not necessarily—was, even, necessarily not—about putting up numbers. It was important that his glove worked fine at first, second, and third base was good, and that he always made contact even if that contact did not always amount to much. But Vargas emerged as a smiling, goofy human-sized point of consensus in the ongoing attempt to figure out the value of being what former teammate Joey Gallo described as “an A-plus dude”.

[Sporting News] Diamondbacks’ 34-year-old journeyman with .388 average has been biggest surprise in MLB – After being a bottom-of-the-roster option at-best this offseason, Vargas has become someone the Diamondbacks couldn’t afford to go without this season. He had a 27-game hitting streak to begin the season, and did so on just a $1.25 million salary. Vargas isn’t making much, but he’s been one of the best players in the sport. His .388 batting average has been the best in Major League Baseball, and it’s not just that he’s making contact for singles and cheap hits; he’s actually posting a .673 slugging percentage, the best in the NL.

[AZ Central] 2001 Diamondbacks celebration. ‘Rookie’ team leaders came at right time – For a baseball team that thrived because of a veteran roster that ranked as the oldest in Major League Baseball that season, it’s sometimes easy to forget the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks also relied an awful lot on a pair of relative “newbies” in a couple of rather important positions. One was their first-time general manager, Joe Garagiola Jr. The other was their rookie manager, Bob Brenly. And a case can be made that the Diamondbacks probably wouldn’t have won the World Series 25 years ago without them.

[KTAR] Valley groups, Diamondbacks team up to support brain cancer research in May – Several Valley organizations are teaming up to raise money for a Phoenix-based brain cancer research center during Brain Tumor Awareness Month. Sports fans can also get in on the action on May 18, when the Arizona Diamondbacks host Brain Tumor Awareness Night at Chase Field. The team takes on the San Francisco Giants, and the Ivy Center will be recognized on the field, including throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. [It’s of particular relevance to the team, because Mike Hazen’s wife Nicole, died of glioblastoma in 2022]

And, elsewhere…

[Reddit] [OC] The Fastest And Slowest Sprint Speeds By Position –

[Outkick] This year’s American League might be the worst in Major League Baseball history – 13 out of 15 teams in the American League would be either in last place or tied for last place in the NL Central.  The combined record in the National League is 258-238, or a collective winning percentage of .520. The average NL team is on pace to win roughly 84 games. By contrast, the average AL team is on pace to win 77 games. That’s remarkable. In fact, it’s not just remarkable, it’s historic. Since the introduction of interleague play, the current .480 winning percentage in the American League would be the worst in the modern era.

[USA Today] Handing out MLB’s early awards: Best and worst of wacky opening month – Who could have envisioned that Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora and Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson would be unemployed before May? Who could have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that that the Colorado Rockies would have a better record than the Mets, Phillies and San Francisco Giants? How in the world of economics can four of the six highest-payroll teams have losing records: the Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays and Red Sox? It’s been a strange but certainly entertaining start to the season, so why not hand out awards to some of the best, worst and funkiest events of April.

Thrash (2026)

Rating: C-

Dir: Tommy Wirkola
Star: Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, Djimon Hounsou, Stacy Clausen

The actual shark attacks aren’t at all badly staged, with some enthusiasm and in quite a convincing manner. The main problem is, there is never any doubt about exactly who is going to be eaten. Per Joe Bob Briggs, one of the marks of good horror is that anyone can die, at any time. That is so far from what we get here. It’s one hundred percent predictable, and if you are not on the sharks’ hit list, the resulting plot armour is +5 plate mail quality. As a viewer, this realization renders the whole experience less interesting, because there’s no sense of peril. You’re less interested in the central characters, than waiting for the next person who might get eaten to show up.

Read more

One of the clubs normally featured in here, the Baltimore Orioles, found themselves on the receiving end of a late-inning beatdown Sunday as the Yankees turned a close game into a rout in the eighth inning. But all the Yanks’ other rivals were in action with Sundays featuring full slates of games.

Sunday’s biggest takeaway in terms of the standings is that the Highly Irritating Rays won again to stay at New York’s heels. But the Red Sox and Jays lost, and you love to see that. Unfortunately, Sunday’s biggest stories could be injury related as both the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins had their starting pitchers leave their respective games early.

Toronto Blue Jays (16-18) 3, Minnesota Twins (15-20) 4

This game quickly turned into a nightmare for Minnesota. And when I say quickly, it took nine pitches. After hurling that ninth pitch, Twins ace Joe Ryan immediately left the game with elbow soreness. It’s obviously too soon to know the severity of the injury but any time a pitcher leaves a game after showing diminished velocity (his final pitch was a fastball at 90.9 mph; his season average is 92.6 mph), you fear the worst.

To Minnesota’s credit, they did not flinch. Five relievers combined to cover this de facto bullpen game, with Andrew Morris taking over for Ryan, throwing 3.2 innings of scoreless ball, and earning his first career win. Offensively, the Twins notched a lone run in the first then three run-scoring doubles in the fifth extended the lead to 4-0.

The Jays meanwhile got four innings out of phenom Trey Yesavage in his second start of the season after returning from injury. Offensively, they mounted a late charge, getting on the board with a run in the sixth. Then, in the ninth, Kazuma Okamoto clubbed a two-run home run to get Toronto within one, before Minnesota finally slammed the door shut.

Boston Red Sox (13-21) 1, Houston Astros (14-21) 3 (F/10)

It was the Moveable Object versus the Stoppable Force this weekend at Fenway. Boston and Houston split the first two games this weekend, meaning whoever won Sunday’s game would take the series. Luckily for Boston, they had Ranger Suárez pitching, fresh off eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against Toronto. He looked to be on form again today but, like Ryan in Minnesota, was felled by injury. Suárez left after four innings with a hamstring injury.

Boston then dipped into its bullpen and their parade of relievers did yeoman’s work, allowing a sole run. Meanwhile, the Astros pitching staff, which has been catastrophically bad, managed to match the Sox, allowing one run and sending this game to extras.

In the top of the tenth, Cam Smith came to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. Smith ripped a ball off the Green Monster to plate a pair, leaving Houston three outs away from taking the series at Fenway. Things got dicey in the bottom of the tenth with Boston loading the bases with only one out. But Bryan Abreu managed to induce a game-ending twin-killing to, for what feels like the first time all season, hold on to a Houston lead.

Other Games

Tampa Bay Rays (21-12) 2, San Francisco Giants (13-21) 1 (F/10): The Rays continue to be Annoying. But it’s also the Giants’ fault for deciding not to score any runs after putting a one in the run column in the first. From there, the game remained 1-0 until the home eighth when Tampa tied it with a squeeze play. Of course. In the bottom of the tenth with super-speedster Chandler Simpson on second, Jonathan Aranda dunked a single into right field. Game over. Annoying.

Cleveland Guardians (18-17) 1, Athletics (18-16) 7: The first place Athletics. What a wild sport baseball is. Sunday, the Athletics’ offense was too much for Cleveland. The A’s put up three-spots in each of the fifth and sixth innings to provide the winning margin. The two clubs combined for four long balls on the day. And don’t look now but Jeff McNeil has rediscovered his form at the plate. The 2022 NL batting champion had three RBI on the day and is now hitting .314 on the season.

Seattle Mariners (16-19) 1, Kansas City Royals (15-19) 4: Luis Castillo has been catastrophically terrible in 2026. Entering Sunday, he “boasted” a 6.35 ERA and was allowing 12.1 H/9. In that context, the four runs he allowed over six innings Sunday is a downright masterpiece. And in all seriousness, he pitched better than his line suggests. He just couldn’t escape the meltdown inning. In the third, a bases loaded walk, a force out, and a sacrifice fly allowed three Royals to score and that was enough for the win.

Detroit Tigers (18-17) 7, Texas Rangers (16-18) 1: The final game of the weekend saw Jack Leiter, son of former Yankee Al Leiter, take the ball for Texas while Detroit went with a bullpen game. Leiter was up and down, going 6.2 innings and whiffing 10, but also allowing five runs. Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen stifled the Rangers offense outside of a lone run. Former #1 pick Spencer Torkelson supplied the power for Detroit, with a two-run bomb. Detroit’s rookie phenom Kevin McGonigle continued his outstanding debut season with a multi-hit game and a pair of RBI.

(20-13) Gwinnett Stripers 9, (16-17) Charlotte Knights 10

• Brett Wisley, 2B: 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, R, .313/.341/.525
• DaShawn Keirsey Jr., CF: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, .264/.306/.451
• Aaron Schunk, 3B: 2-for-4, 2 2B, .348/.403/.563
• Lucas Braun, SP: 4IP 4H 3ER 4BB 2K, 4.13 ERA

Box Score

A late collapse by the bullpen cost the Stripers a win, as the Knights scored seven of the last three innings of the game, including five in the eighth inning alone, to pick up the win. Lucas Braun got the start for the Stripers and was okay, navigating through four innings and allowing three earned runs. He was not his normal self as his command wavered shown by his four walks, and the fact that he threw just 44 strikes on 84 pitches. Braun was given a two run lead after the Stripers opened the game – scoring a pair of runs in the first inning following a Brett Wisely two run single.

The lead would be erased in the bottom of the second inning when Braun allowed two doubles, a single, and a pair of walks to the Knights up 3-0. The Stripers would then tie the game again in the fourth inning after back-to-back doubles by Aaron Schunk and Brett Wisely. The Stripers would respond once again in the sixth inning after….who else but Brett Wisely started the inning with a 103.4 MPH triple to center. Tristin English would hit a sac fly to push the lead to Gwinnett at 4-3. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. would then follow up that with his second homer of the season, and his first of the game, a 401’ blast.

After exchanging runs scored in the seventh inning, the Stripers entered the eighth inning up 6-4 when DaShawn Keirsey hit his second homer of the game, quickly followed by a solo homer by Chadwick Tromp to push the lead to 8-4.

With a four run lead the Stripers would turn to Blayne Enlow who was unfortunately horrendous (0.0IP 4H 5ER 1BB 2K, 2 HR) – entering the game and going BB, 1B, 2B, HR, HR, all on 17 pitches – swinging the game back to the Knights at 9-8. Rowdy Tellez would then tie the game once again, in the ninth inning, after hitting his seventh homer of the season – a 408’ homer with an exit velocity of 110.7 MPH.

Working his second inning of relief, James Karinchak struggled in the ninth – ultimately blowing the save on a bases loaded single, giving the Knights a walk off win.

(14-13) Montgomery Biscuits 18, (13-14) Columbus Clingstones 10

• Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 3-for-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, .282/.389/.551
• Drew Compton, PH-1B: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB, R, .114/.203/.200
• Archer Brookman, C: 1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, R, .372/.471/.581
• Ian Mejia, SP: 1IP 5H 6ER 4BB 0K, 54.00 ERA

Box Score

A complete disaster of a pitching performance by the Columbus Clingstones staff who gave up a combined eight walks, 19 hits, 18 runs, and 12 extra-base hits, including EIGHT homers. Jacob Wallace (2IP 1H 0R 0BB 4K) was the only pitcher to have a scoreless outing. Ian Mejia kind of set the tone for the game – having a very un-Ian Mejia like start as he struggled mightily with his command giving up four walks in the single inning he pitched. He needed a robust 48 pitches to get through the first which necessitated the move to the bullpen for the rest of the game.

It’s unfortunate because the Clingstones offense was really strong – picking up five walks, 13 hits, and scoring 10 runs themselves. The Clingstones found themselves down 11-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Drew Compton hit this two run homer.

Finding themselves now down 13-3, Lizandro Espinoza who is on an absolute heater, hit a two run homer of his own to lessen the deficit to…..13-5 in the sixth inning. After going up two runs in the top of the seventh, Ethan Workinger, and Cal Conley would hit back-to-back homers to reduce the new deficit to 15-7. Finally, moving onto the bottom of the eighth inning when the Clingstones then found themselves 18-7, Archer Brookman hit a two run homer, and Patrick Clohisy would hit a run scoring double to make it 18-10.

Of note, rehabbing Ha-Seong Kim went 1-for-4 with a walk, and run scored and is hitting .333/.538/.333 in four games so far.

(17-10) Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, (14-13) Rome Emperors 6

• John Gil, SS: 2-for-5, HR, RBI, R, .290/.386/.473
• Eric Hartman, CF: 2-for-3, 2B, 2 BB, R, .310/.389/.630
• Cody Miller, 2B: 2-for-3, 2 BB, R, .183/.284/.301
• Cam Caminiti, SP: 5IP 4H 0ER 2BB 5K, 4.66 ERA

Box Score

Cam Caminiti righted a bit of the ship, putting together a solid start in the lone win for the Braves minor league. Cam picked up 10 whiffs, utilizing his four seam, sweeper, changeup combination. He did get stronger as the outing went on, getting his first 1-2-3 inning in the fourth inning while picking up his final whiff on the last batter he faced. After a rough last couple of starts for Cam, surrendering 10 earned runs over 9.1 innings of work, Cam was able to locate his fastball a bit better and was a lot more in control.

He left the game with the score tied 0-0 and was relieved by David Rodriguez who was rudely greeted by a solo homer on his second pitch. That lead would last until the eighth inning when the Emperors would extend it to 4-0 after Justin Long came into the game, walking his first two batters. A sacrifice bunt would put runners on second and third before a two out single scored two runs to extend the Hot Rods lead to 3-0. They would then add onto the lead with a run scoring double to push the lead to 4-0.

Down 4-0, the Emperors offense joined the conversation in the eighth inning and it all began with John Gil who collected his fourth homer of the season to make it 4-1. Later in the inning Colby Jones would add on another run with a sacrifice fly that would score Eric Hartman, and put Dixon Williams on third. An errant pickoff by the pitcher would then allow Dixon Williams to score and make the deficit just one at 4-3. Logan Braunschweig would then hit a two out double to tie the game at 4-4.

After exchanging zeroes in the ninth inning the game headed to extra innings when the Hot Rods singled in the ghost runner to take back the lead at 5-4. Isaac Gallegos, working his second inning, would then get the next three batters out to keep it 5-4 and allow the Emperors a legitimate chance to win it. An RBI single by Mason Guerra tied the game, and a bases loaded sacrifice fly by Colin Burgess would walk it off for the Emperors.

(10-17) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 7, (14-13) Augusta GreenJackets 6

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 1-for-4, R, BB, SB (20), .271/.441/.479
• Alex Lodise, SS: 2-for-5, RBI, .254/.323/.386
• Tanner Smith, C: 4-for-5, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, .298/.344/.702
• Dalton McIntyre, CF: 2-for-3, BB, R, 2 SB, .333/.418/.521
• Davis Polo, SP: 4IP 4H 4ER 3BB 5K, 2.70 ERA

Box Score

It was a rough start of the game for Davis Polo who has had a great return to baseball in 2026. He surrendered a home run on the second pitch of the game, before allowing a single, stolen base, walk, double, walk, and one more walk before he registered his first out of the game. He would go on to allow a total of four runs in that first before he really got things together.

He would face just one batter over the minimum over the next three innings and leave the game down just two runs thanks to Tanner Smith’s first homer of the game, that would score Tate Southisene.

Tanner Smith would then add his second home run of the game in the fifth inning to make it 4-3.

Kendy Richard (4IP 7H 3ER 1BB 4K, 2 HR), having a very rough start to 2026, came in for Davis Polo and struggled again including allowing a homer, double, and triple to give Kannapolis a 6-3 lead, in just a single inning. However, the GreenJackets would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth via an rbi single by Dallas Macias, and Alex Lodise making it a one run game again.

The back-and-forth would continue the next inning with a home run by the Cannon Ballers to extend their lead to 7-5. HOWEVER, it was Tanner Smith yet again, this time in the seventh inning – who would homer for the third time in the game and make the game 7-6.

Styven Paez would pitch a scoreless ninth inning to give the GreenJackets a chance to tie it, or walk it off, in the bottom of the ninth. Alex Lodise would reach on the first pitch of the ninth, hitting a single to left but would be stranded there as the GreenJackets would fall.

Triple-A: Nashville (Brewers) 5, Norfolk Tides 1

Sunday marked the Triple-A debut for Trace Bright, the fifth-round Auburn righty who has now spent parts of three years in Double-A. It went… fine. Bright lasted just 2⅔ innings, walking four and striking out four against just two hits, allowing two runs. Last month, Bright was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for a scoreless two-start stretch, but the walks look like a problem still be tackled.

The Tides’ lone run came via the bat of Johnathan Rodríguez, who launched a home run in the eighth inning. Drafted by Cleveland in 2017 and DFA’d in March, Rodríguez is a career .285 hitter in the minors (.852 OPS), but hasn’t had much success in 49 games at the MLB level.

Box Score

Double-A: Erie (Tigers) 4, Chesapeake Baysox 3

The Baysox coughed up the winning run in the eighth inning, though the offensive contributions weren’t nothing. Frederick Bencosme, the Dominican-born infielder who signed for $10,000 back in 2020, went deep for his fourth homer of the season. Griff O’Ferrall doubled, Aron Estrada had two hits, and Alfredo Velásquez drove in two runs from the nine spot.

Evan Yates, a twentieth-rounder in 2024, gave up three runs but allowed just one walk while pitching into the sixth inning. Calgary native son Cohen Achen pitched 1.2 scoreless. Unfortunately, Jeisson Cabrera let in the tying run in the eighth, though he did strike out the side for good measure.

Box Score

High-A: Frederick Keys 4, Brooklyn (Mets) 1

The headliner here was Carson Dorsey, the Florida State lefty taken in the 2024 draft who has had an up-and-down first full High-A season, with a 6.23 ERA in five appearances. Sunday was definitely an up: Dorsey came out of the bullpen and delivered six scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and holding the Cyclones to two hits while striking out eight. That’s a dominant outing by any measure, and great news for an under-the-radar arm.

Nate George, the top prospect in the organization, drove in two runs. Elis Cuevas added a home run. Wehiwa Aloy singled and walked.

Box Score

Single-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 10, Hill City (Guardians) 6

The runs were coming in bunches for the Shorebirds on Sunday. A rehabbing Reed Trimble, the 2021 competitive balance pick who’s battled injuries at virtually every level of the system, went deep. Trimble was one of three prospects the O’s protected from the Rule 5 draft last year, along with Cameron Foster and Anthony Nunez, both of whom have seen MLB action.

That wasn’t it on offense, though. The 20-year-old José Perez also went deep and added a triple on a day he racked up three hits, four RBIs, and 10 total bases. DJ Layton and Edwin Amparo had two hits apiece. Stiven Martinez hit a pinch-hit triple.

A pair of 2025 draft picks—Denton Biller and Dalton Neuschwander—weren’t brilliant, but they didn’t need to be. Each allowed three runs in two-plus innings, through the pair racked up eight strikeouts. Riley Cooper pitched a nice 1.2 innings, with three strikeouts. And Kenny Leiner threw a scoreless ninth.

Box Score

Today’s Scheduled Games

There are no scheduled games for Monday.

Meet the Mets

Mark Vientos hit a pair of homers, Clay Holmes maintained his National League lead in ERA, and the Mets are a win away from having a winning streak. Neat!

Choose your recap: Amazin’ Avenue, Faith and Fear in Flushing, MLB.com, Newsday, New York Daily News, New York Post

Originally scheduled for 8:40 Eastern, a potential snow storm in Denver resulted in today’s game between the Mets and Rockies being moved up to 5:40 Eastern.

In that game, the Mets will use a currently-unknown opener ahead of David Peterson, just as they did last time around the rotation.

Prior to Sunday’s game, the Mets placed Ronny Mauricio on the injured list with a broken finger and had Vidal Bruján arrive during the game in his place.

Carson Benge made a ninth inning grab on a Vaughn Grissom liner that could only be described in one SAT-level word: pulchritudinous.

Though his velocity isn’t back, A.J. Minter has pitched twice in three days for Syracuse ahead of the end of his rehab assignment expiring on Friday.

Around the National League East

Old Friend Richard Lovelady got his first save as a Washington National in a 3-2 win to send the Milwaukee Brewers back to last place.

The Phillies scored six times against Chris Paddack in the first inning Sunday afternoon and never looked back on their way to a 7-2 triumph over the Miami Marlins.

Shifting things around, the Marlins sent Rookie of the Year Vote-Getter Augustin Ramirez down to the minors and called up their top catching prospect, Joe Mack, in his place.

Spencer Strider made his return to the big leagues and gave up three runs and walked five Rockies in three innings, but it didn’t really matter as the Braves left Colorado with an 11-6 victory anyway.

Another year, another leg injury for Ronald Acuña Jr. as the Braves placed the former MVP on the injured list with a strained left hamstring.

Around Major League Baseball

Now in last place behind the Royals, things simply got worse for the Minnesota Twins as their ace, Joe Ryan, faced only two batters on Sunday before leaving his start with an ominous elbow soreness.

The struggling Giants have hit a very gentle panic button, calling up both Bryce Eldridge and Jesus Rodriguez for tomorrow’s game.

With his rehab assignment finished, the Yankees decided against bringing Anthony Volpe up to the big league roster, instead opting to keep him in the minor leagues via option.

Griffin Canning made his return to the major leagues after his achilles tear with the Mets, having himself a good start and helping to snap the Padres’ losing streak.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday to illustrious Mets Akeem Bostick, Miguel Cairo, and Robinson Cancel.

No matter how well José Caballero played in this first month of the season, he was running on borrowed time. The Yankees always intended for Anthony Volpe to slide back into the starting shortstop role when he recovered from a torn labrum that affected his play for much of the 2025 season, and they made that clear when they didn’t make a single infield addition in the offseason.

Right?

This is what everyone in Yankeeland assumed was going to happen, regardless of Caballero’s performance. The team had been vocal about their belief in Volpe as a key piece of the team’s future, consistently defending his performance through last season and into his offseason surgery. When he began a rehab assignment, it looked like his return was inevitable.

But the young shortstop reached the end of his 20-day rehab window yesterday, and the Yankees elected to option him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The fact he entered the year with all three of his minor league options remaining makes it so that the team isn’t absorbing any risk if this is intended to just get him a week or two more of game action before returning, but there’s a sense that some of the trust has waned in the 25-year-old, and Caballero’s performance hasn’t helped Volpe’s case at all.

A month into the season, Caballero has performed admirably in his time as the team’s shortstop, contributing some clutch moments offensively with steady defense and aggressive baserunning. Entering play on Monday, he’s slashing .259/.306/.405 with a 99 wRC+ with four home runs, 12 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and 0.8 fWAR. He paces the American League with 7 Defensive Runs Saved and has added value on the basepaths, even after getting thrown out four times in two games last week.

When comparing him directly to Volpe, even if you give Volpe’s 2025 defensive regression some grace due to his labrum injury, the decision makes plenty of sense; the last we saw of Volpe was of a floundering player, and Caballero is performing very well. But if we’re talking about optimizing the Yankees’ roster, the best move would still be to pencil in a healthy Volpe at shortstop and put Caballero back in a role where he’s excellent, as a super-utilityman.

While Caballero has looked better offensively in his brief Yankee tenure than Volpe has in his three-year career, a look under the hood reveals that we shouldn’t expect this much longer from Caballero. Even though faster players will generally run a better BABIP due to their speed (see: Chandler Simpson), Caballero is vastly overperforming his .267 xwOBA, which sits in the 8th percentile. He doesn’t hit the ball hard, has a minuscule walk rate, and his overall quality of contact is much closer to his mediocre 2024 season than his strong finish to 2025.

Compare that to what we saw out of Volpe in 2025, where the expected stats aren’t too much better (.301 xwOBA), but the quality of contact is closer to league average, and there’s more potential in his bat if he can somehow make more consistent contact. Despite his overall numbers being near-identical through three years in terms of wRC+ and OPS, his peripherals have improved, particularly in chase rate and bat speed.

Defensively, it makes sense to give pause to before handing one of the most important positions on the field back to someone who was awful there in 2025, but the Yankees believe that the labrum injury affected him far more than initially believed, causing him to overcompensate in some regards. You could accuse the Yankees of being optimistic there, but we have substantial two-year sample size of Volpe being a strong defender at the position when , combining to produce 21 DRS and 15 Outs Above Average in his first two seasons. Many of his errors last year came from off-line throws, something that could’ve been affected by the shoulder injury.

But the biggest reason to move forward with the team’s initial plans for this season is to optimize the 26-man roster in the absolute best fashion possible. The Yankees’ bench, as currently constructed, isn’t very flexible with the specific roles that Amed Rosario, Paul Goldschmidt, and JC Escarra play. While Rosario can play other positions than third base, it’s not a serious consideration most days.

As of right now, Max Schuemann is the most flexible player on the bench. Schuemann nominally provides versatility, with the ability to play second and third, not to mention his limited experience at short and in the outfield, but the team tellingly hasn’t really opted to use that versatility in the week he’s been on the roster. The role Schuemann fills at this moment can use an upgrade.

Caballero’s defensive prowess gives him a high enough floor that he isn’t a bottom-of-the-barrel shortstop in the league when his bat falls back to earth, but there might not be a better bench player in all of MLB if he’s put back in that role. He’s able to play five different positions at a solid level, having already shown his aptitude at shortstop while also being able to play second base, third base, left field, and right field.

Not only is he a capable defensive replacement at many different positions, but he also exists as a viable pinch-hitting and platoon candidate at these positions. Is there a tough lefty that you might not want to play Trent Grisham or Jazz Chisholm Jr. against? Caballero’s OPS against left-handers is .800 over the last two seasons, with an xwOBA of .320.

His best attribute of all, though, is his speed, which could now be deployed in the biggest spots of the game. To start the season, the Yankees were reduced to using Randal Grichuk as their best pinch-running option, and even though the recent moves have had either Schuemann or even Jasson Domínguez in that role depending on the day, Caballero as the team’s top pinch-runner would be tremendously more valuable once Giancarlo Stanton returns from injury.

When you factor all that in, Caballero provides much more to the bench than Schuemann can, and that’s only possible when sliding Volpe back into shortstop. Think of it this way; shifting from Caballero to Volpe, if the latter is healthy, shouldn’t be too big of a dropoff, while Caballero provides a massive upgrade on whomever he’s replacing on the bench. And of course, Caballero would likely prove to be a bench player only in name, coming in as a pinch-runner, defensive replacement, or starting against lefties so often that he’d find himself on the field more often than not even if he isn’t the everyday shortstop.

None of this matters if there are legitimate baseball reasons why the Yankees do not want to activate Volpe, but if this is merely just to get him more at-bats in the minor leagues and he’s only a week or two away from donning the pinstripes again, he should reclaim his old job. The Volpe we saw in 2023 and 2024was flawed, but that version of Volpe would still make the Yankees roster better right now.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (18-14)

SYRACUSE 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 0 (BOX)

A thorough smackdown of the IronPigs in Syracuse last night. Nick Morabito raised his OPS to .852, while Cristian Pache went deep for the third time this year and now has an .856 OPS himself. The rehabbing A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout, and even Dylan Ross had a clean inning himself. Good game all around.

• CF A.J. Ewing: 1-4, K
• LF Nick Morabito: 2-3, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (10)
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 1-4, R, K
• 3B Christian Arroyo: 1-2, RBI, 2 BB, K
• DH Ji Hwan Bae: 1-4, 2B, K, CS (2)
• RF Cristian Pache: 1-3, 2 R, HR (3), 2 RBI, K, SB (7)
• 2B Yonny Hernández: 2-3, RBI
• C Hayden Senger: 0-3
• SS Jackson Cluff: 0-3, 3 K, E (4)
• RHP Daniel Duarte: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
• REHAB ALERT: LHP A.J. Minter: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, H (1)
• RHP Jonathan Pintaro: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, W (2-4)
• RHP Dylan Ross: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Alex Carrillo: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (10-17)

GAME 1: NEW HAMPSHIRE 4, BINGHAMTON 3 (BOX)

In the resumption of yesterday’s suspended game, Binghamton tried to rally late but ultimately fell short. Down 4-1 in the ninth, RBIs from Jose Ramos and Nick Lorusso cut the deficit to one. TT Bowens lined out to end the game though. Close, but no cigar.

• 3B Jacob Reimer: 2-4, R, 2B, BB
• LF Jose Ramos: 2-4, R, RBI, BB
• C Kevin Parada: 0-4, BB, 3 K
• DH JT Schwartz: 0-3, 2 BB, K
• 1B Nick Lorusso: 1-5, 2B, RBI
• RF TT Bowens: 0-2, R, 3 BB, K
• CF Matt Rudick: 0-2, 2 BB
• SS Wyatt Young: 0-4, 2 K
• 2B Diego Mosquera: 1-3, RBI, 2 K
• LHP Jonathan Santucci: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 5 K, (0-4)
• RHP Brian Metoyer: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• LHP Jefry Yan: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Zach Peek: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K
• LHP Matt Turner: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

GAME 2: BINGHAMTON 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 0 / 7 (BOX)

A really nice start from Zach Thornton got the Rumble Ponies through in their regularly scheduled Sunday game. Seven strikeouts and no runs in four innings, supported by a good day at the plate for JT Schwartz, was all Binghamton needed.

• RF Eli Serrano III: 0-4, K
• 3B Jacob Reimer: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, SB (4)
• C Chris Suero: 1-3, R, 2B
• PR-LF Diego Mosquera: 0-0, SB (3)
• DH-C Kevin Parada: 0-3, RBI, BB
• 1B JT Schwartz: 2-3, 2 RBI
• LF-1B TT Bowens: 1-3, K
• 2B Nick Lorusso: 1-3, K
• CF Matt Rudick: 1-3, K
• SS Wyatt Young: 1-3, SB (2)
• LHP Zach Thornton: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
• RHP Douglas Orellana: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0)
• RHP Saul Garcia: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, H (2)
• RHP Ben Simon: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, S (1)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (7-19)

FREDERICK 4, BROOKLYN 1 (BOX)

Brooklyn managed only two hits and lost their 19th game of the year.

• 3B Yonatan Henriquez: 0-3, RBI, BB, 3 K
• RF John Bay: 0-4, K
• DH Ronald Hernandez: 1-4
• C Daiverson Gutierrez: 0-4, 3 K
• SS Colin Houck: 1-4, 3 K
• 1B Trace Willhoite: 0-3, R, BB, K
• LF Vincent Perozo: 0-3, BB, K
• 2B Kevin Villavicencio: 0-3
• CF Sam Biller: 0-2, BB, K
• RHP Noah Hall: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, L (0-3)
• LHP Nate Lavender: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Joe Charles: 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Garrett Stratton: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• RHP Cristofer Gomez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (12-15)

ST. LUCIE 7, TAMPA 6 (BOX)

St. Lucie got caught stealing three times, made three errors, and won anyway. The Mets were actually down 6-2 in this one, but rallied back. Three scored in the sixth on singles from JT Benson and Chase Meggers as well as a successful steal of home (the rare time the “steal second with a runner on third so he can score” play works). Now down one, St. Lucie scored two more times in the eighth on doubles from Randy Guzman and Julio Zavas to take a one-run lead that Christian Rodriguez made stand up.

• SS Elian Peña: 0-5, 2 K
• CF Edward Lantigua: 0-3, R, 2 K
• RF-1B Randy Guzman: 2-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BB
• DH AJ Salgado: 0-3, R, BB
• 1B Julio Zayas: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K
• PR-RF Simon Juan: 0-0, CS (2)
• LF JT Benson: 1-4, R, RBI, 3 K
• C Chase Meggers: 1-4, RBI, 3 K, CS (2)
• 2B Sam Robertson: 2-4, R, 2 K, SB (14), E (3), CS (2)
• 3B Branny De Oleo: 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K, E (6)
• RHP Emilio Obispo: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, E (1)
• RHP Zack Mack: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
• LHP Nicolas Carreno: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
• RHP Christian Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, W (1-0)

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-1)

NO GAME (SCHEDULE)

STARS OF THE NIGHT

Nick Morabito

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Emilio Obispo

Tigers 7, Rangers 1

• Detroit. Dee-Troit. D Troit.
• The Tigers.
• They won.
• Jack Leiter gave up 5 runs in 6.2 innings, which sounds bad.
• Which is bad, really.
• But he did pitch better than the line would indicate, to use that old cliche.
• Leiter allowed a total of six baserunners in the game. The problem is that five of them scored.
• Leiter walked just one batter — Riley Greene, to lead off the fifth. It was the first baserunner he allowed all game.
• The next batter, Spencer Torkelson, put an 0-2 hanging slider into the bleachers, and that, for all intents and purposes, was that.
• The Torkelson homer was the only ball in play over 100 mph that Leiter gave up in the game. Or any other Ranger pitcher, for that matter.
• In the sixth, Jake Rogers led off the inning with a ball to the outfield that should have been a single. Evan Carter tried to make a diving catch on it, however, and it got past him for a triple. Kevin McGonigle then hit a flare that fell in for a single to drive in the third run off of Leiter.
• Leiter had Kerry Carpenter on second with two outs in the seventh and got a ground ball from Hao-Yu Lee that snuck through the infield for an RBI hit. Leiter was then lifted for Tyler Alexander, who allowed a pair of singles and a double before the inning ended.
• So that was the five runs off of Leiter.
• He was still really good, though. 10 Ks on the game. 73 strikes on 100 pitches, including 16 swings and misses.
• If Leiter pitches like that regularly the Rangers will be in good shape.
• Gavin Collyer pitched the eighth and once again didn’t allow any runs. That’s nine games, and 7.1 innings, in Collyer’s major league career without a run being scored.
• The bats, meanwhile, were not good, despite the Tigers rolling with a bullpen game.
• The only run came off former Ranger Ricky Vanasco in the seventh, when an Ezequiel Duran double, a Josh Smith walk, a wild pitch, and a Kyle Higashioka ground out cut the lead to 3-1.
• Duran’s double was the only extra base hit the Rangers were able to muster.
• The team was 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Both the hitlessness and only having five at bats with runners in scoring position are problems.
• Josh Smith was 2 for 3 with a walk, at least. That’s the offensive highlight for the Rangers.
• Jack Leiter topped out at 99.4 mph with his fastball, averaging 97.5 mph. Tyler Alexander touched 91.3 mph with his sinker. Gavin Collyer’s fastball maxed out at 97.9 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 108.7 mph ground out and a 101.9 mph fly out. Kyle Higashioka had a 105.9 mph ground out. Corey Seager had a 103.9 mph single. Andrew McCutchen had a 103.2 mph single. Ezequiel Duran had a 103.2 mph ground out. Brandon Nimmo had a 101.7 mph single. Josh Smith had a 101.6 mph single.
• On to New York to play the Yankees. Things will maybe be better there.

Relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol started a minor league rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday night, and pitched a scoreless inning in his first game action in over 18 months. Graterol, who missed all of 2025 after right shoulder surgery and was slow-played this spring, will have a long rehab assignment before he joins the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in St. Louis on Saturday.

From Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register:

“He hasn’t pitched a whole lot in the last two, three years. So his buildup needs to be methodical,” Roberts said. “I’m looking forward to him getting going.

“Yeah, it seems like the last few years it’s been a rehab situation. So for him to get out of that mode and get to being a regular player, get the health (issues) behind him – we’re all looking forward to that.”

Emmet Sheehan last week gave one of his gloves to Sarah Langs of MLB.com and ESPN for her birthday Saturday, as an appreciation for her advocacy of others with ALS.

Sheehan spoke with Sonja Chen of MLB.com about the origin of the “K ALS” on the side of his glove, which dates back to his days at Boston College. It’s to honor Pete Frates, the former Boston College player before Sheehan’s time there who co-founded the ice bucket challenge to raise money and awareness for ALS. Frates died in 2019.

From Chen:

“He would come around the team, and the Frates family is just a really special family,” Sheehan said. “They have the Frates Foundation, which supports ALS research. It was a really cool cause, and I didn’t know much about it before Boston College, but I was grateful that I got to learn about it and keep it going.”

Links

• I’ve referenced this article in a few weekend minor league reports, but last week Kiley McDaniel at ESPN updated his top 10 prospects for all 30 MLB teams. On the Dodgers list, Zyhir Hope moved up to second place and shortstop Emil Morales is now fourth in the system. Also from McDaniel: “Jackson Ferris and Adam Serwinowski, lefties who just missed this list, are next to be added to the 40-man after the season; Serwinowski’s stuff fits better in shorter stints.”
• Among the items in the FanGraphs mailbag over the weekend was wondering how good might Shohei Ohtani be at basketball.