Making All Stops

 

Two teams in freefall getting together for a subway series was never gonna go well. It's a wonder that any of these teams came out of this series with their dignity in tact, but the Mets didn't lose a starter to Tommy John again, nor did they have a shortstop make a series of boneheaded errors. 

I had the misfortune of watching some of the July 4th game while around my Staten Island-based cousins, and while there are a few Yankee fans in there, a lot of people were rooting for the other team. And so as the Yankees ended up spiraling out and the Mets' lineup started beating up Stroman, I just sort of shuddered and went about my drinking. The Mets started a no-name starter based one town over from me, who they were forced to start because their pitchers keep getting injured, and they still won the game because the Yankees managed to find a way to suck more. 

Both of these teams have similar issues, honestly. In both cases, the lineup will pick choice moments to not show up. It's happening now for the Yankees. Judge is slowing down, Stanton's been anemic, Wellsy's been slacking. At the very least Cody Bellinger has been stepping up more, as he now has 13 homers and 47 RBIs. But the May momentum is gone because the lineup just isn't there. The Mets went through this before, but now they're getting production from Alonso, Lindor, Soto, McNeil and the works. Brandon Nimmo, even in what's knowingly a lesser year, has 18 homers and 52 RBIs. You can play the whole 'we traded away PCA' game for hours but ultimately this team has hit its way to 50 homers when the Yankees haven't yet. Even in that period where the Mets weren't winning games, which was fun by the way, they didn't look as bad as the Yankees did in their drought. You didn't hear about how bad the Mets were, because they still managed to score runs. 

The other problem these teams share is the back half of their rotations. The Yankees just lost Clarke Schmidt and Ryan Yarbrough, and are down to a skeleton crew of Fried, Rodon, Warren, Stroman and a to-be-determined minor leaguer who'll have to face the Mariners in a couple days. Who will it be? Rookie Clayton Beeter? Scranton favorite Allan Winans? Hell, is this finally the moment J.T. Brubaker starts a game for us? The Mets may be in even more dire straits, because they're down to just David Peterson and Clay Holmes as viable MLB options. Yes, Frankie Montas is healthy, but like usual in New York he's getting obliterated in between injuries. Justin Hagenman did his best but...he's your 4 guy and he already feels like a last resort. In lieu of a fifth starter the Mets went with a reliever game on Sunday, and if we'd have lost that I think Aaron Boone would have lost his job. There is a belief that both Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea could be back for the weekend series against the Royals, but that's a lot of hope to throw on these guys. I've seen 'everything's gonna be alright when Senga comes back' before, and it didn't go too well last summer. And let's just hope Manaea still has some of whatever made him a Mets hero last year. 

Both the Yankees and the Mets have similar issues, and went through similar stretches. That the Mets were able to wake up first, my hat goes off to them. But this isn't a death sentence for the Yankees yet. There's still half a season to play, and still a lot of momentum to gain. We'll see how we're looking after the break.

Coming Tomorrow- For years he looked like the last true 'can't miss' closer. In April...he missed.

2025 All-Star Game Rosters: Demented Approaches

 

What I've started doing the last couple years is, a week or so before the ASG rosters are announced, I make a roster prediction. I follow the same rules, try and make sure every team gets a nod, and attempt to name what I think the league brass will think are the best reps from each league. Last year I was insanely close, there were a few picks I missed but generally I got all of them right.

This year I was way off. It wasn't even because some of my picks were too outlandish. Looking at some of these...some of my picks weren't outlandish ENOUGH.

You can tell that Manfred has more pull on who gets on than before, you can tell that it's not just the managerial decision anymore, and you can tell that viewership is on the line. That explains many of the picks that made the rosters. However, there are some picks that I'm still not 100% sure can be explained. 

So, let's go through, in detail, this year's ASG rosters, and see how spot-on I think these decisions were.

AMERICAN LEAGUE:

Starters:

C: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners. Duh.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays. I spammed a bunch of votes for Goldy at the end there but it was Vlad's year, honestly.

2B: Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers. Honestly, good for him. Deserves it.

SS: Jacob Wilson, Oakland Athletics. Arguably Witt should be starting, but for the wild factor of Wilson's rookie season I'll allow this. Besides, Witt made it anyhow. If he didn't I'd be really confused.

3B: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians. Another no-brainer.

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees. Duh.

OF: Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers. Absolutely deserves it, wild that the voters agreed.

OF: Javier Baez, Detroit Tigers. Here I'd say Kwan deserved it more but I love that Baez has had himself a comeback year.

DH: Ryan O'Hearn, Baltimore Orioles. Just really illuminates how diluted the DH class is in the AL this year. All the good ones are in the NL. How the table has turned..

Reserves:

DH: Brent Rooker, Oakland Athletics. Called this one. Deserves it.

1B: Jonathan Aranda, Tampa Bay Rays. Woulda been weird if he didn't.

2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees. This one...I did not call. And I also thought if the Yanks got another hitter on, it'd be Goldschmidt. I'm happy with this though. Jazz is awesome. Just feels out of left field considering.

2B: Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay Rays. Another easy one.

SS: Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros. I was thinking if another SS got on besides Witt it'd be Zach Neto, but this also makes sense. 

SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals. Duh. Should be starting.

3B: Alex Bregman, Boston Red Sox. Will he be healthy enough to make the game? That's why I didn't include him. If not, seems likely that the guy I thought would make the team, Isaac Paredes, will replace him.

C: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays. Called this.

OF: Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins. Makes so much sense, glad they did it.

OF: Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians. Honestly he should be starting but glad he made it.

OF: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners. People are complaining about this one because his OPS is low, but I thought he'd be on, on account of his offensive production, so nyah.

Pitchers:

SP: Hunter Brown, Houston Astros. Easy one.

SP: Kris Bubic, Kansas City Royals. Called this one as well.

SP: Garrett Crochet, Boston Red Sox. Good for him. I was worried he'd be hurt for most of the year but glad he's been a hit with Boston.

SP: Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers. Very good pick. Weird he's the only Ranger, but I predicted he'd be that too.

SP: Max Fried, New York Yankees. Be weird if he'd missed it.

SP: Yusei Kikuchi, Los Angeles Angels. I had him just missing, and I made my predictions based on the allotment of more relievers. But he honestly is the right choice.

SP: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers. Should get the start.

SP: Shane Smith, Chicago White Sox. As discussed, I figured the Sox pick would be a reliever like Steven Wilson, but Smith works.

SP: Bryan Woo, Seattle Mariners. I personally had Rodon getting on over Woo, but I'm ultimately glad a Mariners starter made it at all.

RP: Aroldis Chapman, Boston Red Sox. This was a surprise. I think that Chapman's had an excellent comeback season, but I don't think he's one of the best relievers in the AL right now. I had Jhoan Duran getting in over him. 

RP: Josh Hader, Houston Astros. Obviously.

RP: Andres Muñoz, Seattle Mariners. Obviously. I didn't think Boone would only bring 3 relievers. I also had Carlos Estevez making it. Maybe this'll be rectified if some of these guys have to pitch the sunday.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

Starters:

C: Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers. Deserves it.

1B: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers. Lot of competition this year but still deserves it.

2B: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks. Definitely deserves it.

SS: Francisco Lindor, New York Mets. 100%, it's about time.

3B: Manny Machado, San Diego Padres. Fantastic to see it happen.

OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs. The absolute right pick.

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves. That he was able to do all this with just 40something games played this year is all the more incredible. 

OF: Kyle Tucker, Chicago Cubs. Glad he squeezed in over Teoscar.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers. I can only be so salty that Schwarber didn't get it, it's Ohtani.

Reserves:

DH: Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies. Thank god. Called this.

1B: Pete Alonso, New York Mets. Obviously. The second Freeman won the fan vote this was set in stone.

1B: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves. I actually had Riley making it but this works too. 

2B: Brendan Donovan, St. Louis Cardinals. Called this one.

SS: Elly de la Cruz, Cincinnati Reds. Called this one, but not that he'd be the only Red. Greene or Abbott deserved something.

3B: Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks. Did not predict this one, but seeing as they went with Olson over Riley, it makes sense.

C: Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies. For a Rox rep I kinda get it, but over William Contreras?? I had Jake Bird as the Rockies' rep, and I guess Goodman is having the better season, but it comes off as an odd choice given the competition at catcher.

OF: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks. I left him out due to the injury, but I guess he has a chance to be back by the break? If not, maybe this is where Soto goes, because erroneously he was left off.

OF: Kyle Stowers, Miami Marlins. Called this, and that he'd be the Marlins rep.

OF: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres. Really should be starting.

OF: James Wood, Washington Nationals. Really should have done better in the fan vote.

Pitchers:

SP: Matthew Boyd, Chicago Cubs. This spot went to Andrew Abbott in my predictions but I can't exactly argue with his inclusion.

SP: MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals. Predicted this one.

SP: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers. This is yet another Rob Manfred 'this is what the fans REALLY want to see' pick, and I'd be more pissed about it if Kershaw wasn't having a strong year.

SP: Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers. I assumed there'd be more relievers on the roster and thought Trevor Megill would make it instead, but Peralta absolutely should be here.

SP: Robbie Ray, San Francisco Giants. Another one I left off for reliever space, but glad this is happening.

SP: Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves. I also included him, even though I'm not sure if he'll be healthy for the game. 

SP: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates. Duh.

SP: Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants. Absolutely. 

SP: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies. There's no question, especially after today's start.

SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers. And called this one as well.

SP: Jason Adam, San Diego Padres. For both personal reasons and because I thought Robert Suarez was a better relief pick, I did not put Adam on my predictions. But who knows, maybe Jojo Siwa will do the national anthem and he'll be afraid to set foot on the premises. 

SP: Edwin Diaz, New York Mets. No, I just don't see it. I'm not falling for it again. I just don't see how Diaz earned this more than somebody like Kyle Finnegan or Trevor Megill.

SP: Randy Rodriguez, San Francisco Giants. I mean...I guess if you're only picking 3 relievers and there aren't a ton of sure bet closers in the NL this year, it sort of makes sense to go with a really good set-up guy. I think this is a good pick. It's just so hard to tell what makes an all-star reliever for some managers. I think of guys like Tanner Scott, Robert Suarez, Kyle Finnegan and Trevor Megill, and somebody else will limit themselves to three options and pick an open homophobe, the single most inconsistent reliever in history, and one generally good pick that nobody's heard of. This is why I'm not a manager. 

So yeah, while overall I get what they were trying to do, and while I predicted a lot of these picks, there are just some that really vex me. Aroldis Chapman, Jason Adam, Edwin Diaz, Clayton Kershaw and Jazz Chisholm just weren't on my radar. 

I look forward to these rosters becoming even stranger once people start wanting to miss the game. 

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

This Dodgers-Astros series is beginning to infuriate the hell out of me. The narrative of this season thus far has been 'we have progressed past the need for a competitive Astros team', and now we're midway through and the narrative is now 'sike, no we haven't'. We were doing fine with our fun Tigers stories and our NL West battles, and now we go back to the Astros dominating despite a train wreck of an infield and an injury roulette of a rotation. And now they're beating the shit out of the Dodgers. Just spare me. Please. It's not fun anymore. 

Like, okay, they lose Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, two very big pieces, and by absolute fricking inertia two perfect fits just slide right into place. Isaac Paredes has been beautiful at third, he's having another amazing season and has 18 homers and 48 RBIs already. And now Cam Smith is heating up in the outfield, he's hitting .292 with an .805 OPS. Like...teams are supposed to like strike out and have replacements that don't work ['y'know, like Brendan Rodgers..], but so many times, this team just falls directly into amazing luck, like some deity just thinks it's better this way. Hunter Brown becoming unhittable the year the Astros' rotation would otherwise crater is infuriatingly good timing. 

And that's how you can describe the Astros: half of it is great organizational work, the other half is scarily good timing. No other team who puts that much work and money into the product has luck like this. Even the Dodgers have lost an entire rotation. Even the Yankees are struggling now. But the Astros just keep figuring it out, to the point where Orel Hershiser suggested that there's this possibility that the Astros knew when the breaking balls were coming Friday night. Which, unless there's legitimate evidence, or a new trashcan key or something, is just gonna be a bold claim, but...if you only punish a couple people and just let everyone else do whatever they want, after a while they're gonna try and do the thing you punished them for again. Like it's proof the punishment wasn't bad enough. If you want a kid to stop stealing shit, ground him for a week and make him admit that stealing is morally bad. A somewhat stern talking-to is not gonna change behaviors, despite what some politicians would have you believe.

And it also takes the sting out of another strong Dodgers season, which has been going well even without Snell, Sasaki, Glasnow and Gonsolin. Will Smith has become a .300 hitter, which is pretty awesome considering he's already one of the best catchers in the league. Pages seems to be an everyday guy now, which is very helpful. Betts is finally getting hot, as is Conforto I think. Hyseseong Kim is the exact kind of utility whiz the Dodgers needed. 

But with all these injuries, the fact of the matter is that, once again, the Dodgers haven't been left that great of a rotation. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the only sure bet, and even he's gotten into some rough starts recently. Kershaw and May can wield excellent stuff then get clobbered, Knack is still getting there, and Wrobleski and Casparius are...not optimal options for a 1st place competitor. And yes, you have Ohtani back on the mound finally, but he's being so careful with his innings that he's not really much of a trusted starter. He's really a trusted opener right now. Meanwhile, the Astros have Brown, Framber Valdez, and three rookies who seem to be much better at getting the hang of the majors than the Dodgers's. 

That's the other thing. Both teams are riddled with injuries. The Astros also have an entire rotation's worth of injured pitchers. But they still have the momentum, and they can still get things to work because they somehow can get pitchers ready in Triple-A better than the Dodgers can. It blows my mind.

Look, there's a chance the Dodgers take back the momentum today, but I think it's best they just ride it out and regroup after the break. And then hope whatever's keeping the Astros up depletes down the line.

Coming Tonight: Probably a post complaining about the All-Star rosters.

Catch of the Day

 

The term 'system quarterback' gets thrown around a lot. Y'know, your Sam Darnolds, your Geno Smiths, guys you just plug into any coach's arsenal and you get by. I think 'system catcher' should be used around as much, because that definitely is a thing. Somebody that can be your primary catcher, and be a good choice for it, but can jive with any old organization and still do the same things. Jason Kendall was one of those for a while, he was never the star but you could throw him back there and you'd be great. Brad Ausmus falls into that category as well. And it's different from your 'career backup' guys because there's enough talent to carry the position rather than filling the role. Victor Caratini is trying to be this 'system catcher' type but is still very much a 'career backup'. Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado flirted with it but both hit a wall right when it was gonna happen. 

Carson Kelly's success tells me that, like Yan Gomes before him, he was lucky enough to wind up in Chicago, who seem to be very good at developing 'system catchers', as they've done this with Miguel Montero, Christian Bethancourt and Gomes. Kelly was in danger of becoming a career backup, but last year he had a great start with Detroit, then got swapped to Texas to back up Jonah Heim. And he was SUPPOSED to be backing up Miguel Amaya, who the Cubs were able to develop somewhat last year. But, like...when the backup catcher hits for the cycle in April, maybe the wrong guy is the backup. So the Cubs started playing Kelly more, eventually gave him the 1 spot, and now Kelly's probably looking at an ASG nod tomorrow night.

That the longtime backstop is suddenly having his best season isn't a complete surprise. His D-Backs years were solid, and sullied by injuries. In 2019, Kelly was a strong, defensively-solid catching option with the occasional offensive perk. He wasn't a team-changing guy, but he made his starts and didn't steer you wrong. The injuries just let the D-Backs lose sight of that, and by 2022 he wasn't as reliable, so in came Gabriel Moreno [who, uh...is injured]. I think it's the case of fellow system catcher Travis d'Arnaud, a guy that had promise with a team that needed him but just couldn't stay healthy, then figured everything out after finding the right organizational fit. And Chicago seems to be that for Carson Kelly, as he's currently hitting .264 with 10 homers, 30 RBIs and some excellent catching numbers. He's also got an .858 OPS, which is a large step upward for him.

The theme of this Cubs team seems to be guys that struggled elsewhere suddenly clicking in this one place. There's an entire bullpen full of former starters who are killing it as relief options this year [Chris Flexen, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller]. One of the team's best hitters is Michael Busch, who was traded by the Dodgers, and is now hitting .288 with 17 homers and 55 RBIs as the team's starting 1st baseman. Four of the stars of this Cubs team are guys who took forever to really get going in Chicago, so that when they did it was all the more exciting. And one of them's leaping to superstardom this year. 

The Cubs, for the first time since arguably 2016, are finally the team of circumstance again. The team of everything happening for the right reasons. Yes, Taillon just got hurt, and I worry about what Cade Horton and Ben Brown are gonna do now, but the success of Carson Kelly is proof that things can just come together on this team now. And that's gonna be important down the line.

Coming Tomorrow- A rookie for the Astros who has immediately shifted to making me sad. 

When I Am King..

 

It is looking like, as we near the official midway point of the 2025 season, that the most important, and most dominant, team in the AL is the Detroit Tigers. And MAN does it feel refreshing to say that. There have been so many mediocre Tigers teams, so many teams with absolutely nothing going on, and so many completely mailed-in attempts at a rebuild, that hitting upon one that actually works feels legitimately satisfying. And I'm not even a Tigers fan. I just got really sick of seeing this organization not try, and now they've built a competitor. I wish all teams could get there.

But something that also feels like a shifting of tides is that this year, the team with the most all-star starters in the AL is not the Yankees, or the Astros, or even the Mariners. It is the Detroit Tigers. Three players wound up in the voting finals, and all three got their positions handily. Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez's ASG nods were the result of successful campaigning by the Detroit Tigers' fanbase, a fanbase that hasn't gotten anybody from this team on a roster since roughly Miguel Cabrera. 

The Tigers' 3 starters is more than any other team that isn't the Dodgers. And from an angle that seems not as good, because of course the Dodgers are the best, and everyone expects them to do well, and of course they have the most starters. Well...the Dodgers have 3 guys starting the ASG. There were more up for it. Tommy Edman, Max Muncy, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez were all nominees in the final round of voting, and none of them got it. They could have had 7 starters, and the voters weren't very compelled to rep all of them. They could do it for Freddie Freeman and Will Smith, and of course they rallied for Ohtani, but that's four people that even the most die-hard Dodger fans were alright not seeing in this all-star game. So they're only sending three, which at the moment is as many as the Tigers, though the Tigers might have another rep start the game at this rate. 

I used to get mad at people campaigning for ASG spots when their players didn't deserve it. There was one year the Cardinals had like 5 starters and it really wasn't warranted. The Royals did this around the same period. The Rangers a couple years ago had this even before they were a World Series team. And, like...if they deserve it, it's alright. The 2016 Cubs had their entire infield start the All-Star Game, and this is when all four of Rizzo, Russell, Zobrist and Bryant were having excellent years. This Tigers thing I can't be mad at, because not only is the team terrific, but I would file these players as the best at their position. Baez is somewhat marginal because he's a multi-position guy, but I'm glad he was able to get back here and savor the moment. Greene is having a phenomenal year, with 21 homers and 69 RBIs already. Gleyber's come into his own outside of the smoke of New York, he's hitting .279 with 9 homers and 42 RBIs. And Skubal is well on the way to a 20-win year, and deserves to start. 

The Tigers have built something great, and they just need it to last. What's beginning to worry me is the back half of the rotation, as there are so many injured starters that they're resorting to an opener game every fifth day. Hopefully Gipson-Long or Olson comes back soon, but for now Sku-Flaherty-Mize-Montero is working pretty well. The bullpen is strong as ever, the whole lineup has substantial answers everywhere [except shortstop honestly], and even this Kerry Carpenter injury isn't scaring me too much.

The Tigers have made great progress, but they need to be aware that now the eyes are on them. They're the 2015 Royals. They went from a fluke Wild Card team to a league giant. That team, however, went all the way. Can the Tigers?

Coming Tomorrow- He came just short of an ASG gig himself, but honestly just getting to start games again is enough of a win. 

June 2025 in Review [ft. Trea Turner]

 

From June, I expected regime changes, Kyle Schwarber home runs, blistering heat and unforgettable feats, and from that this month did not disappoint. Already we're seeing the true storylines of this season emerge, whether I like them or not. 

So first, let's look back at the 5 predictions I made last month and see how well I did:

1. Very big comeback from an injury, and it's 100% worth the wait. I suppose Ronald Acuna counts.

2. There were a lot of streaks coming from mid-level competitors in the central divisions this month. In June there'll be a nice streak from a major metro era with a huge competitor. Not really, honestly. 

3. Topps really doesn't have a big selling point for 2025 Update Series yet, and the rookie cutoff date is fastly approaching. I predict one more mega-rookie jumps in, and even if it ends up being Cole Young I'll accept it. Well, seeing as the cutoff was like mid-May this year because Fanatics doesn't know what the hell they're doing, Young will have to wait til 2026, as will Chase Burns, Jacob Misiorowski, Roman Anthony and Christian Moore. 

4. Schwarber in June is as big as advertised. Surprisingly this was a down month for him. He only hit .214 with 14 RBIs and only 6 of his trademark dingers. This still puts him at 25 through 3 months, which is still great stuff, but not to his usual June standard.

5. The year so far has been dominated, mostly, by the Yankees and Dodgers again. In June, we may see what the real narrative ends up being. [It make take a couple months to verify this]. Well, the big standout teams of this month weren't exactly the Yanks and Dodgers..

And so, that segues perfectly into this next bit: 5 things from June 2025 that no one could have predicted:

1. The Tigers might be a new league giant. Nobody has a cushion in 1st like the Tigers do, and for a team that was the definition of ineptitude for a decade, it's a welcome feeling. The Tigers are coasting on terrific seasons from Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene, Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres, and breakout years from Dillon Dingler, Will Vest and more. People who used to doom this team, like Spencer Torkelson and Casey Mize, are filing in as integral members. Greene's going for 100 RBIs, Sku's going for 20 wins, Dietrich Enns is going for the most inexplicable comeback in years. You absolutely love to see it, and at 53-32, very few teams are doing it better than the Tigers. 

2. Jacob Misiorowski outduels Paul Skenes. I watched this game, and it was not as cut-and-dry as you might think. Going in they knew Miz would have limited innings, but he only allowed 1 or 2 hits. Skenes's hits did him in and the Brewers small-balled their way to some runs. Both pitchers are excellent right now, but Miz is working on a completely different level, and somehow made Paul Skenes look inferior during a season where he's destined for Cy Young votes. 

3. The Marlins are trending upward. The Miami Marlins have won 7 straight games, just got Derek Hill back, and could very well overtake the Braves for third place. For a team with such pitching issues, and such frequent disappointment, it's an incredible development. The new cast of young, scrappy contact hitters have given the Marlins some character, and with Agustin Ramirez, Heriberto Hernandez and Liam Hicks factoring heavily into the team, you're seeing signs of something that really could take off in the next few years. I don't expect long term damage from this team, not with this rotation, but it's more lively than they've been in a while.

4. Cal Raleigh is going for history. No catcher has had a season like this, and you'd have to go as far back as someone like Roy Campanella to see a catcher really race the leaderboard on homers. Raleigh is currently at 33 home runs, and 79 RBIs, and for this kind of defensive production to happen even before the ASG break is pretty incredible. Raleigh was always capable of a season like this, and to see him on a tear like never before is really cool. It makes comeback seasons from Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena look comparatively quaint. 

5. Boston gives up on Devers immediately. All the Giants needed to offer was Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks and a prospect. That was it. The Sox weren't looking for a king's ransom, they just wanted to get rid of the guy. Now, in 13 games since coming to SF, Devers only has 2 homers and 5 RBIs, but he's got room now. He's in a place where he's not at the management's throats. The Sox, meanwhile, have only gotten worse since Devers left. 

And on the opposite side of that, here are 5 things from June 2025 that lots of people probably predicted.

1. The back half of the rotation does the Mets in. Losing Senga made it all the more clear how much work the middle of the rotation had been doing. Then give Peterson, Megill and Holmes more prominent roles and it becomes clear that Paul Blackburn and Frankie Montas just aren't gonna be the answer right now. And thus...the Mets are sinking fast.

2. Tyler Mahle and Royce Lewis get injured. Daring, aren't we?

3. The Mariners fail to keep Houston out of first. As good as the Mariners are, and as much as they've accumulated this year, when faced with the prospect of keeping the Astros from advancing they're basically a kid tripping over his shoelaces and not thinking to tie them. You knew that a slump was coming, and of course it came right when the Astros got hot. Hopefully the Mariners can recuperate, but...knowing them it won't e easy.

4. The Phillies aren't exactly screwed without Harper for a few weeks. Trea Turner stepped up, with a .295 average, a league-leading 101 hits and 20 steals. This is the kind of hero performance we needed when we signed Turner, and he came through. Now that Harper's back the pressure's off, but he's still a very helpful presence. Plus, with Wheels rolling you don't really need to worry too much. 

5. Marcus Semien always needs a month or so to start doing Marcus Semien things. After posting .200 or under the first two months, Semien, as he does, woke up in June, hitting .324 with 4 homers and 16 RBIs. This likely means he'll be surging for the rest of the season now. 

Now, here are, for my money, the 5 Most Important Players of June 2025:

1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

2. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners

3. Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

4. Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks

5. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates

And finally, here's 5 bold predictions for July 2025:

1. At least one late All-Star roster addition that makes absolutely no sense.

2. The Dodgers get at least one crucial pitcher back, and he makes a difference.

3. The AL Central currently lacks an underdog competitor, with the Tigers out in front, and I say one emerges next month. 

4. Rafael Devers isn't the only guy that gets unceremoniously yanked out of Boston this summer.

5. Brian Cashman does something ridiculous. 

And that was June. Hopefully July's similarly fun to follow.

For All the Cows

 

It's important to point out that the Orioles are currently above .500 during the Tony Mansolino era. I'm not sure if Mansolino himself was the factor that sparked this improvement, or if it was just the activation of a bunch of nice players at once, or even just me sitting in on a game at the beginning of June, but regardless, the Orioles are closer to a good baseball team now. Not completely one, but closer to resembling one.

The bad news is that Adley Rutschman is out til after the break, and there's still a rotation's worth of pitchers on the IL. The good news is that the people the O's have recently gotten back have been extremely helpful in turning the team around. Colton Cowser, who was very good in his rookie year, has been excellent recently, with a .257 average since coming off the IL, 5 homers and 13 RBIs. If I could do last year over again, I'd have traded Cowser instead of Kyle Stowers, but the truth was that Stowers wasn't a proven success in the majors yet and Cowser was killing it. Having Cowser surging is a big reason why the O's have gone 17-11 since May 28th.

Another big factor is the arrival of an actual good starting pitcher, and by that I don't mean Charlie Morton clinging to the last throes of life this month. Surprisingly I mean Trevor Rogers, whose acquisition last year felt like one of the dumbest things the Orioles had done in some time. A guy who immediately got hurt was worth Norby and Stowers? BS. Well, now Rogers is healthy and actually putting something decent together this year, lowering his ERA to 2.05 and showing true dominance in all four of his starts so far. This is what Rogers can do when he is healthy. The only strange part is that it happens so infrequently, and that it's happened while basically everyone else is hurt. I hope his good fortune persists, and I hope some of the other guys can join in on that.

I think the best case scenario for this Orioles team is that they build a little through the second half, maybe lose one or two pieces [Mullins is getting mentioned by GMs, maybe Laureano gets dealt too to make way for another young guy], and still be generally seen as a player to compete. I think seeing a better year from Jackson Holliday, getting consistent production from Henderson and Cowser, and at least some signs of life from the pitching [Bautista, Kremer, Sugano and Baker have been great] is still promising even as the team circles last, and I think that Rays comeback and some other big wins this year have made it a lot more likely that the O's could stay out of last this year. 

Coming Tonight: He was very good at fulfilling the 'team hero' spot while Bryce Harper was gone.