NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - APRIL 02: Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils reacts during the third period against the Washington Capitals at Prudential Center on April 02, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. The New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 7-3. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
A Nico thought:
👀 Although talks are ongoing, my speculation is that C Hischier and @NJDevils will land on a medium term contract extension somewhere between 11M- 13M range … #HockeyXpic.twitter.com/UgX43i5Cjj
“There’s no doubt the 2025-26 season was a disappointment for the New Jersey Devils, but with that should come change, unlike last offseason. New GM Sunny Mehta will likely be busy this summer, as the Devils’ roster has a few holes to address. What should Mehta prioritize via trades and free agency?” [Devils on the Rush]
“The New Jersey Devils need a top-six forward this summer. Not only is Jordan Kyrou a strong candidate, but he’s also a realistic target. The Devils have plenty going for them with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt leading the charge, but their top-six scoring dried up too often last year. Even-strength production was a real sore spot, and it showed in the standings. Bringing in a winger who can generate chances, finish plays, and keep up with that pace would go a long way toward fixing it. Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues keeps coming up as someone who fits that bill pretty cleanly.” [New Jersey Hockey Now]
Hockey Links
The Hurricanes are one win away from the Stanley Cup:
THE CANES ARE ONE WIN AWAY FROM THE #STANLEYCUP!!! 😱😱😱
“The NHLPA expects a full NHL investigation of coach Mike Babcock before the Edmonton Oilers can hire him, sources told ESPN on Tuesday. The investigation would cover Babcock’s time with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023, when he was hired but never coached a game for the team.” [ESPN]
“As the Edmonton Oilers navigate hiring Mike Babcock as head coach, they continue on another path: finding a new home for one of their longest-tenured players, alternate captain Darnell Nurse. Last week, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reported the Oilers would like to trade Nurse, and, according to multiple sources, the defenceman recently went to the organization and said he would like to be traded. He now feels it is time for him to move on.” [Sportsnet]
“There might not be another player in the entire National Hockey League with as unique a resume as Taylor Hall. He won two Memorial Cups in junior and was drafted first overall into the NHL. Eight years later, he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player. And now, another eight years later, Hall is putting himself firmly in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded each year to the NHL’s playoff MVP.” [Daily Faceoff]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Sep 10, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; General view of the helmet used by the Milwaukee Brewers before the start of the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Greetings, Brew Crew Ball community. The Brewers had another slightly underwhelming week, as they swept the Rockies in Colorado and won an extra-innings slugfest on Monday night in Las Vegas but ultimately dropped their series with the A’s. Elsewhere in the division, the bottom three teams (Pirates, Cubs, and Reds) struggled, but the Cardinals continue to surprise, as they’ve closed the gap in the division. The Brewers are now back home as they’ll welcome the Phillies and Guardians over the next week.
Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-baseball sports, the Brewers, you name it. As long as it’s appropriate and is allowed by our moderators, it’s fair game here.
Since most of the conversation lately seem to have zigged towards the Nolan Gorman question and somewhat the Riley O’Brien question, I decided to zag in another direction. My curiosity? Of the minor leagues prospects we’ve been watching, who has the most interesting pitch shape metrics (ie. the under the hood stuff)? We seem to be far enough into the season to have built up some stats that can stand up to Small Sample Size (SSS) scrutiny. Since I do the daily down on the Farm Reports, I see the various pitcher usage and line score results every day. That has made me curious about some things that might be going on beyond the line score.
That real-time curiosity met up with a longer-term, nagging deficiency in my knowledge set. It goes like this: Every so often as prospect watcher like @KareemSSN will post an interesting tidbit on a pitcher with stuff I find really cool. He is pretty good at explaining things, but one of things that has frustrated me is I can look at a chart like this and lack the context of what is good, what is bad and what is irrelevant and I have to re-remember all that and I can’t find a reliable source for reference. So I set out to build my own reference, so when something like this pops up, I can open my reference card and interpolate if an SI spin of 2038 with an HB of 13.7 is good, bad or irrelevant. In this case, it’s not great, but very relevant to gauging a Slider’s potential effectiveness.
I’m going to start with a set of numbers similar to what is above, although I can’t help myself and add a few and delete some others. I’m going to pull all the pitch data for our Low-A and AAA pitching prospects and see who has elite level metrics in any of the categories. I will be dropping VREL, Ext and Chase and add in some expected performance measures like xwOBA, xBA, along with actual measures like K and BB rate.
My first crack at this will be to discover which Low-A pitchers have top 10th percentile metrics. This is a “who has a tool that sticks out” kind of question. For those pitchers with a notable metric, I will show a comparison not only to their league, but AAA and MLB standards for the same metric. For fun, I will also include a notable non-Cardinal prospect in the analysis (Seth Hernandez) to give some context to some of the numbers you will see.
A couple of quick notes on the data:
The data comes from Baseball Savant (probably not surprising). The minor league side only has data for Low-A and AAA pitchers, so my research will unfortunately exclude High-A and AA pitchers. We have to wait for Liam Doyle to get to Memphis before we get to look under the hood.
I’d love to use Chase%, but I can not find it in the exported set that comes from Savant. If anyone has any pointers, let me know.
I arbitrarily set a cut off at 50 pitches … any pitcher with less than 50 pitches in that league is excluded. It helped make the data manageable, and also smoothed out most major league rehab pitchers. I’m not comparing prospects to veteran MLB pitchers, I’m comparing them to their peers.
The vertical and horizontal movement ranks are non-intuitive. Whereas a low xBA is good (top 10th percentile) and a high xBA is bad (bottom 10th percentile), when it comes to direction, either extreme can be good, depending on the pitch type. For example, a high positive on the horizontal axis on a Sinker (SI) can produce a top 10th percentile, whereas a high negative on the same axis coupled with a Slider (SL) can produce a bottom 10th percentile result, which is equally good, given the pitch type.
Low-A Metric Leader Board
player_name
total_pitches
pitch_type
pitch_percent
spin_rate
Velocity
spin_rate P10
Velocity P10
K rate P10
whiff rate
whiff.rate P10
Walk Rate P10
Vertical Break (in)
Vertical Break P10
Horiz break (in)
Horiz break P10
Hernandez, Seth
371
FF
48.2
2405
98.4
4
1
6
28%
3
2
17.44
3
13.88
1
Hernandez, Seth
371
SL
18.1
2543
89.0
3
1
1
71%
1
5
3.04
4
-0.19
1
Hernandez, Seth
371
CH
18.1
2289
85.0
1
5
1
71%
1
7
9.59
2
14.55
5
Hernandez, Seth
371
CU
15.6
2574
81.4
6
2
1
73%
1
5
-9.68
6
-8.62
5
Breckheimer, Alex
510
CU
11.8
2176
76.9
10
9
10
22%
9
7
-14.71
10
-7.34
3
Breckheimer, Alex
510
FF
55.9
2334
93.3
5
5
3
22%
6
1
17.71
3
10.62
3
Crossland, Cade
784
CH
31.6
2254
82.7
1
8
3
55%
2
9
7.58
3
18.81
1
Crossland, Cade
784
CU
11.1
2383
78.1
8
8
1
57%
1
1
-13.18
9
-9.99
7
Crossland, Cade
784
SL
7.4
2163
84.4
9
3
10
24%
9
7
3.07
4
0.66
1
Cuello, Antoni
359
FF
49.3
2461
95.2
3
3
10
12%
10
7
14.98
8
14.5
1
Cuello, Antoni
359
SL
24.5
2224
83.1
8
7
1
45%
3
9
2.56
5
0.18
1
Driessen, Dylan
315
FF
54.6
2231
94.5
9
4
1
26%
4
7
20.31
1
5.51
10
Driessen, Dylan
315
CU
23.5
2768
80.2
3
4
5
29%
5
1
-11.82
8
-8.5
4
Echeman, Kaden
557
CU
23.5
2594
81.4
5
2
2
45%
2
5
-15.9
10
-4.77
2
Jovi Galvez
297
SI
30
2169
94.4
8
3
3
28%
2
9
14.24
4
15.14
3
Martinez, Jack
783
SL
36.9
2462
81.3
5
9
10
28%
8
10
8.86
1
-6.65
7
Odle, Jacob
584
FF
28.6
2432
97.1
3
1
4
24%
5
8
17.58
3
8.87
5
Odle, Jacob
584
CU
18.8
2593
83.0
5
1
4
34%
4
4
-11.51
8
-8.6
5
Shelagowski, Jake
601
FF
55.9
2235
95.8
8
2
5
20%
8
4
15.68
7
14.2
1
Shelagowski, Jake
601
SL
23.5
2162
86.1
9
1
5
28%
8
1
1.18
7
-2
2
Van Dyke, Ty
431
FF
44.5
2290
92.4
7
8
2
24%
5
1
15.67
7
13.61
1
Van Dyke, Ty
431
SL
16.7
2796
81.5
1
9
1
36%
5
2
2.2
6
-12.57
10
Ynfante, Nelfy
358
SI
38.8
2167
94.3
8
3
4
23%
4
4
14.71
3
13.96
6
Young, Ethan
514
SI
30.2
2353
93.8
3
4
5
26%
3
6
16.57
1
15.47
2
Young, Ethan
514
CH
20.4
2081
84.9
2
6
4
56%
1
9
5.83
6
17.4
2
Young, Ethan
514
FF
19.1
2328
93.2
6
6
9
17%
8
1
18.49
2
12.31
2
The above table depicts 12 Palm Beach (Low-A) pitches who have at least one pitch metric in the top 10th percentile of their league. These represent the tools the Cardinals have to work with and develop.
The thirteen pitcher is a proxy – Seth Hernandez. If you’ve never heard of him, you will. He is what scouts dream of when it comes to pitch metrics:
(FF) Four seam fastball that has top 10th percentile in velo AND horizontal movement
(SL) Slider with top tenth percentile in whiff rate and horizontal movement
(CH) with top tenth spin rate and whiff rate
With that primer, let’s look at Cardinal Low-A prospects:
Alex Breckheimer has elite command with his four seamer w/ a top 10th percentile walk rate.
Cade Crossland’s spin rate and horizontal break on his change-up (CH) are top 10th. His curve (CU) has elite whiff rate and elite horizontal break (90th percentile). This is one of those counter-intuitive ones where the large negative number is a great number. In an odd one, his slider (SL) has a really odd outlier horizontal break – it breaks into RH hitters. That will need fixing.
Antoni Cuello has top 10th horizontal break on his FF and SL, and has a superior K rate with that slider. It is a put away pitch.
Dylan Driessen has top 10th percentile induced vertical break on this 4-seam fastball (FF). I always get this backwards but I think this means it has “ride” or “hop” to it. He also has exceptional command over his slider (SL).
Kaden Echemann has an even better curve (CU) that Crossland with 16” of downward break. Memories of Uncle Charlie with this one.
Jack Martinez has unusual break on his slider. It doesn’t miss bats, and walks lots of guys, so I don’t see this 10th percentile rating as all that helpful.
Jacob Odle carries top tenth percentile on both his FF. He had one of the hardest curves in the league, too, before he advanced to High-A.
John Shelagowski has elite horizontal break on his FF and has elite and near-elite characteristics on his slider (SL).
Tyler Van Dyke’s FF really rides in on RH batter, with a high K and low walk rate (the velo itself is pedestrian). He also carries very good command characteristics on his SL.
Ethan Young carries top tenth percentile characteristics on his SI, CH and FF. Looks a little like Seth Hernandez, huh?
Performance Matters
Stuff (and the underlying metrics which show it) are one thing. Performance is another. Which pitchers (in Low-A Palm Beach) are getting the most out of their stuff? Let’s look more at performance outcomes as see how they rate.
player_name
pitch_type
pitch_percent
xwoba
K Rate
BB Rate
HardHit%
xwOBA P10
Hard Hit Rate P10
K rate P10
Walk Rate P10
Breckheimer, Alex
FF
55.9
0.23
28
5.3
39.58
2
5
3
1
Breckheimer, Alex
CU
11.8
0.27
10
10
14.29
7
2
10
7
Crossland, Cade
CH
31.6
0.24
42.4
18.2
19.23
5
4
3
9
Crossland, Cade
CU
11.1
0.08
77.8
0
25
1
5
1
1
Crossland, Cade
SL
7.4
0.57
8.3
8.3
37.5
10
7
10
7
Cuello, Antoni
FF
49.3
0.35
7.9
18.4
44.44
7
8
10
7
Cuello, Antoni
SL
24.5
0.2
54.5
13.6
0
3
1
1
9
Driessen, Dylan
FF
54.6
0.26
40
20
28.57
2
2
1
7
Driessen, Dylan
CU
23.5
0.3
41.2
0
60
7
10
5
1
Echeman, Kaden
FF
53.1
0.34
19.8
23.5
37.78
6
4
6
8
Echeman, Kaden
CU
23.5
0.25
58.1
6.5
30
6
5
2
5
Martinez, Jack
SL
36.9
0.26
14.6
16.7
21.21
6
2
10
10
Martinez, Jack
FF
30.8
0.27
34.9
14.3
27.59
2
1
2
5
Odle, Jacob
FF
28.6
0.32
25.6
23.3
40.91
5
6
4
8
Odle, Jacob
CU
18.8
0.15
48.3
3.4
61.54
3
10
4
4
Shelagowski, Jake
SL
23.5
0.16
34.6
0
35.29
2
6
5
1
Shelagowski, Jake
CU
12.5
0.36
23.8
14.3
18.18
9
3
8
9
Van Dyke, Ty
FF
44.5
0.2
31
5.2
33.33
1
2
2
1
Van Dyke, Ty
SL
16.7
0.08
54.5
0
0
1
1
1
2
Ynfante, Nelfy
SI
38.8
0.22
18.8
9.4
26.09
1
2
4
4
Young, Ethan
SI
30.2
0.34
18.2
13.6
43.33
7
8
5
6
Young, Ethan
CH
20.4
0.15
41.7
16.7
0
1
1
4
9
Young, Ethan
FF
19.1
0.31
8.7
4.3
57.89
4
10
9
1
Young, Ethan
CU
11.9
0.15
60
10
0
2
1
2
7
In the above table, you will see many of the same names and pitches, this time with how those pitches are performing in real games. There are few new names, as some guys without top 10th percentile stuff are still getting top tenth percentile results, such as Nelfy Ynfante, who really limits hard contact without any top tier stuff.
Some notes:
Crossland’s change and curve perform well. Sure enough, that odd slider does not.
Odle’s FF seems to perform a bit worse that the metrics suggest it should.
Van Dyke’s command sets him apart.
Jack Martinez seems to get more out of his FF that the metrics suggest he should.
Ethan Young, with 4 pitches on this chart, should become a name to remember. How many low-A pitchers do you remember that already have 4 average or better offerings?
Summary
So I’m ending this just with Low-A pitchers. Round 2 will include AAA pitchers, in similar format, depending on how commenters react to this first go. This hopefully provides you with some names to watch for, some reasons to watch for them and some explanation about why these guys keep getting used in priority situations.
Closing
Oh, yeah. Remember that cheat sheet I keep looking for to remember what is a really good pitch metric…like for when someone tell us so-and-so’s sinker (SI) breaks arm side 18”. Is that good? Is it elite? Below is an MLB chart and indeed, anything above 17.9” is top tenth percentile. This is for all pitchers in the MLB in 2026.
pitch_type
OBA
xBA
Hardhit
Top Spin Rate
Bottom Spin Rate
Whiff Rate
K Rate
Walk Rate
Top Vertical
Bottom Vertical
Top Horiz
Bottom Horiz
Velo
FF
0.253
0.166
31.3
2485
2135
13%
34.5
5.6
18.5
12.9
11.9
3.6
91.8
SI
0.261
0.211
26.5
2382
2018
6%
20.0
2.4
13.0
2.2
17.9
13.2
90.8
SL
0.187
0.147
19.3
2699
2174
20%
43.3
0.0
5.7
-3.5
-1.0
-8.0
83.2
CH
0.196
0.161
17.2
2123
1313
20%
36.0
0.0
9.1
-0.9
17.5
11.1
81.8
ST
0.176
0.132
18.0
2873
2268
21%
43.6
0.0
5.6
-3.7
-10.0
-17.4
78.9
FC
0.263
0.190
22.5
2623
2155
14%
24.3
0.0
12.0
4.5
0.6
-4.8
86.8
CU
0.187
0.134
17.6
2879
2266
19%
48.2
0.0
-5.2
-15.8
-3.6
-14.2
75.0
FS
0.195
0.149
16.7
1709
971
18%
46.4
0.0
6.8
-0.7
15.1
8.0
82.7
KC
0.200
0.151
26.3
2794
2278
19%
41.3
0.4
-4.2
-14.7
-2.0
-13.2
78.3
SV
0.245
0.207
22.8
2856
2215
23%
33.0
0.0
-2.2
-7.6
-5.6
-17.2
80.1
FO
0.241
0.174
27.7
1073
649
33%
34.9
3.6
0.2
-2.5
10.5
4.1
82.9
KN
0.264
0.232
40.9
299
299
21%
29.4
5.9
-1.9
-1.9
1.6
1.6
80.5
Contains both pitch shape and performance metrics
One interesting thing I think I see in this data. There really doesn’t seem to be a lot a difference in top tenth pitch metrics (spin rate, horizontal break, etc.) between Low-A and MLB. Is that a reasonable look? That tells me that location, command and sequencing is what they learn coming up the ladder, but the raw materials are pretty much in place in Low-A. Valid observation?
Long-term, I might spiff this up by blanking out more irrelevant columns. For example, percentile rank is not crucial for velocity on a Knuckle Curve. For most breaking/off speed pitches, the offset from the FF/SI is more crucial, as well as the spin direction (which isn’t in the data set, as far as I can tell).
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 11: Andrew Kittredge #39 and Samuel Basallo #29 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after the Orioles defeated the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Thursday, June 11, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The path to getting there might not have been ideal, but the Orioles salvaged a split with the Mariners in the opening series of their seven-game homestand. The O’s have snapped a four-game losing streak by winning their last two, taking last night’s finale by a 7-5 score. A six-run third inning did the heavy lifting for the Birds, who held on despite Kyle Bradish’s second straight lousy start thanks to a great effort by the bullpen. Check out Alex Church’s recap of all the action.
The O’s are right back where they started the homestand, at four games under .500. It’s not exactly where they want to be. Things could be better. But they could also be worse! #analysis
The Orioles arguably could have won all four games of the series. Both of their losses were by one or two runs, and if just one or two things had gone differently in each game, the O’s could’ve made a huge statement with a sweep of the first-place Mariners. But baseball doesn’t work that way, especially not 2026 Orioles baseball. Even in their almost-wins, they keep making some dumb mistakes, like Blaze Alexander getting thrown out to erase a potential sac fly on Monday, or Gunnar Henderson first-pitch hacking into a groundout with the bases loaded in a tie game in the ninth on Tuesday.
We’ve seen what the Orioles can look like when they’re firing on all cylinders. They’ve got the talent to go on an extended run, but most of the time the biggest obstacle they need to overcome is themselves. The fundamental mistakes — sloppy defense, sloppy baserunning, failures with RISP — are holding them back. If they clean up some of that stuff more consistently, they can certainly make a postseason push in an American League that has very few dominant teams.
For now, the O’s will try to extend their modest winning streak as they welcome the Padres to Camden Yards for the first time since 2024, when San Diego took two of three. The Pads have a winning record overall but have been struggling for a couple of weeks now, just 4-12 in their last 16 games. Their offense in particular has struggled badly, nobody more so than former Oriole Manny Machado, who’s hitting .172 with a .597 OPS.
This series is the Orioles’ for the taking, and a good opportunity for the Birds to inch closer to that elusive .500 mark. Will it happen? It’s hard to predict anything with this team.
It does seem like Albernaz isn’t particularly expressive with umps when arguing calls. Then again, he is still recovering from taking a baseball off the face a couple months ago. I’d probably be trying to avoid any unnecessary facial movement, too.
Every year it seems there’s some journeyman veteran who makes the O’s roster as an afterthought and ends up being a much bigger contributor than expected. Leody Taveras is that guy.
A great story from Ken Rosenthal about the beloved former Oriole, who just made it back to the majors for the first time since 2023 after nearly retiring earlier this season. I’ll be rooting hard for Trey, and I don’t think I’m the only one.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two former Orioles: Baltimore-born outfielder Damon Buford (56) and catcher Dave Skaggs (75).
On this date in 1986, Orioles DH Juan Beníquez hit three home runs in one game, an especially unlikely feat considering that he hit only six in his entire O’s career. The O’s lost the game anyway, 7-5, to the Yankees.
On this date in 2004, in the first game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards, the Orioles’ Rafael Palmeiro hit his 536th and 537th career homers while the Giants’ Barry Bonds hit his 675th. It marked only the third time in MLB history that two members of the 500-homer club went deep in the same game. Once again, the O’s lost, 9-6, in 11 innings.
Random Orioles game of the day
On June 12, 2006, the Orioles beat the Blue Jays in Toronto, 6-4. Starter Kris Benson delivered a quality start, working six innings and giving up three runs, all of them coming on a pair of Alex Ríos homers. His battery mate, Ramón Hernández, went 3-for-5 and was a triple shy of the cycle to lead a well-balanced O’s offense. Chris Ray got the save in the ninth despite giving up a homer to former and future Oriole Gregg Zaun. The win improved the O’s to 30-35, but they never got even within five games of .500 again for the rest of the season.
The Detroit Tigers wrapped up their homestand on Thursday afternoon with an 11-0 shellacking of the Minnesota Twins to give the team its seventh win in nine tries so far in June. Already, AJ Hinch and Co. have exceeded their win total for May with just under 2/3 of the month remaining.
Not too shabby.
Now, the Motor City Kitties hit the road for another big series against a fellow American League Central rival — the Cleveland Guardians — starting on Friday night at Progressive Field. The Guards have experienced an opposite level of success in June, winning just three of their nine games so far while bringing a four-game losing streak into the weekend that includes a three-game sweep at home against the New York Yankees.
The Tigers will open up with right-hander Jack Flaherty, who was cruising through five innings against the Seattle Mariners last time out before getting knocked out in the sixth. The 30-year-old’s final line saw him surrender three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven over five frames in what eventually turned out to be a 5-4 victory for Detroit.
Flaherty last faced Cleveland in the 2025 AL Wildcard series, in which he gave his team 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball on three hits and two walks while striking out four in a 6-3 team win.
Up against him for the Guardians will be fellow righty Tanner Bibee, who is coming off his best start of the year on the road against the Texas Rangers. The 27-year-old gave his team eight frames of shutout ball on three hits and two walks while striking out just three to earn his first and only win of the 2026 campaign.
That effort just barely outdid his previous performance against Detroit this season back on May 20, when he also went eight innings, surrendering just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three. However, the Olde English D ultimately prevailed that day in 10 innings, 3-2.
Take a look below at how the two match up on Friday night.
Detroit Tigers (29-40) vs. Cleveland Guardians (37-33)
Time (ET): 7:10 p.m. Place: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio SB Nation Site:Covering the Corner Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 70: RHP Jack Flaherty (1-7, 5.31 ERA) vs. RHP Tanner Bibee (1-7, 4.09 ERA)
Jun 10, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A detailed view of the All-Star Game logo on the hat of Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) during an MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
The Phillies now head to Wisco for a set against the Brewers. I’ve heard that actual Wisconsinites never say “Wisco”. Is that true? As you can tell (or maybe not?) from my use of the term, I am not from Wisconsin.
Onto the links.
Phillies news
The Phillies are going to have some All-Stars for the hometown All-Star Game. But how many?
Happy birthday to Damon Buford, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1939 – In front of a record crowd of 23,864 fans at Ruppert Stadium in Newark, NJ, Lou Gehrig plays his last game in a Yankee uniform when he participates in an exhibition contest against the Kansas City Blues, the team’s American Association farm club. The “Iron Horse”, playing only three innings and batting eighth, grounds out weakly to second base in his only at-bat, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1880 Worcester Ruby Legs pitcher Lee Richmond throws the first perfect game in MLB history in a 1-0 win over the Cleveland Blues at the Agricultural County Fair Grounds in Worcester
1970 – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellisno-hits the San Diego Padres, 2-0. Ellis receives all his support on two home runs by Willie Stargell. Ellis will later claim that he was suffering from the after-effects of his previous night’s LSD trip while pitching this gem.
1923 – Harry Houdini frees himself from a straight jacket while suspended upside down, 40 feet (12 m) above ground in NYC.
1930 – German boxer Max Schmeling beats Jack Sharkey by disqualification in 4 rounds in NYC for vacant NBA, NYSAC, The Ring and lineal heavyweight titles; first time title won on a foul.
1931 – Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition violations and perjury.
1979 – Kevin St Onge throws a playing card a record 185 ft-1 inch; record broken in 1992.
1987 – US President Ronald Reagan challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down” the Berlin wall.
2008 – Patrick Kane receives the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Today in music history:
1909 – “Shine On, Harvest Moon” by Ada Jones & Billy Murray hits #1.
1965 – Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday Honours List names The Beatles as MBEs (Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire); dozens of past winners return medals in protest.
1966 – Dave Clark Five sets record as they appear for 12th time on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
1970 – Rocker and blues singer Janis Joplin debuts in Kentucky.
1990 – Mariah Carey‘s self-titled debut album is released.
1993 – “Three Little Pigs” by Green Jelly hits #17.
2008 – Coldplay release their 4th studio album ” Viva la Vida or Death” (winner of 3 Grammys).
David Reinbacher wasn’t the only young Montreal Canadiens blueliner to make his NHL debut this season; Adam Engstrom did as well, and he even got to spend 15 games with the big club. It wasn’t all that surprising, though, since the 22-year-old Swedish prospect was absolutely dominant in the AHL with the Laval Rocket.
As a result, Engstrom was named to the AHL Top Prospects Team earlier this week. In 45 games with the Rocket, he put up 34 points, including 10 goals, received only 18 penalty minutes and finished his season with a plus-14 rating.
While Engstrom was only a third-round pick (92nd overall) in the 2022 draft by the Canadiens, he has developed admirably and raised his stock accordingly. If he were a right-shot defenseman, he likely would have spent the season in Montreal, allowing the Canadiens to play Lane Hutson on his natural side.
Given the fact that the Habs have Hutson, Mike Matheson and Kaiden Guhle on the left side, it’s not hard to imagine that the Canadiens could be tempted to use Engstrom in a deal to address the organizational needs that are the second-line center and a top-four right-shot defenseman. That’s not to say that Engstrom on his own would bring back that kind of return, but he could certainly be part of a package that would.
There’s also a line of thinking that dictates it would make sense for the Habs to part ways with Guhle, not because he’s not a good defenseman, he definitely is, but because of how often he is injured. When the puck drops on the new season, Guhle will be entering the 2nd year of his six-year contract with a $5.5 million cap hit. It’s not too expensive for that kind of punishing defenseman who can, as Cole Caufield so eloquently put it, “bury people.” It becomes expensive, however, if you cannot rely on him for more than 50 games and need a backup plan.
It’s a shame because the Canadiens lack sandpaper and should be adding some rather than discarding it. If the Habs decide to part ways with Guhle and promote Engstrom, he’s certainly not the guy who will bring that element to the lineup. It means that if the return for the trade is a right-shot blueliner, he not only needs to be able to play in the top-four, but he needs to be able to deliver bone-crushing hits as well, making him an even rarer specimen for Kent Hughes to find.
Mar 1, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Antwone Kelly (89) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates are addressing some season-long problems in the bullpen by calling up number seven prospect Antwone Kelly ahead of this weekend’s series against the Miami Marlins.
The 22-year-old right-hander had a 4.50 ERA and a 1.481 WHIP at Triple-A Indianapolis this season, which are hardly sparkling numbers, but as the team continues to middle along with a 4.45 ERA as a bullpen, some reinforcement arms were needed. He did pitch over 100 innings last year with a 3.02 ERA, which helped his cause.
Kelly has a fastball that reaches triple digits and averages 97.6 mph in the Minors, and he also employs a change-up and a cutter. He began the year in the starting rotation for Indianapolis, but was then moved to the bullpen.
The 20th-ranked Pirates bullpen needs all the help they can get, having two major blowups within the past week, giving up a 10-run inning to the Los Angeles Dodgers and blowing 9-5 eighth inning lead to the Houston Astros. The bullpen seems to be getting worse, not better, which is why some fresh bullpen arms were needed. Whether Aruban native Kelly is part of the answer or not remains to be seen, but we’ll be set to find out this weekend against the Marlins.
The Bucs have three home games against Miami this weekend, playing Friday at 6:40pm, Saturday at 4:05pm and Sunday at 12:15pm. We’ll see Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Paul Skenes taking the mound this weekend as starters. Once we get to the bullpen, there’s a good chance Kelly makes his debut. Stay tuned.
‘I’ve given it my all in every match,’ says Black Caps legend
He captained World Test Championship winners in 2021
The former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will play no further part in the Test series against England after retiring from all international cricket with immediate effect.
Williamson brings an end to a 16-year career marked by numerous accolades and by captaining his side to the title in the inaugural World Test Championship in 2021.
Can the San Antonio Spurs come back from the biggest collapse in NBA postseason history? Probably not, but the New York Knicks still need to go win a fourth game to win the NBA Finals.
My Knicks vs. Spurs props and these NBA picks expect San Antonio to at least put up a fight at home in Game 5 on Saturday, June 13.
Best Knicks vs Spurs props for Game 5
Player
Pick
Victor Wembanyama
Over 27.5 points
-120
Karl-Anthony Towns
Over 11.5 rebounds
+110
Dylan Harper
Over 3.5 assists
+125
Game 5 Prop #1: Victor Wembanyama Over 27.5 points
Victor Wembanyama played all 12 minutes of Wednesday’s fourth quarter, yet he scored only five points, going 2-of-9 from the field and not taking a 3-pointer. Consider that to be the latest evidence of the San Antonio Spurs’ superstar’s exhaustion.
This is his first playoff run. He has never played into late April before, let alone mid-June. And the intensity of these games adds up. Fatigue is understandable even if also becoming a liability.
But with an added day off, Wembanyama should be ready to charge forward in Game 5, and he has always preferred shooting at home. Some consideration could be put into betting the Over on his 3-pointers prop, set at 1.5 but juiced to -200.
An extra day off before Game 3 helped Wembanyama to an 11-of-21 showing for 32 points, despite shooting only four 3-pointers. Expect a 3-of-7 or 3-of-8 showing from long range as Wembanyama again reaches 30 points in Game 5.
Game 5 Prop #2: Karl-Anthony Towns Over 11.5 rebounds
The Spurs could not have started Game 4 in a better way than notching two fouls on Karl-Anthony Towns within the first minute of the game. Failing to find a win when granted that break is nearly as damning as blowing a 29-point lead was.
Once Towns was back on the court in full, he returned to his effectiveness. He finished with 10 rebounds despite playing less than 26 minutes. He snagged seven boards once free of his shackles in the second half.
He is effectively the New York Knicks’ only quality big man in this series; obviously that drastically understates Towns’s role. Every Mitchell Robinson minute risks Hack-A-Mitch, but when facing Wembanyama, New York needs size.
Expect at least 35 minutes from Towns in Game 5, if not 40.
This prop is set at the right number, but the plus-money is foolish. Towns cleared this in the first two games of this series, and he fell short in Game 4 only because of the opening minute’s whistles.
Game 5 Prop #3: Dylan Harper Over 3.5 assists
Obviously and memorably De’Aaron Fox had an ugly closing few minutes in Game 4 that likely cost the Spurs a win. But San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson should already have been playing Fox fewer minutes and turning to Dylan Harper more often.
Harper is clearly the Spurs’ best guard in this series, outplaying both Fox and Stephon Castle. He has notched at least three assists in each of the last three games, playing 32 minutes in each and with a usage rate of at least 22.1% in them after playing only 28 minutes in Game 1 with a usage rate of 19.0%.
San Antonio’s best chance at shocking everyone in these Finals includes elevating Harper to the No. 2 role behind Wembanyama. The headlines will say that comes at Fox’s expense, but it was an obvious need long before Fox missed a layup and failed to box out OG Anunoby.
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DETROIT - JUNE 12: The Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 2-1 to win Game Seven and the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 12, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Seventeen years ago today, the Pittsburgh Penguins stunned the Detroit Red Wings to win the team’s third Stanley Cup title.
The Penguins were heavy underdogs in the Stanley Cup Final series against the Red Wings, who were the defending champions from the prior year.
Pittsburgh seemed extremely outmatched during stretches of the series, losing all three road games in Detroit, but winning Games 3, 4, and 6 to force a deciding Game 7 back at Joe Louis Arena.
Maxime Talbot opened the scoring early in the second period of the game, beating goaltender Chris Osgood to make it a 1-0 game.
Sidney Crosby left the game with a knee injury, but the Penguins kept pressing on.
Maxime Talbot was the star of the game, scoring a second goal near the midway point of the second period, picking a corner against Osgood to make it 2-0 Pittsburgh.
From there, it seemed like the Penguins were hanging on for dear life.
Jonathan Ericsson got the Red Wings on the board and Niklas Kronwall nearly tied the game, hitting the crossbar with a shot with just over 2 minutes remaining in the contest.
With the Penguins hanging on, Marc-Andre Fleury made a diving save on Nicklas Lidstrom as time was expiring and as time expired, the Penguins were Stanley Cup champions.
What a month this has been for the NHL and NBA finals, each with tremendously entertaining series and, in the Knicks’ case, the chance to make a city explode and unite around a title not seen in half a century.
A cup win for Raleigh or Vegas would be…less impactful, but it will still be the conclusion to a riveting series.
As for us, check back later for an outstanding Weird Islanders episode with former Isles beatwriter Arthur Staple discussing the weird Nino Niederreiter year (and a bonus run-in with Jack Capuano).
Islanders News
Anders Lee update-non-update: Isles would still like to keep him (but at what cost?) and he’d like to stay (but at what cost?), so the betting is he’ll reach free agency. [LeBrun rumbling at Athletic]
The Isles have signed Daylan [sic] Kuefler to another two-way deal, this one for two years. [Isles]
Matthew Schaefer was there for the Knicks’ amazing comeback in Game 4. [THN]
Elsewhere
The Hurricanes are one win away after a somewhat comfortable (by this series’ standards) Game 5 win at home. [NHL]
Jordan Staal is the first guy to score in five consecutive Stanley Cup final games in 50 years. [Sportsnet]
The NHL will further investigate Mike Babcock’s douchebaggery in Columbus, what with Edmonton seeking permission to hire him to kill their team off. [Athletic]
Speaking of the Oilers, Darnell Nurse says yeah fer sure, you can trade me. [Sportsnet]
Nikita Kucherov was awarded the Hart Trophy for some reason. [NHL]
Former Canucks GM Patrik Allvin joins the Kraken as one of several assistant GMs. [Sportsnet]
Ask a dumb question, spend a thousand words on a dumb non-answer. [Athletic]
Pitching was sharp on both sides in this one as Sawyer Gipson-Long posted his best start of the season while the Hens were held to four hits.
The right-hander fired five scoreless innings of one-hit ball of his own in this one. Gipson-Long allowed two walks, but he struck out five on the evening. As usual, his slider-changeup combo was very good, but his fastball metrics remain well below average. Ricky Vanasco succeeded him with a scoreless inning of work, and Troy Watson took it the rest of the way. He too pitched a solid three innings, but allowed a solo shot in the top of the ninth for the only run in this one.
Max Clark went 0-for-5 but didn’t strike out, and he was the only Hen who could say that. Corey Julks had two hits to lead the offense, such as it was as Saints veteran Austin Voth struck out eight in his start.
Julks: 2-4, 2B, 2 K
Gipson-Long: 5.0 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 5 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Friday in Toledo.
John Peck came through with a walkoff double after the RubberDucks tied this one up late.
Starter Sean Hunley struggled for Erie in this one, but the offense seized control pretty early after Hunley gave up four runs in four innings.
Brett Callahan is really pressing his case for a move to Toledo now. The left-handed outfielder crushed a solo shot in the bottom of the first for his 12th home run of the season, and his fifth in the last six games. Callahan is holding his own against left-handed pitching and destroying right-handers. The Tigers do things at a glacial pace but Callahan should be moving up after the All-Star break if he can avoid a slump in the meantime.
In the second, singles from Chris Meyers and Izaac Pacheco led to their second run. In the third, they really poured on the offense. Peyton Graham singled with one out and John Peck drew a walk. A two-out single from Andrew Jenkins plated Graham, and then Meyers walked to load the bases. Pacheco ripped a two-run single to right field and then stole second base. E.J. Exposito came through with a two-run single of his own, and it was 7-3 Erie through three innings.
The Detroit area’s own Alex Mooney hit a solo shot off of Hunley in the fourth to make it a 7-4 game, and the RubberDucks chipped away at the lead with a two-run sixth against Johan Simon.
Moises Rodriguez took over in the ninth with a 7-6 lead looking for the save. He got a quick pair of ground outs and his sinker is popping triple digits now that the weather has heated up. That didn’t stop Jaison Chourio, who got a hanging slider and launched it to right for just the second homer against Rodriguez this year.
Tie ballgame.
The reversal came quickly in the bottom half. Graham walked, and Peck smoked a double off the right field wall. Graham raced first to home ahead of the relay, and the SeaWolves had a walkoff winner.
🚨SeaWolves Walk-Off Win🚨
John Peck hits a hard line-drive double off the wall in right and Peyton Graham comes all the way home from 1st to give Erie an 8-7 win. Unfortunately, it looks like Alfonsin Rosario was hurt on the play. @ZachSurdenik calls it. pic.twitter.com/cAxBVYJpEu
Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves will morph into the Flagship City Kitties on Friday, as they hunt for their fifth straight victory at 6:35 p.m. ET.
Lake County Captains 6, West Michigan Whitecaps 5 (box)
The Whitecaps beat up on Captains starter Melkis Hernandez, only to watch their bullpen blow the lead late on Thursday.
Right out of the gate, a one-out single from Andrew Sojka and a double from a still hot Ricardo Hurtado got the Whitecaps in scoring position, and Sojka scored on a ground out for a 1-0 lead.
Starter Lucas Elissalt leaked two runs in the bottom half on a single-double-single combination, but in the second, Samuel Gil and Junior Tilien led off with singles. Caleb Shpur’s automatic double scored Gil, and a Sojka single scored Tilien. Shpur was thrown out at the plate, but it was 3-2 ‘Caps.
The third opened with back-to-back doubles from Clayton Campbell and Luke Shliger for a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately Gil lined into a double play to snuff that threat from developing further.
Elissalt allowed a Dean Curley solo shot off a high fastball in the bottom of the third that got the Captains back within one. The right-hander has struggled early on this year, but we keep seeing hints of more velocity, and he was really just bit by sequencing. Other than the solo shot he wasn’t hit hard at all and was in pretty good command of his stuff.
Again the Whitecaps pushed across a run in the bottom half on a Campbell sac fly that scored Sojka.
Unfortunately, that 5-3 lead wouldn’t hold up as Preston Howey surrendered three runs in the sixth, and the offense went quiet.
Sojka: 3-5, 2 R, RBI, 2 K
Hurtado: 2-5, 2B, K
Gil: 2-4, R
Elissalt: 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: It’s a 7:00 p.m. ET start on Friday with the Captains up 2-1 in the series.
Malachi Witherspoon’s control was pretty shaky again in this one, and the bullpen kept leaking runs while the offense was pretty quiet.
Witherspoon did settle in eventually, but he coughed up two runs in a pretty laborious first inning. He shut the Threshers down from there and found his command to a degree, but was still pretty efficient. He departed in the fourth and Yendry Gomez cleaned up that inning and spun a scoreless fifth as well.
In the fifth, the Flying Tigers finally capitalized on an opportunity when a passed ball got Nick Dumesnil to second base, and a Beau Ankeney single scored him. In the sixth, Anibal Salas singled with two outs, and Hunter Dobbins doubled him in.
At that point it was a 2-2 game and things were looking up.
In the bottom of the sixth, Luke Hoskins came on for Lakeland and an error on Jude Warwick allowed the leadoff hitter to reach and then steal second base. A double that Javier Osorio couldnt’ snare at third gave the Threshers the lead. Hoskins leaked another run before getting out of the inning, and gave up one more in the seventh as the Flying Tigers’ offense went silent.
Dobbins: 2-4, RBI, 2B, K
Warwick: 2-5, 2 K, SB
Witherspoon: 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers lead the series 2-1 heading into a 6:30 p.m. ET matchup on Friday.
20-year-old Jack Bushell, another of the Tigers’ Australian pitching contingent alongside Ali Tanner, went through the Phillies like an angry weedeater in this one, striking out 10 and allowing just a solo shot in five innings of work.
Angel de los Santos, a fast-rising 19-year-old shortstop prospect, mashed a three-run shot in the fifth that was the decisive blow in this one.
Just as nice to see was the return of SS/2B Franyerber Montilla. The 21-year-old slick fielding switch hitter blew out his ACL last July, and this was the first we heard about his status. He went 0-1 with two walks and scored a run. He’ll need some time to build up, but my guess would be West Michigan is his final destination, playing second base alongside Bryce Rainer.
Victor Wembanyama
Karl-Anthony Towns
