Worldwide Sports News

There was plenty to like on the offensive end at the lower levels, with some top prospects going off for big games in wins. Isaiah Drake broke a nearly two-week long streak of no extra base hits with an impressive home run in a Rome win, a game that was also marked by another great start from Cedric De Grandpre. The GreenJackets were led by a Tate Southisene masterclass, as he reached base in every single plate appearance on the day. Then there was Ethan Bagwell, who finished up his May without allowing a single earned run.

(29-25) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (32-22) Nashville Sounds 2

Box Score

Statcast

• Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-4, .289/.401/.417
• Luke Williams, 3B: 2-4, 2B, .254/.319/.421
• Elieser Hernandez, SP: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 5.10 ERA
• Rolddy Munoz, RP: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.79 ERA

The Stripers are likely going to look to forget this game rather quickly. There was little offense to speak of, and this game moved at pace due to good pitching out of the Gwinnett staff. Early it didn’t seem like it would be that rough of a game for Gwinnett. They were in good position following a walk and a hit with two out, getting an early opportunity to put up a run for Elieser Hernandez to work with. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit what would be one of the hardest batted balls of the game for either side on a line, but within range of the center fielder to keep Gwinnett off of the board. That early push was the closest Gwinnett would get to scoring in the game, as over the final eight innings Luke Williams was the only player who managed a hit. Williams found fortune with a bloop into right center in the third inning that he turned into a hustle double, but the next hitter struck out after a successful challenge from the Sounds to strand Williams at second. In the final inning Williams gave the Stripers just a dash of hope with a base hit, but the other three batters struck out and spoiled the day.

Elieser Hernandez kept the Stripers in this game by posting by far his best outing of the season, though it would end with a sour twist as he couldn’t get through the lineup a third time. It was a bit of a different approach for Hernandez as he largely went away from the changeup that typically makes up around 10-12% of his pitches, but the Sounds were pretty aggressive at swinging the bat in this game and were particularly swinging at breaking balls and cutters at a high rate. This helped both Hernandez and Rolddy Munoz, both of whom commanded the ball well by their standards and were able to work efficiently. Hernandez faced only one batter over the minimum through six innings of work, though the seventh inning proved insurmountable when the Sounds best hitters got a third look at Hernandez. Luis Lara broke the scoreless tie by attacking a slider in the strike zone and yanking it down the line for an RBI double, and the next hitter took a fat fastball and hit it off of the wall in left center field to chase Hernandez from the game. Munoz had one of his best games in relief despite only having the one strikeout over two innings, specifically from a location standpoint. Munoz hasn’t faced much trouble this season, but his tendency to lay his slider in the middle of the plate is a concern for him moving up levels. That was not the case at all in this game as he located his slider well and got whiffs on four of five swings, and he kept his sinker in on the hands of right handed hitters to force weak contact.

Swing and Misses

Elieser Hernandez – 10

Rolddy Munoz – 4

(23-23) Columbus Clingstones, (22-23) Biloxi Shuckers POSTPONED

(26-22) Rome Emperors 5, (28-20) Winston-Salem Dash 1

Box Score

• Isaiah Drake, LF: 1-3, HR, 2 BB, .285/.367/.462
• John Gil, SS: 2-3, BB, .265/.375/.424
• Eric Hartman, DH: 1-3, BB, .302/.384/.610
• Cedric De Grandpre, SP: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 4.60 ERA

It is a fine relief to see a big day from Isaiah Drake at the plate. Drake has undoubtedly had a good season, one that has made a huge impact on getting him the prospect hype that he (I think) unfairly lost following 2024, but his series in Asheville has been doing much of the heavy lifting for his numbers. It had been nearly two weeks since he had an extra base hit, but that streak ended in a big way in the third inning of this game. Drake got a slider on a 1-2 count and was sitting back on that pitch, and was able to go down and hit a low pitch well out of the yard to left field for his eighth home run of the season. Drake’s turnaround in his approach and ability to hit the ball hard on the pull side has been so impressive, and even though there is a bit of an increase in swing-and-miss this season compared to last he is still well within acceptable range while hitting the ball harder and in the air more often. He isn’t the only one in the midst of a rough patch, as John Gil only has one extra base hit since that May 10th multi-home run game in Asheville. He didn’t break that streak, but he did have a multi-hit game to go along with a couple of stolen bases. Lately Gil has had a tendency to get too long with his swing path and that’s led to more swing-and-miss than we’re used to and a lot of swinging over pitches and hitting the ball weakly. There is still a little bit of that even in this game and it’s going to be something to monitor as the season wears on, though for a young player these mechanical habits aren’t something to worry about long term. Gil adding two stolen bases brings him up to 13 in a row since his last caught stealing, dating back over a month to an April 26th stolen base. Eric Hartman hit a laser for a double in the seventh inning as his lone hit of the game, and there is definitely nothing worrying about his game. It was natural he was going to fall off a bit after that insane start, but he’s still consistently hitting the ball hard and putting up much better plate appearances than last season. He’s on one of his worst stretches of the season with three hits and only that double over his past six games, but it’s not come with any sort of concerns at the plate beyond just sample fluctuation.

There is so much positive that could be said about Cedric De Grandpre from the month of May. He’s just been terrific, and the command issues that were slowing him down in April have ironed themselves out and he has been the team’s most consistent arm. The home runs haven’t been great, but this month he has seven walks and 39 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings, and taking away a poor opening game he has 34 strikeouts and only four walks in the past 23 2/3 innings. With his command improvements on his fastball his slider has sharpened up and become a much more effective weapon over these past weeks. Though I did say his command has been much better this month this was the worst he’s been in that category in awhile as he was pulling pitches on his glove side quite a bit this game, though it’s not nearly as bad as some of his early season outings. Most of his issues came in bursts of at bats, one of which led to both walks and the run he allowed, while for the over 4 2/3 innings he was right in line with where he has been over his prior four starts. This is far and away his most successful season as a starter in his career and he’s likely trending towards a mid-summer promotion where it will be nice to see him facing off with guys who are more appropriate to his level of age and experience.

Swing and Misses 

Cedric De Grandpre – 12

Drew Christo – 4

(27-21) Augusta GreenJackets 6, (25-23) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5

Box Score

• Tate Southisene, 2B: 2-2, 2B, 3 BB, 2 RBI, .297/.436/.488
• Alex Lodise, SS: 1-5, .245/.329/.398
• Luis Guanipa, CF: 2-5, .313/.356/.527
• Ethan Bagwell, SP: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1.96 ERA
• Luis Arestigueta, RP: 3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 6.94 ERA

The GreenJackets had no trouble on the offensive end of the spectrum, but a late bullpen blowup threatened to derail what was trending to be an easy win for them. The Kannapolis pitching staff could not throw strikes in this game, and Augusta just let them get themselves into trouble. In total they drew 11 walks in this game, and they were able to score three of those in just the first four innings as part of them scoring a total of six runs early in the game. The MVP was of course Tate Southisene, who reached base five times and notched his 35th stolen base of the season. Southisene had one of the biggest hits of the game in the second inning, coming through with a clutch two-out double that really expanding Augusta’s lead. He shot a hard ground ball the other way, driving in two runs to make it 4-0 early, and in the next three times up the Cannon Ballers didn’t give him much to hit. Luis Guanipa had a two-run double in the fourth inning that capped off the scoring, and he’s starting to turn in a lot of power at the plate even without really having any big breakout games. He’s just consistently putting up good at bats and over the past nine games he has seven extra base hits and only four strikeouts.

No shade intended towards any Augusta pitcher, but it is nice as a recapper to have a bit of a switch up in the starting rotation order so I can talk about someone different than every other week this season. Ethan Bagwell took the ball for the start today for the GreenJackets, and he continued his incredible work for the entire month of May. Bagwell did finally allow a run for the first time this month, but it was unearned, meaning he is going to finish May with a 0.00 ERA in 24 innings with some impressive peripherals to boot. This is something that has felt like a matter of time for Bagwell as the talent has oozed out of him since he joined the system but finding the consistent footing on his secondaries has been a fit further behind. He has really honed in on his sweeper and that east-west approach that he excels at, showing an ability beyond his years to move his fastball inside and out. He has plenty of run on the pitch and has gotten weaker contact this season than last to go along with the increase in whiffs. Now on to the bad side of things, I have been singing Luis Arestigueta’s praises the past few weeks but he really did not have his mechanics in this outing. Though he battled through the sixth inning despite not locating anything well it eventually fell apart for him in the seventh inning. He let up four runs before narrowly escaping with the lead still intact, and though he finished with a strong eighth it still stung to see him struggle so much after a few good looking games in a row. He had no consistency to his arm path or release point and nothing worked well for him this game, and it’s just a start he is going to have to move on from and get back in rhythm next week.

Swing and Misses

Ethan Bagwell – 10

Luis Arestigueta – 5

The Comets and Drillers won comfortably as Tulsa managed to get at least one of the games in, pushing the doubleheader to this Friday.

Player of the day

The standout player in the Dodgers’ minor league system early in the season, James Tibbs III, returned to the spotlight with one of his most impressive performances since being acquired in a trade with the Red Sox.

Tibbs III had his first multi-homer game since early April when he managed to hit three of them and now has 14, already closing in on the 20 he had across multiple levels last season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

There was a mix-up in plans, with eight of the Comets’ nine hitters committed to a death by a thousand cuts approach, only to see James Tibbs III smash through the opposition for a blowout 9-2 win. Scoring at least one run in five of the game’s first six innings, the Comets were relentless, and at the heart of the scoring, you had not one but two three-run shots from Tibbs.

Tibbs’ outstanding player display was maximized by a top of the order that thrived with both Tommy Edman and Zach Ehrahrd reaching base multiple times. Moving over to the pitching side of things, River Ryan allowed just one unearned run in six terrific innings, striking out eight and walking none. It was the first time Ryan pitched into the sixth inning this season.

Double-A Tulsa

While he couldn’t limit walks as well as Ryan, Tulsa starter Adam Serwinowski also struck out eight on his way to a superb pitching performance, allowing just one run in 5.1 innings as the Drillers beat the Naturals 6-1. A double-header was supposed to be played, but the second of these games had to be pushed back a day.

Buried in the ninth spot in the lineup, Chris Newell led the action as the Drillers’ outfield combined to record five of the nine hits from the Drillers. Newell hit the game’s only home run and also stole a base, one of five successful steals from the Drillers.

High-A Great Lakes

Starter Jakob Wright had three reasonable to great outings in May, but on either side of it, he was absolutely blown up to start and end the month with a loss. Dayton got the Loons starter for seven runs, four of them earned, in a 12-3 loss for Great Lakes.

Center fielder Eduardo Quintero had a rather unlucky game, recording three hits and no runs or RBI. The leadoff hitter carried on his positive momentum with a couple of doubles, currently boasting a .919 OPS. Lastly, designated hitter Jose Meza hit the Loons’ only home run.

Single-A Ontario

Despite outhomering their opponents three to one and recording a late surge with a pair of runs in the seventh and eighth, the Tower Buzzers fell short of the Rawhide at home in an 8-6 loss. Interestingly, starter Tyler Gough didn’t allow a run in his 3.1 innings of work, as all of the Rawhide scoring came against Ontario’s bullpen, pouncing on Accimias Morales and Jesus Tillero.

Responsible for one of those three home runs, Chase Harlan is about as unstoppable as any other hitter in Single-A these days. The nineteen-year-old third baseman has left the yard in each of his last four games for the Tower Buzzers, accumulating five home runs during this period.

Transactions

Utility player Santiago Espinal was sent to the Comets. The Ontario Tower Buzzers activated right-handed pitcher Tyler Gough.

Thursday’s scores

• Sugar Land 2, Oklahoma City 9
• Tulsa 6, NW Arkansas 1
• Double-A game 2 postponed
• Dayton 12, Great Lakes 3
• Ontario 6, Visalia 8

Friday’s schedule

• 2:30 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Payton Martin) vs. NW Arkansas (Hunter Owen)
• Game 2: Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) vs. NW Arkansas (TBD)
• 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Christian Zazueta) at Dayton (Kyle McCoy)
• 5:05 p.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Logan Allen) at Sugar Land (Josh Hendrickson)
• 6:35 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) vs. Visalia (TBD)

We made it through another week A’s fans! Ready for a huge weekend of A’s baseball?

The Yankees are in town and the series kicks off tonight in Sacramento. The Athletics just got swept for just the second time this season and have fallen out of first place so stacking up a couple wins against a strong Yankee team would be ideal. Definitely can’t afford another sweep and finish the homestand 0-6. The Yankees are a tough opponent though and they just welcomed back their ace in Gerritt Cole (but lost Max Fried). They have the second-best record in the American League and have won four straight entering tonight. Lucky for the A’s they’ll miss Cole in this series as well as emerging right-hander Cam Schlittler. The A’s will instead be tasked with getting to veteran Carlos Rodon tonight before facing 26-year-old starters Ryan Weathers and Will Warren on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Elsewhere, down in the minors the Athletics’ #1 prospect is dealing with a minor injury. Shortstop Leo De Vries has missed a few games in recent days with an unknown problem with a finger (unknown which one):

The 20-year-old shortstop is actually going to get away from the team and travel to Arizona where he will be looked at by an orthopedic hand specialist. That’s a concerning development for the young shortstop, who is off to a solid start in Midland. He’s hitting .281/.360/.401 with five home runs and 16 stolen bases. He had a strong April before going through a tougher May, which will now be cut short. Everyone will be holding their breath that De Vries hasn’t done something major to a finger and hope he can return to game action sooner rather than later. He’s still incredibly young for his level but a promotion to Triple-A has been on the radar all year. That eventual promotion will now certainly be pushed back a bit and could come a lot later than A’s fans hoped, depending on what the doctor says about that finger.

Wrapping your Friday news dump, MLB’s owners have made their first proposal to the MLBPA regarding the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement.

That has always been a huge sticking point for the players as they believe the owners want to keep salaries from continuing to explode. A lot of the league will point to the two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers as the reason for a need for a salary cap and the logic works, to a degree. The players’ association would almost certainly fight tooth and nail over this, which was a huge cause of the 1994 players’ strike. They won out in that battle but the owners seem more determined than ever to get a salary cap like the NFL and NBA currently have.

If that truly is a sticking point in negotiations, then there is a very real possibility we have a lockout coming up soon. One of the proposed things the owners would be agreeing to for the salary cap would be a salary floor, forcing every team in the league to spend at least X amount on the major league team. That was something A’s have had been hoping for when the team was still in Oakland. How would the recent playoff teams the Athletics had could have done more damage in the postseason had they been supplemented with free agent additions and a sizable payroll increase?

It’s too late for Oakland now but if this is the future parameters of a deal then owner John Fisher will have to finally spend more on the team. He’s begun doing more of that since moving the team and they rank 21st in the league with a $94 million payroll but he’d have to spend close to $77 million more on the team. Add in the great young talent the A’s have accumulated and the potential salary floor would certainly help the Green & Gold go up against high-priced teams like the Yankees and Dodgers. Something to think about and monitor as these negotiations continue over the next few months.

Have a great weekend everyone.

A’s Coverage:

• Athletics Early MLB Draft Preview
• The A’s may have finally found their new leadoff hitter
• A’s drop the game and Series to the Mariners, fall into second place
• Latest Athletics injuries and transactions
• A’s lose to Mariners 4-1, Kurtz Streak ends with O-fer
• Is A Jump In Talent Nigh?
• What to expect when A’s Jump makes leap to MLB
• What The Mariners’ Slow First 1/3 Means For The AL West
• Wilson takes swings in next step toward return from IL
• After facing Miller for first time, how is blockbuster trade looking for A’s?
• Athletics Drop Series Opener to Mariners 9-2
• A’s Win In San Diego, Beat Padres 5-2
• “State Of The Rotation”: A Projected Weakness, An Actual…?

MLB News and Interest:

• Tigers place Kenley Jansen on 15-day IL with pelvic inflammation
• Teoscar Hernández To Be Placed On IL With Hamstring Strain
• Pirates’ Jared Jones to make 1st MLB appearance since ’24 on Friday
• Red Sox place Garrett Whitlock on IL with knee inflammation
• MLB makes initial CBA proposal to address competitive balance
• Rockies Transfer Jose Quintana To 60-Day Injured List
• White Sox secure 1st winning month since ’23 after latest Martin gem
• NEW Top 200 Draft Prospects list! Here are 7 key takeaways
• Orioles Activate, Option Heston Kjerstad
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Sacramento making a play to somehow keep the A’s/lure an expansion to Northern California:

Improvement!

How accurate would you call this assessment?

Ugh. Hard to bench a guy with that huge contract but how long can the A’s keep marching him out there? Are the offseason surgeries affecting him more than he’s letting on?

From Wednesday:

Following a much-needed sweep of the Kansas City Royals, the Yankees enjoyed an off day on Thursday. They next head further west to take on the Athletics, who are very much in the American League’s playoff picture. The first place Rays were also off the schedule, though there were still games of note to take in on Thursday. So, here’s a look at went down around the Junior Circuit.

Toronto Blue Jays (28-29) 2, Baltimore Orioles (26-31) 1

In an evening AL East matchup, pitching was the name of the game, as the Blue Jays did just enough to push past the O’s in Baltimore.

Both starters, Patrick Corbin for the Jays and Chris Bassitt for Baltimore, were excellent in their respective outings. It was Toronto who got to their former teammate Bassitt first, when Andrés Giménez led off the third inning with a solo blast, his sixth homer of the season.

The solo shot would stand as the only real blemish on the veteran righty’s day on the mound. Bassitt finished his day after six innings of work, allowing just that one run on four hits and striking out a pair. Unfortunately for him and the Orioles, Patrick Corbin was just as good on the mound for Toronto.

In fact, his line was nearly identical. The left-hander worked his way through five innings of solid ball, also allowing a single run on four hits, though he tallied a few more strikeouts, racking up four on the evening. His first mistake, and Baltimore’s lone run of the game, came in the fourth, when Coby Mayo teed off on a solo homer of his own, squaring things up at one a piece.

After both starters exited the game, things remained quiet on the offensive side, as this game remained in a 1-1 gridlock into the later innings. In the top of the eighth, the Blue Jays did what they could to change that. George Springer led the frame off with a double, before being advanced by a sacrifice bunt. A pair of walks following this had the bases loaded with just one out. Kazuma Okamoto struck out for the second out, before pinch-hitter Yohendrick Piñango worked a walk to push the go-ahead run across. The bases-loaded walk in the eighth turned out to be the decisive blow, as the Jays skated past the O’s, though both clubs still have an uphill climb in the division.

Other Games

Houston Astros (26-32) 5, Texas Rangers (25-31) 1:

In a matchup of middling AL West squads, early scoring pushed the Astros past the Rangers on Thursday. The game opened with a bang for Houston, as home runs from Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes had them up 3-0 before the Rangers had a chance to hit.

Josh Jung answered with a solo shot for Texas in the second, but the ‘Stros continued to lay it on in the third inning, with a double from Taylor Trammell and a Cam Smith knock putting them up 5-1. A forgettable day on the mound for Nathan Eovaldi (7 IP, 5 ER) had Houston up from end to end. The Rangers could only post a single run on the evening, as they dropped an important one at home. The AL West remains a situation to monitor, as the sub-.500 Mariners lead the division by a half-game, and four teams are within 2.5 games of first place.

Good morning everyone and happy Friday!

The M’s will take on the Diamondbacks today for the first in a three-game weekend set. The D-Backs have long been one of my favorite NL squads — they’re geographically close(ish) but harmless to the Mariners in the grand scheme. Though, nobody will top the Nationals for me. What is your favorite NL team?

In Mariners news…

• Max Ellingsen continued his breakdown of possible Mariners draft picks by diving into the profile of Ole Miss right-hander Cade Townsend.
• Adam Jude at The Seattle Times wrote about the positive impression Colt Emerson has already left on the Mariners’ clubhouse.

Around the league…

• Major League Baseball presented its first official Collective Bargaining Agreement proposal, which features both a hard salary cap and floor. Evan Drellich at The Athletic has the full report. ($)
• The city of Sacramento has joined the ranks of major American cities officially vying for an MLB expansion franchise, reports Evan Drellich at The Athletic. ($) Others include Nashville, Salt Lake City, Portland, Austin, Montreal, Raleigh, and Orlando.
• The Tigers placed closer Kenley Jansen on the injured list with pelvic inflammation. Sounds unpleasant!
• Davy Andrews at Fangraphs tried to figure out why James Wood — one of the game’s best hitters — sucks at using the ABS challenge system.
• Keith Law at The Athletic published his updated top 50 prospects list, with a trio of Mariners appearing in the top 20. ($)
• Jim Bowden at The Athletic assessed each team’s potential fit for a Tarik Skubal trade. ($)
• Over at Fangraphs, Ryan Blake wonders how sustainable the Rays’ success really is.
• Spencer Nusbaum at The Athletic dug into the sudden revival of Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz, whose resurgence has blocked Harry Ford from debuting in Washington. ($)

Diamondbacks News

(SI.com) The Diamondbacks Have a Geraldo Perdomo Problem

Franchise shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who sprung to life with an elite seven-WAR season and a fourth-place MVP placement in 2025, has a mere .671 OPS. He’s on pace to produce his worst full-season OPS since 2022, when (at 22 years old) he hit just .195.

Perdomo’s hit primarily in the three-hole this season, but has only 20 RBI — a far cry from the 100-RBI production that earned him a franchise record in 2025.

So, how bad has Perdomo really been? What part of his game has remained positive this year? Let’s take a look at the numbers:

(ClutchPoints) How a Diamondbacks fan’s mistake ended with 2 Giants Willy Adames home run balls

The Arizona Diamondbacks became part of one of baseball’s strangest fan stories this week after a Chase Field mix-up somehow turned into two Willy Adames home run balls for the same couple.

(AZ Central) Red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks rising in 2026 World Series odds

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won 10 of their past 11 games.

They have surged to the top of the NL wild-card race, tied with the San Diego Padres at 31-24.

And their World Series odds are improving

MLB News

(ESPN) Breaking down initial MLB CBA proposals: Salary cap and more

MLB proposed a salary-cap system Thursday, marking the league’s first foray into overhauling the sport’s economic structure in more than three decades. The long-awaited proposal would set a hard cap of $245.3 million and hard floor of $171.2 million, aiming to shrink the disparity among team payrolls by a significant amount. The league’s proposal — which also called for a 50/50 revenue split and the centralization of all television revenue — came one day after the MLBPA made a wide-ranging opening offer that called for a soft floor, new definitions of revenue sharing and pay increases for younger players.

(NBC Sports) Baseball players ask for expanded free agency, salary arbitration rights, almost doubling minimum

A day before Major League Baseball is expected to make a salary cap proposal, the union outlined its initial economic proposals during a bargaining session at the players’ association office in Manhattan. It included what it called a “competitive integrity tax” that would penalize teams dropping below a payroll floor and called for the luxury tax threshold to rise to $300 million next year.

(CBS Sports) NL Cy Young odds, prediction: Incredible race has current top six that doesn’t even include Paul Skenes

We just got past the two-month mark of the 2026 MLB season, which means there are still four long months to go. Needless to say, so many things can change over the large sample that is yet to come. In looking at the top-shelf pitching on the National League side, however, I couldn’t help but want to run through the race for the Cy Young award right now.

I count at least six pitchers with a very strong case and this doesn’t even include last season’s winner in Paul Skenes. I fully expect him to be in the mix by the time we get to September, but his case thus far in 2026 just doesn’t measure up to our top six.

The Brayan Bello Experience is turning into a complicated one in Boston on numerous levels. In the short-term, it’s unclear whether he should start or enter the game behind an “Opener.” In the season-long term, it’s unclear if he should be in the starting rotation or the bullpen. In the long, long term, it’s unclear if his extension through 2029 will be a bargain or a burden. 

The word “Opener” gives me the shakes and it’s just one example in a long list of things that the Rays did very well, out of necessity, and the rest of the league copied poorly. It can’t be denied that Bello’s three games as the “bulk” reliever have been astronomically better than his seven starts. 

That being said, Jovani Moran’s splits are an inverse relationship to Bello’s. In a fairly hot take, I don’t think Jovani Moran should start any more games this season. 

Whether it’s Bello or an Opener, the starting pitcher has stunk on ice in each of the ten Bello games this season. This isn’t working, whatever it is.

As Garrett Crochet faces live hitters for the second time this week, a rehab stint seems imminent. It’s unfathomable for any of Crochet, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, or Connelly Early to be removed from this rotation (at least not until Sonny Gray is traded at the deadline). It’s also hard envisioning Brayan Bello transitioning into the Greg Weissert role and faring much better. Bello has two minor league options left, but what would that do for his confidence?

When Bello debuted in 2022, out of necessity due to nine starting pitchers being on the IL, he was due to become a free agent after the 2027 season. The Red Sox bought out his arbitration years, and signed him to a six-year, $55M extension running from 2024 through 2029. Bello had been solid in 2023, with a 4.24 ERA in 157 innings, with a 13.0 K-BB% when the team offered the extension. Since that date, Bello’s ERA has stayed at an identical 4.24 ERA, but his K-BB% is down to 10.3%. His velocity has decreased, the barrels allowed are way up, and he disappointed in his playoff start last October. 

What would you do with Brayan Bello … Should he be following an Opener, and if so, whom? When Crochet returns, what should Bello’s role be? Do you anticipate him being in this Red Sox rotation for three more years after this one?

Enjoy the weekend, and be good to each other in the comments. 

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

The home run grind rolls into a great Friday slate, and the +EV dingers and MLB player props are plentiful today. 

It's never a bad idea to look for home runs in Cincinnati, but the pitching matchup is making it even better today, and getting the No. 2 HR/FB hitter in baseball at a price north of +500 is also making the card.

These are my favorite home run props for Friday, May 29.

Best MLB home run props today

Player to hit a HR	Odds
Mike Yastrzemski	+577
Bryce Harper	+527
Aaron Judge	+246
💲Today's HR parlay	+13630

Home run pick: Mike Yastrzemski (+577)

Great American Ball Park is always a strong place to target home runs, and Mike Yastrzemski is one of the better +EV dinger looks on the board today with a fair price around +480, per the projections at Covers powered by THE BAT.

He’s in strong form right now with the team’s third-best slugging percentage and wOBA over the last 30 days, while also getting the ball in the air consistently with a 52% fly-ball rate that ranks second on the team this month.

He’ll face Chris Paddack, who has been crushed at GABP this year with a 12.67 ERA and a 2.2 HR/9. His 35% groundball rate does him no favors in this park, and his Bottom-10 xFIP among MLB starters over the last 30 days suggests the struggles are very real.

Pitcher/hitter history is usually secondary, but it’s still worth noting that Yastrzemski has had success against Paddack with three home runs across 25 plate appearances.

• Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Reds.TV, BravesVision

Home run pick: Bryce Harper (+527)

Dodger Stadium grades out as a Top-5 park for home runs today, per Ballpark Pal, with 9-mph winds blowing out to right-center field.

That’s good news for a Bryce Harper bomb priced north of +500, with a buy point at +480 or better. Harper has already launched seven home runs this month and owns an absurd 31.8% HR/FB rate over the last 30 days, which ranks second in baseball behind only teammate Kyle Schwarber at 37.5%.

Harper’s fly-ball rate hasn’t been elite lately, but if he gets one in the air against Justin Wrobleski, it could quickly turn into four bases. Wrobleski is a fly-ball pitcher with reverse splits who has been vulnerable to left-handed hitters. There's often value in targeting reverse-split arms because the market tends to overprice the lefty vs. lefty matchup.

• Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Apple TV

Home run pick: Aaron Judge (+246)

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: YES, NBCS-California

Today’s HR parlay

Mike Yastrzemski	Bet Now +13630
Bryce Harper
Aaron Judge

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

MiLB Recap: Cooper Ingle homers again, top prospect Robert Arias seriously injured 

Columbus Clippers 10, Toledo Mud Hens 3 

Clippers improve to 28-25

The Columbus Clippers offense blasted off for 10 runs on 17 hits as every player in the lineup had at least one hit with five players have multi-hit games and all but two reaching base safely at least twice.

Leading the charge was Nolan Jones, who went 4-for-5 with a double. Jones has quietly raised his Triple-A batting average to .269 and his OPS is up to .802.

Angel Genao had a three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. 

Cooper Ingle had the big hit of the day, going 2-for-6 with a three-run home run.

C.J. Kayfus went 2-for-5 with a double and three runs scored, Milan Tolentino went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, Juan Brito went 1-for-2 with two walks and a steal and Bo Naylor returned to Columbus by going 1-for-4 with a walk.

Starting pitcher Austin Peterson was decent, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks in 4.0 innings. Knuckleballer Trenton Denholm was sensational in long relief, tossing 5.0 shutout one-hit frames with four strikeouts and three walks to earn the win.

Akron RubberDucks 4, Richmond Flying Squirrels 5

RubberDucks fall to 26-22

Akron had 12 hits but couldn’t string enough of them together on Thursday. Wuilfredo Antunez led the way, going 3-for-4.

Jaison Chourio doubled and walked while Jose Devers went 2-for-3 with a walk. Juan Benjamin went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice.

Starting pitcher Josh Hartle allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits in 5.0 innings. He didn’t strike out any batters and walked one.

Carter Rustad took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits in his 2.0 innings.

Lake County Captains 4, Beloit Sky Carp 2

Captains improve to 25-22

Lake County took advantage of eight walks to score four runs despite getting just four hits. Jace LaViolette reached base safely twice with a walk, a single and a stolen base.

Nolan Schubart walked twice and both Maick Collado and Esteban Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with a walk. Gonzalez also stole a base.

Starting pitcher Jackson Humphries was superb, tossing 4.0 shutout innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Michael Kennedy also had one of his better outings of the season, finishing off the game with 5.0 innings of long relief, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Hill City Howlers 2, Fayetteville Woodpeckers 4

Howlers fall to 24-24

Top Guardians outfield prospect Robert Arias was in the middle of a breakout season, slashing .294/.400/.865 through 44 games in his age-19 campaign at Single-A Hill City.

Unfortunately, after a leadoff single on Thursday, Arias was injured sliding into second base when I think he caught a spike and his foot rolled underneath his body and he was removed from the game in an air cast. I wish him the best and hope for a swift recovery.

Jose Pirela went 2-for-4 and Anthony Martinez doubled, but otherwise, the offense was pretty non-existent.

Starting pitcher Joey Oakie absolutely dominated opposing hitters, allowing one run on two hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in 4.2 innings. 

Ryan Prager was sensational out of the bullpen, striking out all six of his outs in 2.0 scoreless innings, but Miguel Flores allowed two runs in his 3.0 innings of long relief to take the loss.

MLB’s owners and players exchanged CBA proposals yesterday. Jeff Passan has your breakdown here for ESPN.

For one, I dread the discussion and division ahead. Of course, a hard cap benefits owners who want to control the spending they have to commit to in order to get top-end talent. Also, players do not particularly care about competitive balance issues and refuse to admit that the current financial system is not particularly fair to mid-level talent or to fans. I kinda hate everyone involved already so expect analysis from other writers here, not me.

Tim Stebbins has an article on Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter. Would be nice to see CDL get a little burst from the off-day and get back on track.

Steven Kwan has been placed on the family leave/bereavement list. Our sympathies go out to him and hopes that things will be ok, whatever is going on. Neither Stuart Fairchild nor George Valera were in the Columbus lineup yesterday. One would assume it will be Valera because he is on the 40-man and left-handed.

Around MLB:

The White Sox beat the Twins and the Tigers lost to the Angels.

When it was happening, the San Diego Padres and their fans knew the walk-off wins and seventh inning surges would not propel them through the season — but it was fun. The most recent homestand saw the Padres finish with a 3-6 record over nine games at Petco Park and was hardly the result anyone expected but was not totally shocking either.

There were concerns about the San Diego rotation coming into the season, but no one predicted the offense would be this bad. For the majority of the season, the big three of Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have struggled to provide any significant contributions at the plate. Machado has a slash line of .169/.265/.339 with nine home runs, 27 RBI and 27 runs scored. Tatis has a slash line of .260/.339/.300 with no home runs, 16 RBI and 19 runs scored, and Merrill has a slash line of .200/.271/.318 with four home runs, 19 RBI and 24 runs scored.

The trio of San Diego’s stars combined are eight home runs shy of the MLB leader, Kyle Schwarber. In fact, with all three combined, they would not rank in the top 10 in long balls this season. It was said about the spending under former owner Peter Seidler and it was said this season about the late-inning heroics to win games, this is not sustainable. Somehow the Padres remain seven games above .500, but San Diego is currently on a four-game skid and that seven can get to zero in a hurry unless something changes.

Padres News:

• Trade season is drawing near and already rumors about the Padres have surfaced. San Diego, according to reports, is considering adding to its elite bullpen and perhaps to the starting rotation. Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball tries to shed some light on why some moves could and/or should happen.

• Jackson Merrill has been one of the more disappointing players in the San Diego lineup, but he is working to change that. With two hits against Philadelphia Phillies ace Christopher Sanchez, he may be nearing a return to form.

• MLB and the MLBPA have traded proposals and have begun negotiating toward a new CBA that will prevent a lockout that will affect the 2027 season and beyond.

• Ryan Wideman stole two bases for Lake Elsinore and has pushed his season total to 35.

Baeball News:

• Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes recorded 10 strikeouts and allowed one earned run, but the Chicago Cubs won the game, 7-2.

• Chris Sale reminded the Red Sox what they lost when he left Boston as the Atlanta Braves cruised to a 10-2 win.

• Andres Gimenez homered and helped the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1.

• The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins and secured their first winning month since 2023.

• Grayson Rodriguez and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-1 in Detroit.

We took a little mini break from bases per out, but we were always going to come back. This is really about two suppositions. First, the Astros current pitching staff is MLB average. We saw that in the last lab that we ran on Wednesday. Yes, Josh Hader is due back next week. Hunter Brown is due back in a couple of weeks. Still, this is not the kind of pitching staff the team had in 2018, 2019, or 2022. That brings us to the second supposition. The Astros offense is also currently average.

The good news is that the team finds themselves three games out of first place as of this writing. There have been a few instances in history where teams have won their division with fewer than 85 wins. When I reviewed the math problem with everyone it was based on the assumption that 85 wins would be needed to get into the playoffs. It is fair at this point to question whether that actually is true. If it takes only 82 or 83 wins then the math changes and things become much more possible.

Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker have been spectacular this season. Yet, when you look at the rest of the current unit, no other regular has an OPS higher than Christian Vazquez at .725 and he will likely see that go down if expected numbers are correct. Players like Jeremy Pena are expected to improve and certainly that should be the case, but this offense is a little top heavy and that is clear in the outfield. If we consider Yordan Alvarez as a designated hitter only then there are seven guys that have gotten considerable time that likely will factor into the current or future plans of the organization.

As a reminder, bases per out are calculated by adding total bases, walks, stolen bases, and hit by pitches and dividing it by the total number of outs a player accrues. The current MLB average is .663. It goes without saying, but you want the players with the most outs to be the players that accrue the most damage per out. However, I am sure you will notice something immediately when looking at the outfielders. They will be listed in order of outs.

You’ve undoubtedly noticed that Trammel is the only outfielder over the league average and he has the least number of outs. Obviously, that is due to his untimely injury in Cleveland and he has been back in the lineup since returning from the injured list. Cole was mercifully sent down and Loperfido is on a rehab assignment, so he should be back next week as well. So, who amongst these guys will he replace?

Admittedly, holding a spot is not only a function of offensive production. The Astros have to consider things like positional flexibility, options, and defensive output. The same is true for when deciding who gets to start and where. Based on those points alone, Dezenzo would seem to be the most likely player out because of a lack of positional flexibility and defensive ability.

Certainly, this current road trip has changed a lot of minds over what is possible down the stretch. I am certainly in that group, but it is more about what other teams are not doing than what the Astros have actually done. Given that, the job for Joe Espada is to manage with razor thin margins and get as much blood out of that rock as possible. Many of you are screaming about the fielding side and it is definitely a factor. So, below we see the defensive innings along with the defensive runs saved (DRS), outs above average (OAA), and fielding run value (FRV). All three are popular fielding metrics that usually say the same thing, but occasionally disagree because they all have their own methods and assumptions.

To give everyone some context, Smith is likely to be a finalist again for the Gold Glove in right field if he continues on this pace. Unlike last season, he may actually take it home this time. That obviously complicates a decision as to whether he should get regular starts in right field. When you add in the fact that he is probably the second best outfielder offensively behind Loperfido (Trammel likely comes back to Earth) then it seems pretty clear that he has right field held down.

This is why competing matters. If you are in the business of winning games then you put the best three guys out there. If you are in the business of development then you consider the best interests of the player. Smith likely should have been in the minors last season and maybe this season as well. It still might have been best for his overall development. Yet, if you are in the business of winning games then you need him out there.

Loperfido and Trammel seem like a nice platoon in left of sorts. In this case, it isn’t so much which side of the plate they hit from (left) as riding the hot hand in the moment. Trammel is not likely to be an average MLB performer over a full season. He certainly looks the part now, so you might as well ride that bull until it bucks you. Over a longer timeline, Loperfido has a slightly higher upside.

That leaves centerfield. Matthews has made that more compelling through his defense. Is Jake Meyers likely to live at a .531 BPO? He has a career .613 BPO. It seems reasonable to expect him to get back to the neighborhood of a .600 BPO at the very least. That certainly begs the question: is Brice Matthews likely to elevate himself to that? Obviously, what 2027 or 2028 might look like is anyone’s best guess, but the simple answer to that question in 2026 is likely no.

When Jose Altuve comes back it becomes a question of whether you want to option Matthews, Braden Shewmake, or Nick Allen. We haven’t looked at their numbers yet, but suffice it to say that both are performing better than Matthews. Remember, this is about squeezing as much offense as possible out of players that are not quite league average. If you have enough luck and win enough close games then you can find yourself right back in the hunt. These are razor thin margins we are talking about here, so the Astros must exploit every positive difference they can.