CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 27: Cole Carrigg #16 of the Colorado Rockies rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during the game between the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Sunday, September 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Kyle Sheridan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
We did it, folks.
We made it through another 162 games of Rockies baseball.
While they limped to the end and ultimately finished 58-104, there were plenty of glimmers of hope for the future (as well as many reminders of why they finished with a fourth-consecutive 100-loss season).
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be running our “Ranking the Rockies” series as well as continue to bring you as many updates as we can about the team.
But in the meantime, here are some updates from a busy final weekend of the MLB regular season!
Rockies News & Links
Goodman reaches 40-HR milestone, and Rockies want more | MLB.com — Hunter Goodman finished 2026 with 41 home runs, becoming the first Rockie since 2019 to accomplish the feat. Thomas Harding caught up with the slugging catcher after the milestone on Saturday night.
Brewers buck tradition, name Christian Yelich first captain in club history | The Athletic ($) — Christian Yelich has been a stalwart for the Brewers since they traded for him during the 2017-2018 offseason. The Brew Crew rewarded him by naming him Captain, one of three active players to don the title (Aaron Judge of the Yankees and Salvador Perez of the Royals). If the Rockies decided to name a captain, who would it be?
Dan Wilson will not return as Seattle Mariners manager | ESPN — The Seattle Mariners struggled mightily in 2026 after 2025 saw them nearly make the World Series. Unfortunately for Dan Wilson, that meant the end of his tenure. He was promoted to manager on August 22, 2024 and went 186-171 in 357 games at the helm.
Alonso becomes first player to win RBI title in both leagues | MLB.com — After 10 years in the New York Mets organization (six in the Majors), Pete Alonso signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason. He had a productive year, slashing .267/.363/.522 with 43 homers (1st in the AL) in 161 games with the O’s and became the first player to win the RBI title in both the National and American Leagues.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 23: Roman Anthony #19 of the Boston Red Sox stands on deck in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Fenway Park on September 23, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees gained an extra day of rest with a nor’easter canceling Game 162 against the Orioles on Sunday. It means they’ll have two days off before opening their 2026 playoff odyssey Tuesday night against the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series. Boston has one less day of rest after losing to the Cubs, 6-2, on the final day of the regular season. Earlier today, my colleague Josh provided a preview of Boston’s top-of-the-class pitching staff, and now we’ll look at the offense.
The Red Sox were seemingly dead and buried on June 24th after dropping two of three to the last place Rockies. They sat in last place at 32-46, 15.5 games back of the first-place Rays, listless after the ground-shaking April 25th firing of longtime manager Alex Cora. But then a four game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway catalyzed one of the most stunning mid-season turnarounds in recent memory. They won an astonishing 27 of 30 games between July 3rd and August 7th to seriously threaten the Yankees’ position in second place. This owes a lot to, as Josh covered, a pitching staff that was fantastic all season long. However, the sudden emergence of impact hitters from the margins of the roster deserves as much of the praise for ultimately getting them into this playoff series against the Yankees.
Before we look at the individual players, we should recap how the offense in aggregate performed across the whole season. They finished middle of the pack in terms of OPS (.718), wRC+ (99), stolen bases (107), and fWAR (20.3). They hit the fifth-fewest home runs (162) in the league while striking out and walking at a roughly league-average clip. And as the Yankees deal with uncertainty over Aaron Judge’s availability, the Red Sox just got their own star slugger back just in time for this series.
Willson Contreras missed eight games after being struck on the hand by a pitch, but returned to the lineup in the final game of the regular season. The longtime Cardinal seemingly had a point to prove all season after getting traded to the Red Sox over the winter, and he was far and away Boston’s best hitter, slashing .276/.387/.518 with a team-high 27 home runs, 81 RBI and 4.1 fWAR, his 152 wRC+ third in baseball among hitters with at least 500 PAs. He thrives against fastballs and anything on the outer-half, his one weak spot up and in.
Roman Anthony appeared poised to step up as the league’s next superstar after a breakout rookie campaign, but a torn finger ligament limited him to just 54 games. He returned with two hits against the Yankees on August 30th and posted a 123 wRC+ in his final 24 games, though he finished with just five home runs in 240 plate appearances. Like Contreras, he loves to crush the fastball, but is certainly vulnerable to breaking balls from righties and changeups from lefties low and away.
Before the season started, the outfield was expected to carry the offense. Despite Anthony missing most of the season, the outfield still produced the bulk of the position player value. Ceddanne Rafaela posted his first above-average campaign by wRC+ (108) while maintaining Gold Glove defense in center but did deal with some right leg injuries in the final weeks of the season. Wilyer Abreu didn’t quite take the next step that many expected him to but still produced plenty of value by matching his career averages by batting .248/.327/.446 with 24 home runs, 76 RBI, and a 112 wRC+, though his defense regressed significantly from its usual sterling standard. The pair do the bulk of their damage against the breaking ball so expect a heavy diet of fastballs inside to Abreu and away to Rafaela.
All this being said, the story of the Red Sox season and in particular the turnaround in fortunes has been the transformation of other teams’ castoffs and their own borderline MLB players into impact contributors, not dissimilar from the Yankees’ next-man-up movement in 2019. Chief among them was Mickey Gasper, who was claimed off waivers over the winter and was optioned multiple times early before exploding for a 130 wRC+ in 67 games (though will miss this series with a biceps injury). One-time Yankee Jahmai Jones thrived in a platoon bench role, posting a 184 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances, almost exclusively against lefties.
Caleb Durbin was a sturdy three-win player who batted league average. Former Yankees first round pick Anthony Seigler was a revelation for 49 games at second posting a 102 wRC+, though his availability is threatened by a wrist injury. Nick Easton floundered in his first two big league seasons but was good for a 104 wRC+ in 65 games.
There are some softer landing spots in the lineup. Adley Rutschman never quite adjusted to life with the Red Sox with just a 77 wRC+ in 31 games after moving to Boston at the deadline and could yield playing time to Connor Wong behind the plate. Jarren Duran endured a miserable campaign at a 70 wRC+ in 150 games and likely played himself out of a starting role in the playoffs. Trevor Story could only a muster a 68 wRC+ in 63 games of another injury ravaged season.
For Boston, the question becomes whether this accumulation of injuries to position players leaves them blunted for this series. That being said, their main protagonists are all available just in time, Contreras, Anthony, Abreu, and Rafaela representing a potent threat at the top of the lineup. If the Yankees can limit the damage done by those four they’ll be in a good position to advance.
KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 01: A general view of Kauffman Stadium on Easter, April 1, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri. The scheduled game between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to weather. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
“Yeah, getting to that 200 mark is definitely a cool feeling,” Wacha said. “It’s always been a goal of mine as a starting pitcher to reach that number. And yeah, definitely a cool memory that I’ll have.”
Wacha gave up six runs — although only two were earned — in what turned out to be an 11-5 loss on Saturday to the Guardians.
“You know, he’s battled some things just like everybody does throughout the course of the year,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said pregame. “And having your body go through the rigors of pitching this many innings. But, he’s never wavered, and he takes a lot of pride in it. And we’ve seen him continually evolve year after year.”
“He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Professional, gives you everything he’s got. I know he was frustrated with the results tonight, but you look up and he’s out there in the seventh. … I love the guy. Love everything about him, love the way he competes.”
He’s now homered 20 times while batting leadoff and playing catcher, which is eight more such home runs in a career than anyone else in MLB history.
That’s not your normal catcher.
“He’s driven. We talk about it all the time. He works, he’s committed, he wants to be better,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I know he’s had a really good season. I mean, anytime you pass Mike Piazza in something, that’s pretty impressive. We talk about his growth on the defensive side of the ball as well, but overall, he still wants to be better. He’s not satisfied.”
Some moments in baseball feel so cinematic they barely seem to be real, and this weekend we saw one such moment in the final start of Justin Verlander’s career. In A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks famously declares, “There’s no crying in baseball!” but this weekend proved that things were a little more like Moneyball. “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” As Verlander’s final career start came to an end, it wasn’t Tigers manager AJ Hinch who went to the mound to collect the ball from his starter, but rather Verlander’s eight-year-old daughter Genevieve. Verlander was clearly emotional, openly crying as he hugged his daughter before Hinch joined him on the mound and he shook hands and hugged his teammates before waving to the standing crowd at Comerica Park. It was, one might say, a perfect finale. Hollywood couldn’t have done it better.
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Verlander might not be the only ace calling it a career, though, as many speculate that Max Scherzer’s incredible final outing on Sunday in Toronto could very well be his curtain call as well.
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We look at that, and also the postseason picture below, because while some teams are packing it up and getting ready for next year, we still have plenty of postseason baseball to get through.
Neil Patrick Harris will lead a Broadway revival of “Damn Yankees,” this time featuring… the Orioles? (Here’s a direct link to the Bluesky post for those reading on Apple News.)
Pope Leo was coy when asked if he offered a little divine intervention on behalf of the White Sox. (Here’s a direct link to the Bluesky post for those on Apple News)
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And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.
BILOXI, MS - SEPTEMBER 20: Andrew Fischer #25 of the Biloxi Shuckers looks on prior to the game between the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Biloxi Shuckers at Keesler Federal Park on Sunday, September 20, 2026 in Biloxi, Mississippi. (Photo by Sierra Gatz/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!
As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering… sorry, force of habit. With the Biloxi Shuckers’ loss in the third and final game of the Southern League Championship Series, the season is officially over for each of the Brewers’ affiliates, which means it’s time to take a look at what happened in the minors this season.
Notable Graduations: 23 starts into Logan Henderson’s career, he has yet to have a bad start. Henderson hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any given start in his entire career, which ties him with Zac Gallen for the record. His 0.844 WHIP is the lowest by a rookie starting pitcher (min. 50 innings) since Elmer Steele, who did it in 1908. No rookie has pitched as well as Henderson since a guy who made his major league debut for the Boston Americans. Hard to overstate just how incredible he’s been as a steady presence in a rotation that’s been beset by injuries and, at times, underperformance.
Other notable pitching prospects who graduated included Brandon Sproat, who flashed amazing stuff but will need to work on his control to become a viable major league starting pitcher, and Shane Drohan, who posted a 4.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through 123 innings this season. Despite having made his debut over two years ago now, Robert Gasser was still considered a prospect coming into the season, and he’s been an integral part of the rotation for much of the season. Recently, Gasser has seemed to flip a switch; since his emergency relief “start” on August 26, he’s put up a 1.67 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 32 1/3 innings, bringing his ERA for the season down to 3.38.
Luis Lara came out hot this season, earning himself both a call-up and a contract extension by mid-summer. In 60 games with the Brewers, he’s only slashed .246/.313/.326, but his defense in right field has been stellar — one of the reasons he’s been worth 1.1 bWAR in less than three months. The other prospect to earn an extension was Cooper Pratt, who looks to be cementing himself as the shortstop of the future. Pratt is hitting .281 with a .716 OPS and has been worth 1.6 bWAR in 221 at-bats with Milwaukee.
Looking at Triple-A stats at the end of the year is always a bit weird because the best prospects (and a good number of the AAAA guys) usually don’t spend a ton of time at the level. It’s rare that a top prospect spends a full year raking in Triple-A; as with Lara, the organization usually will want to see whether said prospect can replicate their success in the majors.
With that being said, there’s still a lot worth mentioning out of Nashville. Luke Adams was ranked as a top-10 organizational prospect prior to last season, is still ranked at No. 13, and just posted an OPS well over .900 in 212 at-bats. He doesn’t have much more to prove in Triple-A, which theoretically would make him a candidate to make the big leagues next year.
The reason he’s not getting more love is that the Brewers are stacked with corner infielders and corner infield prospects. To illustrate my point: in some organizations, guys like Tyler Black (and maybe even Brock Wilken) would have gotten a real shot in the big leagues. Because the Brewers are as deep as they are, playing time is harder to come by. At the same time, Adams has hit at every level despite a somewhat unconventional swing (that has gotten more conventional in recent years) and just posted a career-high 16 home runs (13 in Triple-A). Should he get an opportunity — whether due to injuries or potential offseason moves — it won’t surprise me if he takes advantage of it.
Luke Adams just hit his third homer of the game to make it 10-8 in the 9th inning
Another player I’d like to see more of in the big leagues is Coleman Crow, who led Sounds starting pitchers in both ERA and innings pitched. In his brief time with Milwaukee, he impressed, and he reminds me a little bit of guys like Chad Patrick and Drohan who weren’t super highly-regarded prospects, but developed into dependable swingmen. Crow’s curveball also might be one of the best pitches in the entire organization. One thing worth mentioning is that, at 5’10”, 175 lbs, he’s a good deal smaller than Patrick and Drohan, and most pitchers — more Tim Lincecum-esque, if anything. Still, that hasn’t stopped him so far.
Garrett Stallings, who also pitched well in limited time with the Brewers, served as a dependable option for the Sounds. Guys who can show up in Milwaukee and pitch three scoreless innings out of the pen don’t grow on trees, so it speaks to the Brewers’ pitching depth that he’s a Triple-A arm. Also, he’s a great guy:
Your Community Player of the Year is Garrett Stallings 👏 Garrett was an impact player on and off the field, frequently volunteering at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital and our Sertoma Club Clinic. If you caught a game in Hit City this year, you likely saw him at our Sunday… pic.twitter.com/ZzpIw31Ttz
Blake Holub also deserves some love, as a 2.10 ERA in 55 2/3 innings out of the bullpen is nothing to sneeze at.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning that Jeferson Quero and Jett Williams, two top-10 organizational prospects coming into the season, both had somewhat disappointing years.
As signaled by the acquisition of Bo Naylor, Milwaukee seems to lack confidence in Quero’s arm being what it was prior to the labrum injury he suffered after his first at-bat of 2024. He started 48 games at catcher compared to 70 at designated hitter and by the end of the year was pretty much only a DH. Quero allowed 98 stolen bases in 116 attempts, or over two stolen bases per game, which works out to a pretty abysmal 15.5% caught-stealing rate.
Williams’ season also ended up looking less-than-ideal due to injuries, but there’s more cause for optimism with him. He had just one plate appearance since July 7 due to elbow and ankle injuries; in other words, he essentially missed the last three months of the season. Williams ended his season slashing .233/.340/.384 (.724 OPS) over 81 games; not a terrible line, but also not an improvement on his time with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate (.718 OPS). Still, he might have ended up in Milwaukee anyway had it not been for the injuries.
Double-A Biloxi Shuckers
Record: 66-68 Standout performances:
1B Blake Burke: .285/.367/.603, 30 HR in 375 at-bats
1B/3B Andrew Fischer: .254/.389/.637, 28 HR in 248 at-bats
C Matthew Wood: .257/.398/.492, 18 HR in 303 at-bats
LF Josh Adamczewski: .278/.382/.465 in 241 at-bats
Biloxi had a few mainstays — among them No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made — but there was a good amount of roster reshuffling down in Mississippi, which explains why the Shuckers won their division in the first half but finished the second half under .500.
Still, despite finishing the full season with a losing record, the Shuckers had the most successful season of any Brewers affiliate. Their first-half division title guaranteed them a playoff berth, and they swept the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the best-of-three division series to earn a spot in the championship series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, where they lost the decisive third game by two runs.
What made this team special? Brewers farm director Tom Flanagan said this year’s Shuckers were “probably the greatest collection of high-upside talent” he’d ever seen on one club. This season, Biloxi rostered baseball’s No. 1 prospect (Made), the minor league home run leader (Andrew Fischer), the Southern League MVP (Blake Burke), and all four finalists for the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year award.
Made spent the entire season as the Southern League’s youngest player and still hit .271/.344/.430 with 14 home runs, 37 steals, and 91 RBIs, breaking Jackson Chourio’s franchise record of 90. The underlying numbers are even better: a 10.2% walk rate and a 14.3% strikeout rate as a teenager in Double-A is ridiculous. No more ink needs to be spilled on him; he’s the No. 1 prospect in baseball for a reason. Hopefully fans will get to see him in Triple-A to start next season.
Jesús Made delivers a pair of run-scoring hits in the playoffs 🔥
The refrain you’ll see with regard to Fischer is that he strikes out too much. That’s true — Fischer is the final boss of three-true-outcome prospects. If he makes the majors, he’ll be a rare case; Joey Gallo is pretty much the only player to strike out that much (33%) in the minors and become an established major leaguer, and even then, he didn’t last all that long.
Then again, Fischer also walked 102 times, hit 48 home runs (plus two more in the playoffs), and posted a 1.067 OPS in his first full professional season. His 48 regular-season home runs are the most by any minor leaguer since Ron Kittle hit 50 in 1982, and second only to Gorman Thomas (51 in 1974) among Brewers minor leaguers. He also led all qualified full-season minor leaguers in slugging (.654) and OPS. Maybe he’s just a unicorn? Nothing he’s done so far suggests that he isn’t…
Burke won Southern League MVP even though he was promoted to Nashville on August 10. Yeah, you read that right: Burke won MVP despite not being in the league the last month and a half of the season. In 96 games with Biloxi, he hit .285/.367/.603 with 30 home runs, leading the league in average, slugging, and OPS and setting Shuckers single-season records for homers and OPS. He needed only 88 games to reach 30 home runs, the fastest any Double-A hitter has done it since at least 2005. Burke also stole 29 bases and flashed the leather a few times at first base. I’m planting my flag: even though he struggled in Triple-A (.193/.299/.336 in 119 at-bats), I think Burke is the Brewers’ first baseman of the future.
Also of note: Made, Fischer, and catcher Darrien Miller were the three Shuckers sent to Nashville for the Brewers’ “stay ready” camp after the season ended, which is a nice little nod to how the organization views them.
Josh Adamczewski has raked everywhere he’s been, so it’s not necessarily a surprise that he had another great season. A 15th-round pick in 2023, he hit .331 with a 1.036 OPS for Wisconsin, got promoted in mid-June, and then hit safely in each of his first 12 games with Biloxi. He finished with a .278/.382/.465 line at Double-A and made the Southern League All-Star team. Across both levels, he hit .300/.417/.509 with 18 homers and 78 walks. Baseball America now has him at No. 88 overall, and he should be higher going into next season.
Josh Adamczewski (@Brewers No. 3 prospect) wallops his first homer of the playoffs to get the Double-A @BiloxiShuckers on the board in Game 1 of the Southern League Finals
Matthew Wood also merits a mention. The 25-year-old catcher, a fourth-round pick out of Penn State in 2022, didn’t make the Brewers’ top 30 list heading into the season, but he was one of the Shuckers’ best players this year. Not only did he post an .890 OPS with 18 home runs, but he also kept hitting in the playoffs, homering and driving in four runs in the game that clinched the division series against Pensacola, then doubling in Game 1 of the championship series.
The obvious caveat is age. Twenty-five is on the older side for Double-A, so it’s fair to want to see him do it in Triple-A before getting too excited. Still, remember what I said about Quero? Milwaukee’s catching situation beyond next season is murkier than it’s been in a while, and a left-handed-hitting catcher whom scouts have long considered capable of sticking behind the plate is exactly the kind of player who could sneak into the picture.
The career year continues for Matthew Wood! His 18th blast of the year goes 450 feet and gets us on the board!
On the mound, Manuel Rodríguez was the Shuckers’ workhorse. The 21-year-old went 13-4, a new Shuckers record for wins, albeit with a 4.74 ERA. With that being said, his ERA in High-A last year was 3.01, and he led the entire organization with 133 innings, so the Brewers clearly see something in him. A 21-year-old throwing 133 innings with fairly respectable numbers is impressive in its own right.
By the end of the season, Biloxi’s rotation featured three starters ranked as top 20 organizational prospects. Bishop Letson and Josh Knoth are ranked No. 8 and 9, respectively, by MLB Pipeline, while J.D. Thompson comes in at No. 18. Letson’s surface numbers (4.85 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) aren’t pretty, but he finished strong. He posted a 1.69 ERA over his last three starts, then threw seven shutout innings with 11 strikeouts in the Shuckers’ Game 2 win against Rocket City.
Knoth missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and came back to throw 87 2/3 innings with a 4.11 ERA and 87 strikeouts, including a 2.77 ERA in three late-season starts with Biloxi. For a pitcher coming off a lost year, it’s good just to see him stack innings, but his stats aren’t anything to sneeze at, either. Thompson, a 2025 second-rounder, missed time due to injury but put up a 3.98 ERA in 17 starts between High-A and Double-A.
Josh Knoth just turned 21 and put up a strong start in the first game of the Southern League Championship 🔥
Like Letson, both Knoth and Thompson finished strong this season after a couple of rough early outings, showing that they’re figuring it out. Knoth put up a 2.77 ERA in 3 Double-A starts prior to the playoffs. That’s all the Brewers — and Shuckers — want to see from three young, extremely talented pitching prospects.
High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Record: 80-69 Standout performances:
1B/3B Eric Bitonti: .270/.391/.525, 25 HR in 400 at-bats
2B Daniel Dickinson: .282/.428/.441, 60 SB in 390 at-bats
OF Braylon Payne: .277/.369/.561, 23 HR in 367 at-bats
OF Luis Castillo: .245/.357/.469, 20 HR in 310 at-bats
Wisconsin’s season was hard to evaluate because so much of its talent left town early. Fischer, Adamczewski, and Braylon Payne all started the year in Appleton before being promoted to Biloxi. Even so, the Timber Rattlers had one of the Midwest League’s better offenses.
The centerpiece of that offense should have been Luis Peña, MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 overall prospect, but unfortunately his season was defined more by what happened off the field than on it. Peña collapsed in the dugout, reportedly due to severe dehydration, in late April, and ended up missing a month. He had a second health scare a few weeks after his return, then missed another two weeks with a hamstring injury in June. When he played, he was very good, slashing .298/.384/.420 with 27 steals in 51 games.
Peña was promoted to Biloxi in mid-August, but fractured his fibula just a couple of weeks later while trying to steal third. The Brewers expect him to make a full recovery, but it will be anywhere from six to nine months before he’s back on the field, meaning he likely won’t be ready to play to begin 2027.
Eric Bitonti, ranked No. 26 in the system by MLB Pipeline, was one of the biggest breakouts in the farm system. He hit 25 home runs, all with Wisconsin, setting a new franchise record. He also hit .262/.378/.507 with 93 RBIs and 24 steals, all at just 20 years old. Bitonti’s raw power has never been in question; the question was whether he could do the other stuff well enough to stay on the field. This year, he did, and he played third base — not first — better than he ever has. All of that earned him a spot in Biloxi for the final week of the season. Frankly, I think he’s still underrated by Pipeline at No. 26.
Eric Bitonti was named to the Midwest League All-Star team as a 20-year-old 🏅
Bitonti showed off his 6' 5" frame at both 1st and 3rd base and continues to impress with his elite power (50% Hard-Hit) and lifting the baseball (60% Air rate) 💥
That home run record Bitonti broke? It was set by his teammate Payne, the Brewers’ first-round pick in 2024 and my pick for breakout player of the year. I’ve spilled a lot of ink on Payne already, but in short: he would have been a great prospect even if his power had never developed. It did.
Payne hit .277/.369/.561 with 23 homers in 77 games and made the Midwest League All-Star team. He didn’t slow down after his promotion to Biloxi, either, posting an .846 OPS in 25 games and homering in the playoffs. Put it all together, and you’ve got a speedy 20-year-old outfielder with 28 homers and 25 steals. He should be a consensus top-100 prospect going into next season.
Braylon Payne’s first postseason dinger leaves his bat at 117 mph 🔥
Former sixth-round pick Daniel Dickinson doesn’t get the same attention, but he stole 61 bases (!) with 11 homers and an .866 OPS, mostly with Wisconsin, before a late promotion to Biloxi. Also of note: Luis Castillo led the team with 90 RBIs and hit 20 home runs.
Marco Dinges kept hitting this year, with an .855 OPS in nearly 300 at-bats, but he almost exclusively served as a designated hitter this year, starting 19 games at catcher and 55 at DH. Something to keep an eye on: with Wood and Darrien Miller both playing well in Double-A, his only catching three games there makes sense, but he started more than twice as many games at DH as at catcher with Wisconsin.
While Wisconsin got plenty of standout performances at the plate, the pitching staff, which ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, was less impressive. The exception was Wande Torres. Over his last 12 outings with Wisconsin, Torres went 6-0 with a 2.32 ERA, striking out 76 and walking 20 in 62 innings, and he won the organization’s Pitcher of the Month award in both July and August. His full-season numbers (4.15 ERA, 126 strikeouts in 115 innings) undersell how good he was down the stretch.
Single-A Wilson Warbirds
Record: 80-69 Standout performances:
SS Brady Ebel: .261/.417/.420 in 383 at-bats
OF Handelfry Encarnacion: .250/.379/.405 in 432 at-bats
The Wilson Warbirds, formerly the Carolina Mudcats, had an eventful inaugural season. They went 64-66, but led the Carolina League with 13 walk-off wins. It’s worth mentioning that they were within a game and a half of a playoff spot in mid-August before losing their final 12 games. Like Wisconsin, the Warbirds could hit, finishing second in the league in runs.
Brady Ebel, the No. 32 overall pick in 2025, was named the top prospect in the Carolina League. Early on, that didn’t look probable at all, as Ebel went 2-for-35 over his first 10 games. However, after that, he slashed .261/.417/.420 with 10 homers, 96 walks, and 39 steals in 105 games before a late promotion to Wisconsin. Oh, and he led the entire organization in walks. A .417 OBP from a 19-year-old shortstop in his first full season is about as good a sign as you’ll get when evaluating a prospect. Pipeline clearly agrees, as Ebel is now ranked as the Brewers’ No. 4 prospect, behind only Made, Peña, and Adamczewski.
Brady Ebel flashes the leather 🌟
MLB's No. 99 prospect (@Brewers) makes a silky smooth play in his first action at shortstop for the High-A @TimberRattlers.
His younger brother Trey Ebel, the Brewers’ first-round pick this summer, joined Wilson after Brady’s promotion and walked 16 times in 13 games. Plate discipline apparently runs in the family. Also — in an instance of baseball being weird — Trey got to finish a plate appearance that Brady started. That plate appearance ended with a walk.
What do you make of a hitter with 23 home runs and a .173 batting average? That’s the question with Jose Anderson. The 19-year-old led the team in homers and RBIs (70) and hit three walk-off home runs, including an 11th-inning walk-off grand slam against Salem. He’d hit 19 homers in 140 games over the two previous seasons, so the power is real. However, unlike Fischer, he hasn’t proven he can hit for average or get on base — Anderson had a 10.5% walk rate this year.
Brailyn Antunez might have raised his stock more than anyone in the organization over the final month. After a promotion from the Arizona Complex League, the 18-year-old outfielder slashed .339/.450/.573 with seven homers in 124 at-bats and won Carolina League Player of the Month for August. It’s a small sample, sure, but it’s hard to ask for a better introduction to full-season ball.
Brailyn Antunez has been the most dangerous hitter in the Carolina League and was awarded the Player of the Month award for August 🏅
Antunez put up a 1.093 OPS on 5 HR and 5 Doubles (.628 SLG) in his first full month at the Low-A level as an 18-year-old 🔥#ThisIsMyCrewpic.twitter.com/gPBAViP7pA
As in Wisconsin, the pitching staff, which also ranked 10th of 12 teams in ERA, couldn’t keep pace with the offense. There were a few bright spots, though. Miqueas Mercedes led all qualified Brewers minor league pitchers with a 2.81 ERA, although he also walked 45 batters in less than 75 innings. Swiss Army knife lefty reliever Jose Meneses posted a 1.88 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings before moving up to Wisconsin. Jarrette Bonet, an undrafted free agent signed in 2025, led the team with 100 strikeouts; his 4.86 ERA isn’t great, but it’s a solid first full season for a UDFA.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning Frank Cairone, the Brewers’ 2025 supplemental second-round pick, who was seriously injured in a car accident in January. He was back on the mound in the Arizona Complex League by July, then pitched for Wilson before the season ended. The numbers don’t matter; it’s just great to see him pitching.
Play of the Year
While there were a number of deserving plays this year, only one made history:
PERFECTION!
THOMAS PANNONE COMPLETES THE THIRD PERFECT GAME IN NASHVILLE SOUNDS HISTORY & JUST THE FIFTH 9-INNING INDIVIDUAL PERFECT GAME IN INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/ZutA0JBfYv
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 27: A general view of Oracle Park as the San Francisco Giants play the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 27, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The 2026 San Francisco Giants season is officially over. For better, and mostly worse. I’ll have a lot more to say about this season as a whole in the coming days, as we all likely will, once the dust has settled.
But today, I wanted to check in and see what your initial reflections on this season are?
Personally, I feel relieved. I have loved this team since I was a child, and I have covered this team for 10 years and not one of those seasons has felt like such torture. On every front. Every part of this season has felt like misery to watch, write about, and I’m sure even to live for those involved in it.
So I am relieved. We are free of 2026 San Francisco Giants and I don’t know that I’ve ever been happier for a season to come to an end. That’s about all I’ve got at this point, so I’ll hand the metaphorical mic over to you guys.
What are your initial reflections on the 2026 season?
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 26: Travis Bazzana #37 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrates with Jose Ramirez #11 after scoring during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on September 26, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The MLB playoff teams are in place, with the Astros and Phillies qualifying yesterday.
Here is the schedule for the first round of the playoffs. No baseball today, then a bunch of baseball tomorrow.
Zack Meisel wrote about Austin Hedges’ miraculous season as a hitter. Truly remarkable that he ended up an above average hitter.
Guardians fans have been thanking Hunter Goodman and the Rockies by donating to a Colorado charity for kids.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 24: Jackson Chourio #11 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a solo home run in the ninth inning during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, September 24, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Welcome to week 27 (the final week!) of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (103-59); 5-1 this week; Clinched NL Central
The Brewers capped off the best regular season in franchise history, as they went 5-1 against the Phillies and Cardinals to finish the year with 103 wins, easily surpassing the previous record of 97 wins set in 2025.
Brice Turang capped off a 20-homer, 100-RBI season with two homers and three doubles this week, driving in a team-high seven. Jackson Chourio added eight hits, including a homer, while driving in five, scoring seven runs, and swiping a pair of bases. Christian Yelich and Gary Sánchez also homered.
Jacob Misiorowski finished his historic season with another scoreless outing, striking out five over 5 1/3 innings to pick up his 16th win of the year. Logan Henderson turned in five innings of one-run ball, while Robert Gasser went six innings with one run allowed, striking out a team-high nine batters. Aaron Ashby, Trevor Megill, Antonio Senzatela, and Shane Drohan each picked up a save this week for the bullpen.
Milwaukee now enjoys a little bit of a break, as they’ll be closely watching the NL Wild Card Series between the Cubs and Padres. The winner of that best-of-three set will face the Brewers in the best-of-five NLDS beginning in Milwaukee on Saturday.
2. Chicago Cubs (89-73); 2-4 this week; Clinched NL Wild Card #2
Chicago limped to the finish line, finishing in the second Wild Card spot after dropping two of three to both the Marlins and Red Sox this week.
Alex Bregman, who exited last Sunday’s game after taking a foul ball off the face in the on-deck circle, returned with a bang, slugging two homers and a double as part of a four-hit weekend against Boston. Seiya Suzuki added the only other homer, while Pete Crow-Armstrong finished off a 40-homer, 40-steal season with three steals this week.
Matthew Boyd had the best start of the week, going seven innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts. David Peterson tossed five scoreless innings, striking out six, while Gavin Hollowell, Daniel Palencia, Colin Rea, Ryan Zeferjahn, and Jacob Webb combined for 9 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, striking out six.
The Cubs now travel to San Diego, where they’ll take on the Padres in a best-of-three NL Wild Card Series to determine who faces the Brewers in the NLDS.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates (82-80); 3-3 this week; Eliminated from Postseason
The Pirates ended their season on a high-ish note, as they officially clinched a winning season for the first time since 2018, going 3-3 against the Cardinals and Tigers.
Brandon Lowe slugged a pair of homers to lead the Bucs, while Konnor Griffin wrapped up a solid rookie campaign, picking up a team-high eight hits, including a homer. Rafael Flores and Jacob Gonzalez both added homers as their lone hits of the week.
Paul Skenes finished off another 200-strikeout campaign, going 6 1/3 innings with one run allowed and eight strikeouts. Jared Jones turned in a pair of solid outings, totaling 11 innings with no runs allowed and 14 strikeouts. Lake Bachar, Yohan Ramírez, Evan Sisk, Gregory Soto, Luke Weaver, and the retiring Kirby Yates combined for 15 scoreless innings, striking out 21.
4. St. Louis Cardinals (77-85); 1-5 this week; Eliminated from Postseason
The Cardinals continued their second-half freefall, dropping two of three to the Pirates before being swept by the Brewers, finishing the year eight games under .500.
Alec Burleson capped off a strong season with three homers this week, while Leo Bernal, Jordan Walker, and Iván Herrera added a homer each. JJ Wetherholt led the team with five hits on the week.
It wasn’t a great week on the mound for the Cards, but Matthew Liberatore turned in the best start, allowing one run and striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. Gordon Graceffo, Cooper Hjerpe, Brycen Mautz, Hancel Rincon, George Soriano, and Cade Winquest combined for 15 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 16.
5. Cincinnati Reds (75-87); 3-3 this week; Eliminated from Postseason
The Reds went 3-3 to end the season, winning two of three from the Braves before dropping two of three to the Blue Jays over the weekend.
Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez both slugged a pair of homers, while five others added a homer apiece. Carlos Jorge led the squad with seven hits, including a homer, and Héctor Rodríguez had six hits, including a homer, a double, and a triple, driving in five.
Andrew Abbott and Rhett Lowder both turned in strong starts, as Abbott went seven frames with two runs allowed and six strikeouts, and Lowder went six scoreless, striking out two. Tejay Antone, Graham Ashcraft, Brock Burke, Pierce Johnson, and Emilio Pagán totaled 12 scoreless innings for the bullpen, striking out 11.
Penrith No 7 confirms successful surgery on compound fracture
He says Knights’ Phoenix Crossland not to blame for tackle
Nathan Cleary has told fans “I’ll be back” in a social media post from his hospital bed after the Penrith star underwent emergency surgery on a horrific ankle injury.
Cleary was rushed to hospital in Penrith’s season-ending 22-14 loss to Newcastle on Sunday, after suffering a compound fracture and ankle dislocation.
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 21: Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks on in his 700th NHL game against the Winnipeg Jets at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 21, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
The 2026-27 Pittsburgh Penguins did not waste any time when it comes to accumulating injuries. The regular season has not even started yet and the team is already looking at the prospect of playing games without Ben Kindel, Bryan Rust, Blake Lizotte, and Justin Brazeu. Andrei Kuzmenko is also not here at the moment for non-injury related reasons, and it would not be a surprise if he did not return for quite some time given the circumstances.
Not exactly a great way to open a season that has a wide range of potential outcomes in the standings.
If Sergei Murashov is good and a few players take big steps forward, this could be a playoff team again. Potentially a good playoff team.
If Murashov is not good, and if a few players regress instead of progress, you might be looking at that high lottery pick.
It is also the first 84-game season in the NHL since the early 1990s, adding a couple of more games onto the schedule.
It all begins on Wednesday night, in Philadelphia, with a rematch of their 2025-26 first-round playoff series with the Flyers.
The Flyers are a bit of an unknown this season because, like the Penguins, they are coming off an unexpected playoff campaign. They have a really good young core of talent that is led by Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone, and a solid supporting cast around them. But while there is a good core of players in place, it’s still kind of tough to get a read on what their expectations should be for this season.
They have been one of the league’s best defensive teams for a couple of years now, but the offensive upside is still something that has to be determined. The development of players like Martone and Michkov will be key in determining where that goes.
How much of a step will Martone take after his late-season debut and emergence in the playoffs? Is he a franchise player? Just a strong building block? What does a full season of him look like at 19?
Will Michkov be able to not only bounce back from a disappointing sophomore season, but also build on it? How does his relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet evolve?
Those are two of the big questions the Flyers need answered.
There are more concerns and questions beyond the development of Martone and Michkov.
The first is related to whether or not starting goalie Dan Vladar repeats his 2025-26 performance? He had a career year for the Flyers and was not only a big part of the team’s return to the playoffs, he was a major part of their ability to beat the Penguins in the first round and advance. It was an objectively great year for him, but it was also by far the best season of his career and a complete 180 from what we have seen from him in the past.
He was injured late in the preseason, leaving his status for Wednesday somewhat up in the air, but he does seem on track to play.
If he isn’t ready, or if he simply regresses this season in terms of his production, one of their big offseason additions was Joseph Woll in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Woll is a little different than Vladar because he has been a strong performer in the early stages of his career, but is coming off a down year in Toronto. He is an interesting backup option and safety net, and depending on what Vladar does could end up being an important player for them.
The second concern is that outside of Woll, as well as the addition of former Penguins forward Noel Accairi, it was a mostly quiet offseason for the Flyers in terms of new faces.
They did take a massive swing by trying to add Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson on a restricted free agent offer sheet, but the Ducks matched the offer and kept him on the west coast. Had Philadelphia managed to pull that off it would have been a potential franchise-changer by giving them a bonafide, young No. 1 center just starting to enter his prime years. But they didn’t pull it off, and all they did instead was help reset the market for salaries across the NHL.
The Penguins and Flyers differ a little in their makeup, but both teams are wild-cards that have a wide range of outcomes that are dependent on a few X-factors going a particular way.
The Penguins 2-0-2 against the Flyers in the regular season a year ago, before losing the playoff series in six games, 4-2. That is a 4-4-2 record overall.
After playing in Philadelphia on Wednesday, the Penguins return home for their home-opener on Saturday night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Montreal is coming off its second consecutive trip to the playoffs, this time having advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
It is largely the same roster coming back, with the one notable exception being the addition of veteran forward Chris Kreider.
Kreider is a strong pickup for the price tag, and does give the Canadiens a much-needed veteran winger for its top-nine.
While it was a quiet offseason in terms of additions, Montreal has one of the league’s best young cores built around Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, and Noah Dobson. All of them are signed long-term to team-friendly deals that are going to give management all of the cap flexibility they need to add a supporting cast around them. Their window is just now starting to open, and it should be open for a while.
As good as the Canadiens were, and as good as the young core looks, it was not a team that really excelled during 5-on-5 play, or in terms of its overall defensive play. They finished the 2025-26 season 26th in the league in expected goals against per 60 minutes, and 23rd in expected goal share. Both numbers were also among the worst when it comes to playoff teams.
You might be able to tilt the ice on them a little bit.
But it does not mean that is going to translate into goals for you, or keeping them off the scoreboard.
The big issue for the Penguins at the start is going to be the reality of playing two playoff teams, both of which advanced to the second round, without an extensive list of forwards. The entire potential third line that showed so much promise in training camp and its brief time together in the preseason is going to be out. A couple of potential fourth-line options are out. It is going to open the door for some young players at the start, but it might not be what the Penguins wanted to be at full strength to open the season.
I am curious to see how the goalie rotation between Murashov and Arturs Silovs plays out, and how they handle the line combinations. Specifically as it relates to dealing with the third-line absences, where Nicholas Robertson plays and if he gets a chance on Sidney Crosby’s line, and who plays alongside defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Splitting these two games and coming away with at least two points would be a fair start given all of the circumstances.
If the Philadelphia Flyers learned anything from training camp and the short NHL preseason, it's that they cannot depend on Aleksei Kolosov for any reason in the event of an injury to fellow goalies Dan Vladar and Joseph Woll.
Throughout their NHL careers, durability has been a question mark for Vladar and Woll, and the Flyers' depth was tested early in the preseason when Vladar suffered an innocuous upper-body injury in Game 3 against Boston, putting him out of commission for a few days.
And, while Vladar is seemingly trending in the right direction for opening night against Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Kolosov's performances were bad enough to force the Flyers to reconsider their No. 3 goalie of choice before the start of the regular season.
It would be inadvisable, at this point, for the Flyers to pay up draft capital or other assets for a reserve goalie, though other avenues, namely the NHL waiver wire, remain at their disposal.
And, fortunately for the Flyers, there are actually a few decent enough options available to them to fill the No. 3 goalie role, bumping Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason each down one peg.
On Sunday afternoon, with opening night rosters due Monday night, a number of noteworthy goalies were placed on waivers around the league, headlined by Czech veterans Vitek Vanecek and David Rittich.
Rittich, 34, was placed on waivers by New Jersey on Sunday with the club claiming goalie Remi Poirier off the waiver wire from Dallas, and the veteran is certifiably the best option available to the Flyers.
Rittich should be Flyers' top choice
The longtime NHL backup has had stops with Nashville, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Ontario (AHL), the New York Islanders, and now New Jersey over the last six seasons, and most recently went 14-10-3 in 30 games for the Islanders last season with a .894 save percentage, a 2.76 GAA, and two shutouts as Ilya Sorokin's understudy.
The fact that New Jersey waived Rittich in favor of Poirier, Nico Daws, and Jake Allen might deter other NHL teams from claiming him to be their No. 2, and he, like the other goalies we'll discuss, will need to pass through waivers a second time to be stashed in Lehigh Valley.
David Rittich is easily the best depth goalie available to the Flyers at this time. (Photo: David Kirouac, Imagn Images)
Rittich shouldn't have any issues finding a new home somewhere in the league, though the Flyers would be wise to at least attempt to snag and stash the big Czech goalie.
As for Vanecek, the 30-year-old never quite rebounded from a brutal 2023 playoff run with New Jersey, and he's had a save percentage no higher than .890 at the NHL level since the 2022-23 season.
At the same time, he boasts a career .900 save percentage in 210 NHL regular season games across eight seasons, and behind a good Devils team, Vanecek finished the 2022-23 season with a 33-11-4 record, a 2.45 GAA, a .911 save percentage, and three shutouts.
The lows can be low for Vanecek, but the highs can be high, especially when the game is simplified for him as the Flyers did with Vladar last year, to smashing success.
Vanecek's poor 5-13-3 record with Utah last year makes it unlikely other teams will be vying for his services, but for the Flyers, he's an obvious, experienced, and more proven candidate to be the No. 3 goalie, and far less likely than Kolosov to outright lose a game for the team.
The most intriguing name at the goalie position to hit the NHL waiver wire on Sunday was Nikita Tolopilo, a 26-year-old, 6-foot-6 netminder from Belarus who made his NHL debut for the Vancouver Canucks in 2025 under current Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet.
Tolopilo is a recent Calder Cup champion who split the 2025-26 season nearly evenly with Vancouver and AHL Abbotsford, going 6-11-2 with a 3.61 GAA and .881 save percentage on an awful Canucks team.
For an Abbotsford team that was equally bad (and had just one 20-goal-scorer), Tolopilo was 8-8-3 with a 3.07 GAA and .897 save percentage.
Certainly, the raw stats aren't very impressive, though Tolopilo has plenty of pro experience between the KHL, AHL, NHL, and HockeyAllsvenskan, and his familiarity with Tocchet and his systems works in his favor, too.
Tolopilo, like Poirier, is a fringe NHLer who could take on an opportunity elsewhere, and landing as a No. 3 goalie with the Flyers would be a good gig for him. Plus, he would get to reunite with fellow countrymen and former teammates Kolosov and Danila Klimovich, which should make for some quick and easy chemistry in Allentown.
The towering Tolopilo is older, bigger, and better than Kolosov and profiles more similarly to Vladar and Woll, which should make him an obvious option for the Flyers if they can't land someone else more seasoned at the NHL level.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 30: Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks will be starting training camp tomorrow, and there is a different feel about this team coming into the season. Around this time last year, the Hawks were seen as one of the youngest teams in the league, but still had expectations of being competitive. A lot has changed since then, and even though the young core is still a priority, general manager Onsi Saleh made it a mission to add some more experience to this year’s roster.
Outside of bringing back CJ McCollum and Jock Landale, the Hawks traded for Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort during the offseason. Of course, they’re not old, but they bring something to the team that they didn’t have much of over the past few years, and that’s championship experience.
Saleh talked about those additions at his preseason press conference and the impact they could have on the Hawks.
“Bringing in Lu and Aaron from a championship team- guys who played in the finals a couple of years ago- we needed that pedigree in our room,” Saleh said. “With our group, we felt like it was going to make us better on the court, but those guys will also make us better through our player development program in a lot of ways.
“When a guy like Jalen Johnson goes up against a guy like Lu Dort in practice, Jalen’s going to get a lot better.”
Going up against someone like Dort should make the team better, and he feels like a guy you hate to play against but love when he’s on your team. Everyone knows the kind of defensive prowess he brings to the court, and those are the types of things that help teams in the playoffs.
Saleh noted that the team wanted to be physical, and having Dort is just adding another piece to the puzzle.
“If you guys watch all the playoffs from the first round to the finals, it’s a very physical and different environment, Saleh said. “We felt like Lu can guard and be physical, bring that tenacity on the court every single moment he’s out there, and it’s going to help our guys.”
Wiggins has the same intangibles, which helped him become a mainstay in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rotation over the last few seasons.
“Aaron is a three-level scorer, a guy who can guard. He brings something to our group and our rotation that we felt like we didn’t have a lot of last season,” Saleh said.
These moves weren’t just about what these players could do for the Hawks on the court, but it was to help the other players on the team learn how to compete at another level. That’s important for guys like Kingston Flemings and Zuby Ejiofor, who are just getting started in their NBA careers.
“When we added CJ and Jock last year, their voice and experience, and even Nickeil last year, who made a couple of Western Conference Finals in Minnesota. Adding those guys helps our other guys who haven’t quite done that yet learn how to win,” Saleh said.
“They fit every checkbox we wanted. [Lu and Aaron] were unbelievable adds to our group. You can feel when they come into our building; there’s a sense of respect,“ Saleh continued. ”When you win a championship and are a part of one of the best programs in the NBA, you step into our gym, and that just elevates the competitive environment of our group.“
Right before training camp, the Hawks also traded for Dorian Finney-Smith in the deal that sent Buddy Hield and Ryan Nembhard to the Charlotte Hornets. Finney-Smith has playoff experience as well throughout his career, and he’s another person the team can lean on in certain moments.
With more veteran leadership and players on the team who have been where the Hawks want to go, this should be a very competitive roster this season.
In a reserve role for the first time, DeAndre Ayton will have a chance to reset his career with the Washington Wizards. | Getty Images
With training camp opening tomorrow, there’s time for one or two trips on The Statistical Doppelganger Machine. Next up: the guy who figures to be the team’s backup big man this season, DeAndre Ayton.
According to Basketball-Reference and other online sources, it only feels like Ayton has been in the NBA forever. Somehow, this will be only his ninth season. Somehow, he’s still just 28 years old.
Since going first overall in the 2018 NBA Draft — before players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr., Mikal Bridges, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — Ayton’s performance has been a frustrating mixture of good (at times) and puzzling. The puzzling part was often characterized by low motor and lack of awareness (especially on defense). His personality and attitude has been primarily frustrating, befuddling, and perhaps a bit delusional.
Coming off the bench for the first time in his career, DeAndre Ayton has a chance with the Washington Wizards to reset the direction of his career. | NBAE via Getty Images
Three teams have been happy to move on from him, including the Phoenix Suns, which he helped reach the NBA Finals and then back to the Western Conference semifinals the following two seasons. By the end, the Suns were dumping him — taking back Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, Keon Johnson, and Nassir Little — and getting no draft picks.
While Ayton’s individual production has been pretty good (his next below average PPA will be the first of his career), his impact on team metrics has been meh — modest positive on offense, about-the-same on defense.
The defense part is a bigger issue with a starting center, which Ayton has been throughout his career so far. He’s played 470 regular season games and not started seven times. All the non-starts came in his first two seasons. While he’s a legit seven-footer with better-than-adequate length, agility, and leaping ability, he’s not much of a shot blocker or rim protector. That loops back to the motor and awareness issues.
Even with effort, awareness, and attitude issues, Ayton’s still been a pretty good player. Certainly not what his teams have hoped he’d be, and not as good as his tools and talents would suggest he could be, but overall still an above-average NBA player.
Before running Ayton through the doppelganger machine, I kinda-sorta expected to see names like Joe Barry Carroll or Benoit Benjamin — talented 1980s-era bigs who had inconsistent motors, awareness, and attitudes. Ayton’s better than either, however. Ayton’s worst seasons (PPAs in the 130s) are about the level of Carroll’s and Benjamin’s best years.
This season could be a fascinating experiment for the Wizards and Ayton. Washington will be starting two centers, and one of them won’t be Ayton. The team should have plenty of minutes for Ayton — I figure Alex Sarr and Anthony Davis will consume 28-30 minutes each. Ayton could play another 28-30, and the team would still have 10-12 minutes a night at forward for someone else — perhaps Kyshawn George or AJ Dybantsa.
On the last year of an expiring contract, Ayton should be highly motivated to perform his very best. He could parlay a productive season into starting role with another team, or perhaps cement a spot in a Wizards big man triumvirate for the next few seasons. Of course, he could also low motor his way to a starting job with Olympiacos.
Let’s get to the doppelgangers. For new readers: this is the latest installment in a Bullets Forever annual Dog Days of Summer tradition, which involves me running players through my Statistical Doppelganger Machine. The Machine is a (not so) fancy-schmancy algorithm that compares the reference player season to every other NBA player season since 1977-78 and then tells me who was most similar. The Machine uses 14 statistical and biographical characteristics including minutes and age. While it doesn’t include position, players tend to get comps from their position group. The ones who don’t are usually interesting.
In this case, Ayton’s comps are not so interesting — at least positionally. Which is to say they’re all centers or 1990s/early 2000s power forward types.
Here are the player seasons with similar production at a similar age:
Richaun Holmes | 2020-21 | Sacramento Kings | Age: 27 — Worth mention that Holmes’ previous season ranked second most similar. While Ayton is physically bigger, their pace-adjusted production was remarkably similar across the 14 comparison points except for blocks (Holmes had more) and fouls (Holmes also had more). One other difference: Holmes was all effort all the time. If Ayton played with Holmes’ effort, he’d be first team All-NBA. Or perpetually injuried. These were Holmes’ two best seasons. Last season was something of a down year for Ayton.
Ivica Zubac | 2023-24 | Los Angeles Clippers | Age: 26 — Zubac’s career has been marked with year-to-year inconsistency. He posted a 184 at age 22, which he followed with a 121, 135, and 120. Remember, in PPA average is 100 and higher is better. In this comp season, he was on the way back up — 157, which he followed with a 183. Then he got hurt and his production dropped again. Interestingly, Zubac has faced criticism at different points of his career for his motor and alleged softness.
Derrick Favors | 2017-18 | Utah Jazz | Age: 26 — This was the first year of Favors’ short-but-high prime, which included a 200+ PPA at age 27. His last above average season was age 28, and he was out of the NBA after his age 30 season.
Loy Vaught | 1993-94 | Los Angeles Clippers | Age: 25 — Another guy whose career peak was around the level of Ayton’s “worst” seasons. This was the high point for Vaught (131 PPA). His production slid from there. After being a veritable Iron Man by playing in at least 73 games in each of his first seven seasons (80+ for the last three of those, including all 82 in 1996-97), the end of Vaught’s career was ruined by a serious back injury. His final NBA stop was in Washington — he arrived in the trade that sent Juwan Howard to the Dallas Mavericks.
Robin Lopez | 2015-16 | New York Knicks | Age: 27 — Known as Captain Hook during his year in Washington, this version of Lopez was still a good scorer on lower volume, offensive rebounding machine, and an all-82 iron man. Like Ayton, he was challenged on defense. He also generally seemed more interested in other stuff (like “feuding” with opposing team mascots) than basketball. That was often entertaining, like when he responded Hermione Granger. Which is both funny and wrong because Granger wasn’t a wizard at all — she was a witch. Also, the correct answer is Rincewind.
The honorable mentions are are most in that mid-tier big guy range who were pretty good at their best but either weren’t good enough to do better or weren’t always fully concerned with giving their best: Timofey Mozgov, Joe Smith, Jakob Poeltl, Tristan Thompson, and Randy Breuer.
Odds are that even if Ayton as a poor year by his standards, it’ll still be a significant improvement for Washington in the backup big man role. He’s a pretty good player who’s at something of a crossroads of his career.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - SEPTEMBER 27: Jacob Misiorowski #32 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws a pitch in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at American Family Field on September 27, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last Week’s Results:
Tuesday: Phillies 6, Brewers 4
Wednesday: Brewers 4, Phillies 1
Thursday: Brewers 5, Phillies 1
Friday: Brewers 8, Cardinals 4
Saturday: Brewers 3, Cardinals 2
Sunday: Brewers 6, Cardinals 4
Division Standings:
Brewers 103-59
Cubs 89-73 (14 GB)
Pirates 82-80 (21 GB)
Cardinals 77-85 (26 GB)
Reds 75-87 (28 GB)
Last Week:
Brewers 5-1
Cubs 2-4
Pirates 3-3
Cardinals 1-5
Reds 3-3
Top Pitching Performance of the Week
Jacob Misiorowski didn’t have the greatest start we’ve ever seen, but he gets the shoutout here because it capped off what has been a great season for the likely NL Cy Young winner. In Sunday’s regular-season finale, he went 5 1/3 scoreless frames, striking out five and picking up his 16th win of the year. Miz finishes the year leading the league in a good chunk of pitching stats, including strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.80), batting average against (.157), and ERA (1.80). Just look at this stat from the great Sarah Langs:
Jacob Misiorowski led MLB in strikeouts (252) and led all qualifiers in ERA (1.80) and opponent batting average (.157)
He’s the 4th pitcher since 1950 to lead MLB in all 3 of those for a season, joining:
1986 Mike Scott 1979 J.R. Richard 1965 Sandy Koufax
Shoutout to Robert Gasser, who went six innings with one run allowed and nine strikeouts to cap off what has been a great final month-plus for him, as he seems like the likely No. 3 starter behind Miz and Logan Henderson entering the postseason.
This was a two-way race between Brice Turang and Jackson Chourio, but I’ll give the upper hand to Milwaukee’s second baseman. Turang finished up arguably the best season we’ve seen for a primary second baseman in franchise history, as he collected nine hits this week, including two homers and three doubles, driving in seven to surpass 20 homers and 100 RBIs for the year.
Not to be overshadowed, Jackson Chourio led the team with a strong .471/.550/.647 stat line, picking up eight hits, including a homer, and driving in five with a team-high seven runs scored. He also swiped a pair of bases, finishing the year with a career-high in homers (25) and steals (23).
After LHP Colton Gordon made a valiant relief appearance on Tuesday night against the Phillies (5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 K) to save the rest of the bullpen, he was optioned on Wednesday, as RHP Lyon Richardson was selected to replace him.
Richardson, who did not appear in a game this week, was then designated for assignment on Friday, as RHP Bryse Wilson was activated from the 15-day injured list and replaced him on the active roster.
Andrew Vaughn was placed on the 10-day injured list with an illness ahead of Friday’s game (he’ll be ready for the postseason). Outfielder Brandon Lockridge was recalled to replace him on the roster.
Cooper Pratt was also scratched from Friday’s game with illness, though he then entered to replace what appeared to be a worn-down Joey Ortiz. Ortiz sat out the rest of the weekend, but an MRI came back with only “abdominal swelling” and a bruised knee. According to Adam McCalvy, Ortiz is also expected to be ready for the postseason.
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 26: Justin Verlander #35 of the Detroit Tigers hugs his daughter Genevieve, with Spencer Torkelson #20 looking on, right, before leaving his final game against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at Comerica Park on September 26, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I get it, baseball news does not necessarily belong on Pounding the Rock, a Spurs fan site. During the offseason — when content can be few and far between — I may from time to time veer away from the Spurs and share some basketball-oriented news. If there is absolutely nothing going on in the basketball world, I may broaden the scope to “sports” at large. And some stories transcend into the fan experience. I saw this post on Saturday and initially ignored it. But Sunday it hit me again and decided sharing it was appropriate.
On Saturday evening, Justin Verlander pitched his final MLB start. After a twenty-one year career, two World Series championships, ten MLB All-Star appearances, three American League Cy Young awards, a 2011 Triple Crown, the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year award, and earning the 2022 AL Comeback Player of the year award at age 39, Verlander is riding off into the sunset.
In the fifth inning of Saturday night’s Detroit Tigers/Pittsburgh Pirates matchup, Verlander (pitching for the Detroit Tigers) was approached by manager A.J. Hinch to hand over the ball for a relif pitcher. Before he could exit the mound, he was met by his daughter, Genevieve.
This literally made me cry…more than once.
Justin Verlander has played 21 seasons in the majors. His final start was today.
After 5⅓ innings, manager A.J. Hinch came out to take him out, then pointed to the stands. Genevieve, his 7-year-old daughter, sprinted onto the field in his jersey, ran to the mound, and hugged…
Happy Monday, Pounders. Have a great start to your week.
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