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Some things in sports don’t have to make sense. The last time Kiké Hernandez was a good regular-season player was probably 2021. Yet, every October, he looks like prime Derek Jeter. I’m done betting against him.Â

Three years ago, Jeremy Peña became the first player to be named the MVP of both the ALCS* and the World Series in the same year. But if the Blue Jays are going to win this, it’s almost certainly going to be ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leading the charge.

George Springer delivered the haymaker in Game 7, but Guerrero has a 1.440 OPS with six home runs in 11 games this postseason. Toronto has gone 6-1 when he drives in at least one run and 1-3 when he doesn’t. He’ll get a couple more dingers while staking his claim to the title of greatest Blue Jay of all time—before his 14-year, $500 million contract even begins.

*There have been eight instances of NLCS and WS MVP, but it curiously almost never happens for the AL.

Blake Snell has been fantastic all postseason with strong starts in the Wild Card Series (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 9 K), NLDS (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K) and NLCS (8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 10 K), and he will take the ball in Game 1 on Friday night.

There is no reason to think he’s going to slow down now, especially considering he worked just 61.1 innings during the regular season. And he is on a run similar to Stephen Strasburg in 2019 when he became the last pitcher to win World Series MVP honors.

Let’s not overcomplicate this one, either: Shohei Ohtani is the obvious pick, so why waste it on anyone else?

When last anyone saw him, he was having the best playoff game in history in Game 4 of the NLCS: three home runs at the plate, and 10 strikeouts over six scoreless innings from the mound.

It redeemed what had been a quiet postseason, and you just know he wants to keep it going after he was too hurt to hit like himself in the World Series last year.

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Oct 22, 2025, 01:11 PM ET

After days of negotiations, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello has been named the new manager of the San Francisco Giants, the team announced Wednesday, marking the first time a big league team has hired a manager directly from a college program without any experience as a professional coach.

Vitello — who considered staying at Tennessee, where he won the Men’s College World Series in 2024 — replaces Bob Melvin, who was fired Sept. 29 following an 81-81 season, the Giants’ fourth consecutive year without a playoff berth.

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“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity,” Vitello said in a statement. “I’m excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can’t wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants faithful proud.”

Vitello, 47, was regarded as one of the best coaches in college baseball, a high-energy recruiting wizard who built talent-laden teams and turned around a program that had toiled in mediocrity for decades. He emerged as the Giants’ main target after former San Francisco catcher Nick Hundley withdrew from consideration.

By making Vitello his first managerial hire, San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey is banking on Vitello’s success at Tennessee translating to the major leagues. Chosen over former Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and two other former big league catchers interviewed by the Giants — Kurt Suzuki and Vance Wilson — Vitello distinguished himself as one of the preeminent coaches in the country during a two-decade career as an assistant and head coach in college, enough so that the Giants were willing to pay the $3 million buyout on his contract, sources said.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Tony to the Giants family,” said Posey in a statement. “Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative, and most respected coaches in college baseball today. Throughout our search, Tony’s leadership, competitiveness, and commitment to developing players stood out. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball.”

The closest facsimile to Vitello would be Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who spent 25 years coaching in college before joining the San Diego Padres as a minor league manager. Murphy then spent eight years as Brewers bench coach before taking over as manager in 2024, when he won National League Manager of the Year.

Vitello’s move to the major leagues will come at a far more rapid pace. Outside of a first-place NL West finish in 2021, the Giants have finished third or worse in the division every year since 2017. Beyond the dominance of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants are seen by evaluators as a less-talented team than San Diego and Arizona as well. San Francisco’s core of first baseman Rafael Devers, shortstop Willy Adames and third baseman Matt Chapman is solid — and could be strengthened this winter via free agent spending, according to sources.

Following more than 10 years as an assistant coach at Missouri, TCU and Arkansas, Vitello took over a moribund Tennessee program before the 2018 season and posted a 341-131 record, advancing to the Men’s College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024. With a pair of eventual first-round draft picks and four second-rounders, Tennessee beat Texas A&M to win the school’s first baseball national championship last year.

Vitello, whose boisterous personality endeared him at Tennessee and chafed other SEC schools, enters an entirely different realm in MLB. Whereas college jobs are often defined by the success of recruiting classes, major league teams are constructed by baseball-operations departments with the manager relied upon for clubhouse cohesion, in-game decision-making, bullpen usage and daily media interactions.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White issued a statement Wednesday thanking Vitello for elevating the Vols to a “championship program.”

“Congratulations to Tony on this incredible opportunity to lead the San Francisco Giants,” White wrote. “We wish him the best as he embarks on this new chapter in his career and thank him for everything he has done to transform Tennessee baseball into a championship program.”

The reticence of MLB teams to dip into the college ranks for managers is long established and has run counter to the hiring practices of other professional sports leagues. NFL teams have regularly plucked head coaches from the college ranks, and in the NBA, there is no stigma associated with college coaches. Major league organizations have been more open to hiring coaches from college than managers. Pitching coach Wes Johnson left Arkansas to take the same role with the Minnesota Twins in 2019; he left the Twins three years later to accept the pitching coach job at LSU before joining Georgia as its head coach prior to the 2024 season.

In an interview with ESPN in June, Vitello said his reputation as a rabble-rouser did not bother him and that he had no plans to change his approach to coaching, which called for pushing boundaries.

“I think you don’t know where the line is until you cross it. And then you make an adjustment,” Vitello said. “I don’t want our guys, if they give them a coloring book, I don’t want them just coloring inside the lines. You know, come up with something different.”

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Tony Vitello (Danny Parker/Four Seam Images)

Shock isnâ€t rare in college baseball, but this was different. When word broke that Tony Vitello had emerged as the leading candidate to manage the Giants, the reaction from coaches, agents and scouts was immediate and unanimous: disbelief.

Phones were abuzz within minutes in a cascade of texts from people trying to process how the sportâ€s most magnetic figure could suddenly be headed for a major league dugout.

But the disbelief didnâ€t last. It never does when the logic is this clear. Soon after the uproar, the tone shifted from confusion to clarity.

Of course itâ€s Vitello. Of course it makes sense.

“Itâ€s brilliant,†one SEC coach told Baseball America.

The more you think about it, the more obvious it becomes.

Vitelloâ€s charisma, relentlessness and player-first intensity have long belonged to a higher tier. He built Tennessee like a pro franchise, recruited like a front office with ample financial backing and coached like he was sure college baseball was merely the sportâ€s next great developmental frontier.

And maybe thatâ€s exactly what it is. In an era when college players reach the majors faster than ever and with the draft possibly shrinking again in 2027, the distance between the SEC and the show has never been smaller. Someone was bound to cross it. Itâ€s fitting that the one to do it is the coach who blurred that line more than anyone else.

Vitello will get his chance now. He’ll replace Bob Melvin as the Giants’ manager, becoming the first skipper ever to job directly from college to the pros.

From the moment he arrived in Knoxville in the summer of 2017, Vitello began building Tennessee as if it were a major league organization disguised as a college program. His first step was assembling a staff fluent in analytics and data—long before that became standard across the college game. Tennesseeâ€s recruiting classes were sculpted with information and precision, and the results spoke for themselves: high-round draft picks, immediate contributors and a roster that played with the polish of a professional system.

The success came fast and kept building.

After taking the Volunteers to Omaha in 2021 and 2023, he captured the first national championship in program history in 2024 and won Baseball America’s College Coach of the Year Award. He was rewarded for his accomplishments with a record five-year deal that made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the game.

During his rise to success, Vitello’s rosters werenâ€t just talented, they were balanced, modern, built through every avenue available. From prep recruits and portal transfers to returning veterans who believed in his vision, Vitello gathered like minds and talented players. That blend became his blueprint, proof that Tennesseeâ€s rise wasnâ€t accidental or cyclical. It was structural.

At the American Baseball Coaches Association convention this January, Vitello addressed a packed ballroom of coaches from every level of the game. He told them Tennesseeâ€s transformation wasnâ€t just about better players or sharper data—it was about belief. Buy-in, he said, grew slowly and deliberately, first from his staff, then from his players and then from an entire community. Anyone whoâ€s been around Tennessee knows who set that tone.

Vitello was the fulcrum. The energy, the conviction, the unrelenting insistence that Tennessee could play, act and win like a professional outfit.

Vitelloâ€s style wasnâ€t for everyone. His Tennessee teams carried themselves with the same edge he did—self-assured to the point of arrogance and unapologetic about it. As such, the Volunteers became college baseballâ€s lightning rod. They were brash, emotional and occasionally excessive, but always impossible to ignore. To critics, they were over the top. To everyone inside the program, they were simply reflecting their coach.

Vitello never hid behind diplomacy. He said what others in his position preferred to tiptoe around.

Heâ€s spoken candidly about the damage tampering has done to the transfer portal, a subject many high-major coaches have treated as radioactive. And in April, he offered one of his more memorable swings—a not-so-subtle jab at former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who left Knoxville amid an NIL-fueled storm.

“All I want every year when we come to work is a bunch of guys that want to be at our place, and if they donâ€t, thatâ€s fine,†Vitello said. “Thatâ€s just the world we live in now. And if youâ€re a Vol football fan, just watch the movie Friday.â€

He was referring, of course, to the movieâ€s famous “Bye Felicia†line.

Thatâ€s Vitello in full—unfiltered, confident and utterly uninterested in managing his image. And maybe thatâ€s exactly what the Giants see. Someone willing to be bold, to lead with conviction, to do it his way even when it risks making people uncomfortable.

Vitello’s players never seemed to mind. In fact, they adored it.

“Heâ€s the best coach Iâ€ve ever played for,†former Volunteer outfielder Hunter Ensley told Baseball America earlier this year. “You always know where you stand with him. And you always want to prove him right.â€

If the fit still sounds unconventional, take a closer look at the Giants†roster construction.

Fifteen of the organizationâ€s 18 draft picks in 2025 came from four-year or junior colleges. The year before, 17 of 18 did. San Francisco has spent two straight drafts mining the college ranks as aggressively as any club in baseball, valuing polish, maturity and competitive edge over projection. In other words, the very traits Vitello has spent his career developing.

That trend isnâ€t limited to the draft, either. Several of the Giants†cornerstone players—and even a handful of their highest touted international signees—are still college age. Itâ€s a roster that could skew younger over the next few years, filled with players who came up through the same environments Vitello mastered. The Giants donâ€t need someone to teach professionalism so much as they need someone who understands what modern player development looks like at its most efficient level.

And Vitello is fluent in that language.

Really, this is a no-risk move for Vitello. He could go to San Francisco and be wildly successful, proving right the chorus of voices calling the hire brilliant.

Or it could unravel. This kind of leap is unprecedented. Never has a college coach jumped straight into a major league dugout with no professional experience, no minor league stops and no apprenticeship under a big league manager. It will test every part of his adaptability.

Thatâ€s the reality of managing at the major league level: Respect isnâ€t granted by resume. Itâ€s earned daily in a clubhouse filled with men who have spent years, sometimes decades, in the game. Vitello will have to prove himself all over again. Not to fans, but to players who may be 10 or 15 years older than the ones heâ€s used to coaching.

But even in failure, thereâ€s no real downside. If it doesnâ€t work out, Vitello could return to college baseball as the most coveted free agent coach in the country. Unless someone like LSUâ€s Jay Johnson were to move in the same offseason, no hire in the sport would draw more attention.

Vitello has already reached the summit of college baseball. Heâ€s built a national champion, reshaped an SEC cellar-dweller into a giant and changed the way programs think about building rosters.

When youâ€ve done all that, why not take a risk-free swing at the next level?

Maybe thatâ€s what makes this so compelling. Vitello isnâ€t chasing relevance. Heâ€s redefining it.

The sport is changing, the boundaries are blurring and for the first time, college baseball has produced a coach too dynamic to stay contained by it. Whether this works or flames out, it says something about where the game is headed.

The Giants are betting on the future. Vitello, in many ways, is already there.

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Teams can extend a qualifying offer to select free agents each offseason. Players who accept are signed to a one-year deal for the next season at the designated value ($22.025 million for 2026). Those who don’t accept remain free agents, and if a new team signs them, their old team receives Draft pick compensation.

Hereâ€s a breakdown of the pending free agents who could receive qualifying offers this offseason, along with a list of notable players who arenâ€t eligible for a QO and information on the Draft compensation and penalties tied to the QO.

Players listed in order of 2025 WAR (per FanGraphs)

Schwarberâ€s walk year couldnâ€t have gone much better, as he led the NL in homers (56) and the Majors in RBIs (132) with a career-high 150 OPS+ over 162 games, wrapping up his four-year, $79 million contract with the Phillies in grand fashion. During the course of that deal, only Aaron Judge had more home runs than Schwarberâ€s 187. He’s also been an impactful postseason performer, hitting 23 playoff dingers.

The top player in the 2025-26 free-agent class, Tucker will enter his age-29 season having recorded 23.4 WAR (per FanGraphs) and a 145 OPS+ since the beginning of 2021. Despite dealing with a hairline fracture in his right hand and a left calf strain in 2025, he still posted his third career 20-20 season (22 HR, 25 SB) with a 143 OPS+ over 136 games for the Cubs, who acquired him from the Astros in December.

Suárez has posted a 3.39 ERA over 116 starts since joining the Phillies†rotation in 2021, the 13th-best mark among MLB starters during that span (min. 100 starts). He also has an impressive track record of playoff success, with a lifetime 1.48 ERA over 42 2/3 innings in the postseason.

Perhaps the best starter in a market lacking a true ace, Valdez has found a formula for consistent success with the Astros. The lefty owns a 3.23 ERA over 973 innings since the beginning of 2020, combining solid strikeout numbers with a heavy dose of ground balls.

After recording a .598 OPS over 81 games in an injury-plagued 2024 season, Bichette entered â€25 needing a strong year to recuperate his stock ahead of free agency. He delivered in a big way, looking like his old self while hitting .311 with 18 homers, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS.

The results have been inconsistent, but Cease has excellent stuff and has proven to be quite durable. The right-hander led all starters (minimum 1,000 swings) with a 33.8% whiff rate in 2025, which marked his fifth straight season with at least 214 Kâ€s and 32 games started.

One of the biggest surprises of 2025, Grisham set career highs in a number of categories this past season, including homers (34), RBIs (74), walks (82) and OPS (.811). That was a big step up from 2022-24, when he slashed .191/.298/.353 with 39 home runs in 381 games.

The Yankees didnâ€t extend a qualifying offer to Torres when he was a free agent last offseason, so heâ€s still eligible to receive one from the Tigers, who signed the second baseman to a one-year, $15 million deal in December. Torres made the All-Star team for Detroit but regressed in the second half (.659) and finished with 16 homers, 74 RBIs and a .745 OPS (108 OPS+), numbers in line with his 2024 production.

Flahertyâ€s 2025 performance (4.64 ERA) added to his inconsistent track record and gave him a tough decision to make: accept his $20 million salary for 2026 or opt out and try his luck at free agency again. Itâ€s not a given that heâ€ll take the opt-out route after his protracted experience in free agency last offseason, when he was coming off a much better year and didnâ€t have a QO attached to him.

Díaz didnâ€t receive a qualifying offer the last time he was a free agent at the end of the 2022 campaign, as the Mets re-signed him to a five-year, $102 million deal (a record for a reliever) before the QO deadline. Díaz, who finished 2025 with a 1.63 ERA and a 13.3 K/9, is expected to opt out of his contract this offseason.

Although he didnâ€t regain the strikeout stuff of his heyday, the 2025 campaign was still a solid comeback year for Giolito after he pitched to a 4.89 ERA across â€22-23 and then missed all of â€24 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander made 26 starts for Boston with a 3.41 ERA.

Josh Haderâ€s departure as a free agent after the 2023 season opened the door for Suarez to assume the closer job for the Padres, and the latter responded by converting more saves (76) than anyone else over the past two years to go with his 2.87 ERA. Heâ€s expected to opt out of his contract this offseason to test his value on the open market.

Woodruff has missed substantial time due to injuries in his career — including all of 2024 following right shoulder surgery — but few starters have been better on a per-inning basis since â€19. Before a right lat strain put him back on the shelf in September, Woodruff had a 3.20 ERA and a 5.93 K/BB over 12 starts for the Brewers.

One of the best relievers in baseball during his time with the Brewers, Williams had a rocky debut season with the Yankees after being traded from Milwaukee to New York in the offseason. However, Williams finished the year strong and still had some elite peripherals under the hood, so itâ€s possible heâ€ll receive a qualifying offer.

The D-backs shipped off a number of pending free agents at the Trade Deadline but ended up holding onto Gallen, who recorded a career-worst 4.83 ERA over 33 starts in 2025 — a far cry from his 3.29 ERA across â€19-24.

Arraez isnâ€t without his faults, but nobody is better at putting their bat on the ball. The three-time batting champion owns a lifetime .317 average and just recorded the lowest strikeout rate (3.1%) by a qualified hitter since the days of Tony Gwynn.

After two seasons with the Cubs, during which he had a 3.28 ERA and a 5.39 K/BB over 54 starts, Imanaga could reach free agency this offseason if multiple levers are pulled. First, the Cubs would need to decline their three-year, $57 million club option on Imanaga, which would in turn give the lefty a $15 million player option for 2026. Declining that would make Imanaga a free agent, at which point Chicago would have the option of extending him a qualifying offer.

King made a successful transition to a full-time starting job in 2024, finishing seventh in the NL Cy Young Award voting. He was on his way to another outstanding year in â€25 before injuries intervened, costing him roughly half the season.

Not every free agent can receive a QO. Players who have previously received a QO are ineligible, which means these pending free agents are not eligible to receive one:

Pete Alonso (Mets), Tyler Anderson (Angels), Chris Bassitt (Blue Jays), Cody Bellinger (Yankees), Alex Bregman (Red Sox), Alex Cobb (Tigers), Michael Conforto (Dodgers), Patrick Corbin (Rangers), Jason Heyward (Padres), Raisel Iglesias (Braves), Kenley Jansen (Angels), Nick Martinez (Reds), Martín Pérez (White Sox), Marcell Ozuna (Braves), J.T. Realmuto (Phillies), David Robertson (Phillies), Carlos Santana (Cubs), Max Scherzer (Blue Jays), Chris Taylor (Angels), Justin Turner (Cubs), Justin Verlander (Giants)

Players who weren’t continuously with an organization, either in the Minors or Majors, from Opening Day until the end of the regular season are also ineligible. Notable pending free agents in this category who werenâ€t mentioned above include:

COMPENSATION AND PENALTIES

If a team gives a qualifying offer to a player who then signs elsewhere, the club that lost the player is eligible for Draft pick compensation the following year.

Meanwhile, any team that signs a player who has rejected a qualifying offer is subject to the loss of one or more Draft picks, though a team’s highest first-round pick is exempt from forfeiture. (Players who are unsigned after the start of the MLB Draft in the year that follows the rejection of their qualifying offer are no longer tied to Draft pick compensation and can be signed without their new club needing to forfeit a Draft pick.)

For details on how compensation and penalties are determined for qualified free agents, click here.

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Jostin Florentino (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

In an age when immediate results for prospects are weighed heavily in public rankings and coverage, itâ€s easy to lose sight of the reason the minor leagues exist. Developing players is paramount to organizational success these days, and the ability to make players better has become a larger investment for teams.

Pitchers, in particular, can see quick results from a few months of work. And while there are many ways a pitcher can improve—new pitches, improved shapes or simply training command—the easiest way to improved results is tried and true—adding velocity.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of every minor league pitcher who 1.) threw 100 or more fastballs in each of the last two seasons and 2.) added at least 2 mph of velocity in 2025. While not all of these players enjoyed more productive seasons because of their velo gains, most of them did. And there are quite a few notable breakouts to be found, as well.

Baseball America subscribers can read the full list below, followed by takeaways on key players.

Top Fastball Velocity Gainers For 2025

(NOTE: * denotes a player’s primary fastball is a 2-seamer instead of a 4-seamer)

playerorgthrows2024 Velo2025 velovelo gainJostin FlorentinoCHCR84.9905.1Andres HerreraCOLR88.493.14.7Irvin GonzalezCINR87.792.34.6Joe La Sorsa*CINL87.291.74.5Hudson LeachHOUR91.796.14.4Joel LaraNYMR90.194.44.3Yoesmerli BeltreSDR89.193.44.3Javier PerezHOUR87.191.44.3Baron StuartNYYR91.595.84.3Jaitoine KellyAZR88.392.64.3Baron Stuart*NYYR91.295.54.3Wilian BormieTEXR92.396.54.2Carter BaumlerBALR91.195.34.2Jose OrtegaSDR87.691.64Antonio FloridoDETR92.1963.9Adrian ArdinesHOUR87.3913.7Leonardo RosselDETR89.693.23.6Merlin BidoBOSR89.593.13.6José RodríguezLADR92.896.33.5Jonathan RussellTBR9194.53.5Cody LawerysonMINR90.293.73.5Lender Bracho*SFR87.390.83.5Esteban MejiaBALR9598.33.3Jesus LafalaiseTEXR92.595.73.2Madinson FriasBOSR90.8943.2Cristian NavarroSDR8689.23.2Maikel RodriguezMIAR88.891.93.1Yuliangel De La CruzLADR90.793.83.1Juan MiesesHOUR9093.13.1Jose ParraATHL88.291.33.1Franklin GomezNYML89.592.63.1Jhonan CobaDETR89.9933.1Reiver CamachoCOLR88.291.33.1Franklin Gomez*NYML88.491.53.1Yimi PresinalKCR92.295.23Edgar LeonLADR89.792.73Danery MeyerSEAR89.492.43Brian FitzpatrickMILL89.992.93Rordy MejiaSDR88.991.93Liam SimonSFR93.896.72.9Clayton BeeterWSHR93.1962.9Hunter FurtadoPITL90.893.72.9Oswal RodriguezKCR89.392.22.9Joseph HerreraSDL88.1912.9Eminen FloresTORR92.495.32.9Eduar GonzalezTORL87.490.32.9Antwone KellyPITR94.2972.8Gordon GraceffoSTLR92.595.32.8Daury VasquezAZR92.2952.8Paul WilsonDETL90.993.72.8Douglas OrellanaNYMR91.394.12.8Eddy FelixDETR90.593.32.8Xiomer GuacacheDETR88.991.72.8Luis AndujarBALR86.589.32.8Juanmi VasquezTORL88.591.32.8Christian OpporCWSL92.294.92.7Riley CornelioWSHR91.694.32.7Santiago PerazaCLER90.593.22.7Chaury GomezNYYR89.892.52.7Josue SilvestreNYYR90.292.92.7Tzu-Chen ShaATHR88.591.22.7Mitch FarrisLAAL87.890.52.7Bernard MackSTLL88.190.82.7Austin TroesserNYMR91.193.72.6Jesus FloresMILR90.693.22.6Sam WeatherlyCOLL90.693.22.6Trevor RogersBALL89.692.22.6Gerinton MendezMIAR88.390.92.6Franco ZabaletaATHL84.386.92.6Yohandry GonzalezBOSR89.792.32.6David RodriguezATLR87.990.52.6Jack JasiakCLER91.994.42.5Brandon WhiteMIAR91.293.72.5Luis CariasLADR92.394.82.5Luis De La TorreSFL91.293.72.5Biembenido BritoCOLR90.693.12.5Jose FelizWSHR87.489.92.5Carlos RodriguezDETL86.5892.5Walin Castillo*MIAR90.993.42.5Joel Peguero*SFR97.51002.5Pedro Reyes*PHIR90.693.12.5Joey Lucchesi*SFL89.291.72.5Joel PegueroSFR97.61002.4Yhoiker FajardoBOSR92.194.52.4Erik RiveraBOSL91.193.52.4Benny ThompsonLAAR91.6942.4Joe BarlowTEXR91.6942.4Wifrailyn JaquezPITR91.393.72.4Caleb Boushley*TEXR89.892.22.4Elvis Alvarado*ATHR96.598.92.4Jesús Palacios*BALR90.6932.4Jose GarcesPITR92.294.62.4Liam NorrisAZL89.291.62.4Cristian AraySEAR87.790.12.4Marlon De La CruzWSHR91.193.42.3Geury RodriguezTEXL91.193.42.3Josbel GarciaPHIR92.294.52.3Keywill CedenoCOLR90.993.22.3Eliseo MotaDETR90.7932.3Gilbel GalvanBOSR90.392.62.3Javier GonzálezBALR89.491.72.3Oliver GonzalezLADR89.491.72.3Michael TrauschTEXL89.591.82.3Cole Wilcox*TBR93.495.72.3Moises RodriguezDETR95.397.52.2Chance HuffWSHR92.8952.2Jose G. GonzalezSFR92.594.72.2Ricardo VelezSTLR91.693.82.2Christian RodriguezNYMR91.693.82.2Andy FabianBALL91.293.42.2Blane AbeytaATLR91.8942.2Nic SwansonHOUR90.592.72.2Colby LangfordHOUL88.690.82.2Efrain CubillaCOLR87.389.52.2Orlando Gonzalez*PHIR91.393.52.2Brycen Mautz*STLL90.792.92.2Carlos MartorellaCOLR88.991.12.2Jake Faherty*MIAR95.497.62.2Will BednarSFR92.894.92.1Erigaldi PerezCLER90.192.22.1Wilmis PaulinoCOLR89.691.72.1Enixon SanchezNYYR89.691.72.1Austin SmithCOLR9496.12.1Gage StaniferTORR92.294.32.1Yoandys VerazaBOSR90.9932.1Joey LucchesiSFL89.791.82.1Brandon HerboldKCL87.589.62.1Jhancarlos LaraATLR96.798.72Carlos MateoPITR95.897.82Jesus TraviesoBOSR92.794.72Kendeglys VirguezCLER95.397.32Franco AlemanCLER94.396.32Luis BeltránBALR93.995.92Emerson HancockSEAR93.595.52Robby SnellingMIAL92.294.22Kevin VelascoBALR91.293.22Yohandri ContrerasATHR90.792.72Jean RoblesWSHR90.192.12Andy BasoraKCR91.293.22Austin CoxATLL90.592.52Jose LopezNYMR90.792.72Erick MatosATHR88.790.72Irving CotaNYMR90.792.72Jose GolindanoBOSL89912Julian BarbozaCOLR89.491.42Brett Wichrowski*MILR91.293.22

Velocity Gainer Takeaways

• The top of the list is littered with complex-level players. Andres Herrera, Irvin Gonzalez and Jose Ortega are all Dominican Summer League repeaters, but each have seen gains in their second or third seasons on the circuit.

• Astros righthander Hudson Leach went undrafted out of Miami (OH) back in 2023 and saw 4+ mph velocity gain in 2025. The jump in stuff coincided with his best season as a professional, as he reached Triple-A by the end of the season.Â

• DSL repeater Yoesmerli Beltre enjoyed a breakout campaign in his second summer with the Padres. He saw a jump in fastball velocity, and his results improved accordingly. Over 19 appearances spanning 21.2 innings, Beltre struck out 26 batters while pitching to a 1.66 ERA.

• The Astros signed Javier Perez out of Mexico in January 2024, and is his first season stateside he saw a 4+ mph jump in average fastball velocity. He made 19 appearances between the Astros’ Florida Complex League affiliate and Low-A Fayetteville, pitching to a 2.88 ERA with 70 strikeouts against 11 walks in 68.2 innings.Â

• Jaitoine Kelly saw a 4+ mph jump in 2025 and had a solid season in his first stateside campaign with the Diamondbacks. Over 37 innings in 2025, the 18-year-old righthander from Aruba struck out 28 batters.Â

• Back in 2020, Carter Baumler was a later-round upside pick by the Orioles. Itâ€s taken a few years for things to gel, but Baumler looks like heâ€s back on an MLB trajectory after moving to the bullpen last season. The 23-year-old righty saw his average fastball velocity jump from well below-average to above-average this season, and it now sits 95+ mph. In turn, Baumler pitched to a 2.04 ERA with 46 strikeouts over 39.2 innings.

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Chris Bassitt (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

As MLB heads to the World Series, I canâ€t help but spend a moment thinking about the plight of an old baseball mainstay—the durable No. 4 starter.

From April to September, teams need these reliable rotation options to soak up innings with ERAs and FIPs that hover around league average. Without them, bullpens implode, and the season gets very long.

But then October arrives, and they disappear. Teams need their No. 4 starters to get to the playoffs, yes. But it appears teams have very much decided they are best off not using them when the postseason actually arrives.

Is there any position more valuable during the regular season and less relevant in October?

Over the past eight seasons, Chris Bassitt has been a paragon of durability and effectiveness. The 36-year-old righthander was once again an extremely effective No. 4 starter this year for the Blue Jays, going 11-9, 3.96 in 31 starts this year. His ERA+ was 108. His FIP was a perfectly respectable 4.01.

Successful teams need players like Bassitt. He threw 170.1 innings this season, marking the fourth-straight year he’s topped the 170-inning threshold. Heâ€s made at least 25 starts in every full-length season since 2019. Heâ€s durable and effective, as his 83-65, 3.64 career record in 1,278.2 innings illustrates. Heâ€s been worth every penny of the three-year, $63 million contract the Blue Jays signed him to in 2023.

But now that the postseason is here, heâ€s someone the Blue Jays have used very rarely.

Bassitt did get his moment in the sun on Monday, as he threw a scoreless eighth inning to help the Blue Jays finish off the Mariners in Game 7. It was only his second appearance of the postseason. He had previously been left off Toronto’s ALDS roster and then added back for the ALCS. After finishing second on the team in innings pitched during the regular season, heâ€s thrown just 2.2 innings in the playoffs.

Bassitt was vital for the Blue Jays in getting to October, but now that the do-or-die games are here, heâ€s been largely sidelined while rookie Trey Yesavage has stepped up.

Heâ€s not alone. Will Warren threw the third-most innings for the Yankees this season, but he made only one (rough) appearance for them in the postseason. Taijuan Walker, meanwhile, made 21 starts for the Phillies during the regular season followed by just one two-out appearance in the playoffs.

This used to be the world of the No. 5 starter. In the past, fifth starters would serve reliably all season and then get shuffled to a very modest role come the postseason. But nowadays, teams bounce around between using fifth starters and bullpen games if they aren’t happy with their back-of-the-rotation options. And so, it’s the fourth starter whose role has begun to diminish further.

Even the Dodgers aren’t immune to this. Los Angeles has four front-of-the-rotation starters dominating in the postseason this year. It would be crazy to suggest that any of Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto or Shohei Ohtani fits the description of a No. 4 starter.

But that doesnâ€t mean the Dodgers didnâ€t value back-of-the-rotation starters. After all, those were the types of pitchers who dragged the team through the first four months of the season to allow these aces to thrive in October.

Consider that Yamamoto is the only Dodgers starter this postseason who threw more than 100 innings during the regular season. Less than 50% of the Dodgers’ regular season innings from starting pitchers came from their “Big 4” starters. In October, those four and their largely fresh arms have thrown 73.2% of the Dodgers’ total innings.

By having a first wave of arms to eat innings during the regular season, the Dodgers were able to patiently bide their time until Snell, Ohtani and Glasnow worked into postseason form.

In the final year of his illustrious MLB career, Dodgers lefthander Clayton Kershaw fits this description of a very useful starter who gets sidelined come October. Kershaw was excellent this year, going 11-2, 3.36 (124 ERA+) in 112.2 innings. But he also did not miss many bats. So far, he’s made one postseason relief appearance, giving up five runs (four earned) in two innings against the Phillies. He was on the NLCS roster but didn’t pitch in the series.Â

In trying to find a reasonably consistent thread that ties these decisions together, the clearest explanation is the increased emphasis on velocity in the postseason. During the regular season, the average fastball velocity across the major leagues was 94.3 mph. In the postseason, thatâ€s jumped to 95.8.

The difference in starter velocity is even more dramatic. During the regular season, starting pitchers averaged 93.9 mph with their fastballs. In the postseason, thatâ€s jumped to 95.7 mph—right in line with the bullpen velocity in the postseason.

Excluding openers, there have been 10 true starters this postseason who have averaged less than 94 mph with their fastballs. Those starters have posted a 5.59 ERA and 67 hits allowed in 56.1 innings with a 3.2 BB/9 and 9.4 K/9.

On the other hand, there are 13 true starters this postseason who have averaged 96+ mph with their fastballs. As a group, they’ve posted a 2.63 ERA and just 99 hits allowed in 143.2 innings with a 2.3 BB/9 and 11.3 K/9.

Come the postseason, teams generally want to turn to starters who can miss a lot of bats. Durable consistency is less in demand.

This was perfectly illustrated in Game 4 of the NLCS, which will forever be known as the “Shohei Ohtani Game.” When he wasn’t busy launching three home runs, the Dodgers sent Ohtani to the mound and watched him allow only two hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He touched 100 mph while striking out 10 of the 22 batters he faced.

On the other side, the Brewers turned to Jose Quintana. Like Bassitt, Quintana is a wonderfully durable and effective starter who has thrown over 2,100 innings in his MLB career. He went 11-7, 3.96 (105 ERA+) in the regular season. But his Game 4 start was only his second appearance of the postseason (he threw three scoreless innings in relief against the Cubs on Oct. 8).

In Game 4, Quintana gave up a home run to Ohtani and two additional runs in the first. He exited after allowing three runs, six hits and a walk in two rough innings of work. In 2024, he had also been roughed up by the Dodgers in an NLCS start, allowing five runs in 3.1 innings, thanks again in part to an Ohtani home run.

Quintana likely will be a free agent again this offseason, as his current $2 million deal has a $15 million mutual option for 2026 with a $2 million buyout. And he will likely be in demand once again as a lefthander who can provide durable, consistent innings as a back-of-the-rotation starter. So, too, will Bassitt, who is also a pending free agent.

Just donâ€t expect to see them get much use next October.

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The Toronto Blue Jays won the American League pennant for the first time in 32 years on Monday night to set up a World Series showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

George Springer’s three-run home run in the seventh inning put the Jays ahead in Game 7. That turned out to be the series-clinching hit.

The World Series begins on Friday at Rogers Centre. Toronto earned home-field advantage by way of the better regular-season record.

Game 1: Friday, October 24 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 2: Saturday, October 25 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 3: Monday, October 27 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 4: Tuesday, October 28 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 29 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, October 31 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, November 1 (8 p.m. ET, Fox)

Toronto will play in its first World Series since 1993.

The Dodgers are in the Fall Classic for the fifth time since 2017. They are the reigning champion and have won their last two World Series appearances.

The National League champion should be a heavy favorite because of the way its pitchers performed in the NLCS.

The rotation of Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani will be fully rested for the World Series, but they’ll face a different type of challenge from the Blue Jays.

Toronto had one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball and its hitters have only struck out 64 times across 11 postseason games.

The matchup would’ve been far different against the Mariners, who had a postseason-leading 129 punchouts at the plate.

Toronto’s pitching staff is no joke either with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber at the top. The Blue Jays can also rely on Chris Bassitt out of the pen.

The Blue Jays don’t have the World Series experience that flows through the Dodgers roster, but they do have two outstanding postseason performers in Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero has the best batting average this postseason among players on both rosters and he leads the playoffs with six home runs.

If Toronto pulls off the upset, Guerrero and Springer, a champion in the past with the Houston Astros, must set the tone at the plate.

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The Toronto Blue Jays battled their way to a hard-fought Game 7 victory over the Seattle Mariners, 4–3, clinching the American League pennant and securing their first World Series appearance in over 30 years.

The Mariners, meanwhile, suffered a brutal loss to continue a disappointing trend for the franchise:

A three-run home run from George Springer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Blue Jays their first lead of the game at 4-3, sent the home crowd into frenzy and paved the way for the Toronto victory.Â

Springer led the charge at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Daulton Varsho drove in a RBI on 2-for-4 hitting. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Addison Barger each scored to keep Toronto’s offense humming.

On the mound, Blue Jays ace Shane Bieber set the tone early, striking out five over 3.2 innings while allowing seven hits and two earned runs to help anchor the Game 7 victory.

MLB fans lit up social media after Toronto’s Game 7 win, celebrating as Springer and the Blue Jays punched their ticket to the franchise’s first World Series appearance since 1993..

After dropping the first two games of the ALCS at home, the Blue Jays stormed back with consecutive road victories to even the series. Seattle briefly regained control with a win at home, but Toronto answered once again, forcing Game 7 with a Sunday victory before clinching the ALCS pennant Monday night.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who swept the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS on Oct. 17, have been waiting several days to learn their World Series opponent and will enter Game 1 well-rested.

Game 1 of the World Series between the Blue Jays and Dodgers is scheduled for Wednesday, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. ET in Toronto.

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Oct 20, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

It all comes down to Game 7 in the American League Championship Series — with a trip to the World Series on the line.

The Toronto Blue Jays cruised to victory over the Seattle Mariners in a must-win Game 6 on Sunday night to keep their championship aspirations alive and force Monday’s win-or-go-home ALCS finale, with the winner set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic.

Will Toronto finish off the comeback, or will Seattle punch its ticket to its first World Series appearance? We asked our MLB experts to answer seven questions that will decide Game 7 — plus a bonus one looking forward to how the AL pennant winner could match up against the reigning champions.

1. How much will home-field advantage matter for Toronto in Game 7?

Jorge Castillo:It doesn’t hurt. The crowds at Rogers Centre down the stretch of the regular season and into October have been electric. Players have repeatedly complimented the atmosphere. But the Mariners won Games 1 and 2 in Toronto. Those crowds were raucous and it didn’t matter.

Buster Olney: It could mean nothing; the Mariners know they can win in Toronto, as they did in Games 1 and 2. But I do think that getting a lead will be important, because if Seattle falls behind by two or three runs, the challenge of winning one final game at Rogers Centre will be made more difficult by the bonkers crowd.

2. The Mariners have had vibes on their side all season long. How much will Seattle’s ability to keep finding a way matter in Game 7?

Jeff Passan:Vibes take a team only so far. The Mariners are here because of their starting pitching and ability to hit home runs — and they need George Kirby to avoid another disastrous start and the offense to chill with the strikeouts. In Game 3, Kirby got shelled for eight runs, half of which came on three home runs. He instead needs to channel his last win-or-go-home game, when he throttled Detroit for five innings in the division series.

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While Seattle has outhomered the Blue Jays in the ALCS, its 28.1% strikeout rate is not good, and Shane Bieber, on the mound for Toronto, will rely heavily on spin — so that happens to play right into his wheelhouse. Both teams are worn down, and getting an early lead would go a long way toward getting the Mariners’ offense right.

Olney:After Game 6, the Mariners talked about how their energy is good and that coming back is part of their identity. But it’s much more important for Seattle to play a clean game — which Julio Rodriguez mentioned after Sunday’s loss. The Mariners made many mistakes early in Game 6, with defensive errors from Rodriguez and Eugenio Suarez and a baserunning mistake by J.P. Crawford. The Blue Jays consistently put the ball in play and pressure the defense, and Seattle has to respond better to survive.

3. Which team has the Game 7 pitching advantage, and why?

David Schoenfield:Slight edge overall to the Blue Jays, mostly based on how the pitching matchup played out in Game 3, when Bieber pitched well (six innings, four hits, two runs, eight strikeouts, 16 swinging strikes) and Kirby did not (four innings, eight runs, three home runs, nine swinging strikes). The Mariners have the late-game edge with Andres Munoz, who will have two days of rest after not pitching in Game 6; Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman threw 35 pitches Sunday.

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The Mariners do have some early long relief options available in Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo (who threw just 48 pitches in his Game 4 start), but Castillo has been terrible on the road and Woo is an unknown risk, pitching on two days of rest coming off an injury. Look for Kevin Gausman to be a bullpen option for the Blue Jays. Indeed, the Jays would probably like to use Bieber, Gausman, Louis Varland and Hoffman and go no deeper in their pen than that. If someone else gets in the game, though, the Mariners have a chance.

Castillo: The starting pitching edge goes to Toronto for the reasons David presented, but the unknown variable here is Bryan Woo. The All-Star right-hander was Seattle’s ace during the regular season, but a pectoral injury has limited him to those two innings in Game 5. If he can give the Mariners any real, effective length, I think the overall advantage goes to Seattle with Andrés Muñoz also on three days’ rest. Woo is the best pitcher in this series when healthy. He could be the difference.

4. Which player MUST deliver for Seattle to win?

Schoenfield:Kirby. Through six ALCS games, Bryce Miller is the only Mariners starter who has had a good game — and he was the worst of the group in the regular season. Even with two solid efforts from Miller, the rotation has a 7.33 ERA in this series, allowing a .310 average and .993 OPS. Kirby doesn’t have to go deep — and won’t be expected to — but Seattle needs four or five strong innings from him.

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Castillo: Since David went with Kirby, I’ll go with Cal Raleigh. The AL MVP candidate has been Seattle’s best player all year, from the regular season through the playoffs, on both sides of the ball. So it was strange to see him have such a rough Game 6, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, a GIDP, and a throwing error that allowed Toronto’s final run to score. It’s hard to imagine the Mariners winning Game 7 without some contributions from Raleigh.

5. Which player MUST deliver for Toronto to move on?

Passan:In the Blue Jays’ six wins this postseason, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 15-for-26 with five home runs, 10 RBIs and one strikeout in 30 plate appearances. He is a human litmus test and a reminder that as Vlad Jr. goes, so go the Blue Jays. Getting a good start from Bieber would help plenty — Toronto’s bullpen this postseason has been so helter skelter, relying on any reliever for too long is inviting disaster — but amid the endless cycling of pitchers expected in Game 7, the players with the opportunities to do the most will be on the offensive side. And in the ALCS, no one has been better than Guerrero, who has struck out just twice in 47 plate appearances this postseason.

Olney: Bieber, due to all of the uncertainty presented by the Toronto bullpen. It’s unclear how much Hoffman can provide following his Game 6 outing, and while Varland is trusted, he’s also going to be working on back-to-back days. Jays manager John Schneider talked before Game 6 about possibly using Max Scherzer out of the bullpen, or maybe Chris Bassitt, but it’s difficult to know exactly what he’s going to get from either.

The Jays traded for Bieber at the deadline in the hope that he could pitch meaningful games for them, and it’s hard to imagine a situation more important to a franchise playing for the opportunity to go to the World Series for the first time in 32 years.

6. Call your shot: Who is one unexpected player you think could decide Game 7?

Schoenfield:Ernie Clement has become less surprising as the postseason has rolled along, as he’s hitting .447. Remarkably, he and Guerrero have struck out just twice each in 10 postseason games. That sums up Toronto’s advantage at the plate: These guys put the ball in play. Considering Guerrero might not see a pitch any closer than Manitoba in this game, the players coming up behind him might have to do the damage — and Clement is one of those who will get RBI opportunities.

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Passan:Crawford bats in the bottom third of the Mariners’ lineup and has only two hits in the ALCS. So why him? Well, he’s due, for one, but beyond that, Crawford puts together excellent plate appearances every time up — his 4.5 pitches per is the second-highest number among regulars — and he has the lowest strikeout rate among any Seattle player this series.

During the regular season, Crawford’s high-leverage numbers were off the charts: .340/.476/.620. He craves moments that matter. And none in the history of the Mariners franchise matters as much as a Game 7 with a chance to go to the World Series.

7. And really call your shot: Which team will be the last one standing in this ALCS?

Castillo: I’ve written this before and I’ll write it again: I picked Seattle to win the World Series before the season began so I’m not going to deviate from that even though the Blue Jays have been the better team since dropping the first two games of this series. Seattle rebounds with a 6-4 win.

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Passan: The coin-flip nature of postseason baseball is personified by the record of home teams in winner-takes-all games: 71-67. And considering how back-and-forth this series has been, either team emerging would make plenty of sense. The idea that Kirby and Bieber both shove is very realistic, which would make this a battle of the bullpens. With Andrés MuÅ„oz able to work multiple innings after two days’ rest and Hoffman coming off a 35-pitch outing, though, the edge tilts ever so slightly in Seattle’s favor. The Mariners advance to their first World Series with a 3-2 win.

Bonus: Which team should the Dodgers want to see move on — or is L.A. simply too good for it to matter?

Passan: Simply because Los Angeles would have home-field advantage and less strenuous travel, the answer is Seattle. In terms of talent, as the ALCS has illustrated, the Blue Jays and Mariners are about as evenly matched as it gets. The Blue Jays’ lack of an effective left-handed reliever against a Dodgers lineup with Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy would work decidedly in Los Angeles’ favor.

Similarly, the Mariners have difficulty hitting high-octane fastballs. Their regular-season OPS against 97-mph-plus heaters was .639 (compared to Toronto’s MLB-best .766), and while they have hit four home runs off such pitches in the postseason, they remain susceptible. In the end, whoever advances faces a juggernaut that will be heavily favored and rightfully so.

Olney:In speaking with some evaluators with other teams, there is near unanimity in the opinion that the Blue Jays would present a better challenge to L.A. because of the nature of their offense. They can put the ball in play more consistently and, of course, have Guerrero; with all due respect to all of the future Hall of Famers in the Dodgers’ lineup, Guerrero would be the most dangerous hitter in any series he played in right now.

We’ll see that in Game 7, when it seems very likely the Mariners will pitch around him just about every opportunity they have — an appropriate response when facing a guy who has more homers (six) than strikeouts (two) in the postseason.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-2 at home to force a decisive Game 7 in the American League Championship Series.

Vladdy launched his sixth home run of the postseason, setting the Blue Jays’ franchise record for the most in a single playoff run.

Guerrero Jr. went 2-of-4 at the plate with a single home run. Addison Barger added in three RBIs on 2-for-3 hitting with a home run. Isiah Kiner-Falefa finished with a RBI.

Blue Jays ace Trey Yesavage set the tone early with a commanding performance on the mound, striking out seven over 5.2 innings while allowing just six hits and two earned runs.Â

MLB fans were thrilled as Vladdy and the Blue Jays forced an ALCS Game 7.Â

The Blue Jays refused to go home on Sunday, jumping out to a dominant start while holding Seattle to two straight three-up, three-down innings.

Barger hit a RBI double to bring in Daulton Varsho for the game’s first run in the second inning, followed by Kiner-Falefa reaching on an infield single to score Ernie Clement.

With a 2-0 lead entering the third, Barger launched a two-run homer to give the Blue Jays a 4-0 advantage. Guerrero Jr. added to the lead in the fifth with a solo home run.

Seattle responded in the fifth, plating two runs before Guerrero Jr. scored on a throwing error by Cal Raleigh to extend Toronto’s lead to 6-2.

With one last chance in the top of the ninth, the Mariners couldn’t rally, and the Blue Jays held on for the win to force Game 7.

The Blue Jays lost the first two games of the ALCS at home but responded by taking the next two on the road to even the series.

Seattle pulled back ahead with a home win before the matchup returned to Toronto for the final two games, where the Blue Jays fought back once more to tie the series 3-3 on Sunday.

While the Mariners and Blue Jays continue their battle in the American League, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been waiting to see who they will face in the World Series after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, Oct. 17.

The winner-take-all Game 7 of the ALCS will remain in Toronto, with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.

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