Browsing: Sept

A new batch of players are on NHL waivers as roster cutdowns continue.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets placed a total of 22 players on the wire.

For each player, the rest of the NHL has 24 hours to submit a claim for them. Otherwise, they’ll be eligible for the AHL.

Here are the players on NHL waivers until Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. ET, according to PuckPedia.

• Carolina: Gavin Bayreuther, Noel Gunler, Tyson Jost, Josiah Slavin, Ryan Suzuki
• Calgary: Clark Bishop, Dryden Hunt, Yan Kuznetsov, Sam Morton
• Edmonton: Matt Tomkins
• NY Islanders: Matthew Highmore, Marcus Hogberg
• NY Rangers: Brendan Brisson, Connor Mackey
• Philadelphia: Anthony Richard
• San Jose: Shane Bowers, Jimmy Huntington, Samuel Laberge, Oskar Olausson, Jakub Skarek
• Winnipeg: Tyrel Bauer, Isaak Phillips

Jost, 27, has played 495 career NHL games, including 39 last season with the Hurricanes. The center and left winger had four goals and nine points, adding nine points in 14 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves. This pre-season, he put up an assist in four games.

Morton, 26, has only played one NHL game while Hunt has appeared in 235. But Morton competed for Calgary’s fourth-line center role, scoring once in four pre-season games. Flames coach Ryan Huska praised Morton for going hard into battles, finishing checks and playing with a bit of positive recklessness.

Tomkins, 31, started six NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023-24, winning three of them. With the Syracuse Crunch, he received the Harry ‘Hap’ Holmes Memorial Award in 2024-25 for being the goaltender on the AHL team that allowed the fewest goals against. This pre-season, Tomkins recorded a 3.41 goals-against average and .828 save percentage in 87:57 minutes played for Edmonton.

Hogberg, a 30-year-old goaltender, played in 15 games for the Islanders last season, putting up a 2-6-3 record, 3.38 GAA and .878 SP. He stopped 27 of 30 shots across two games this pre-season.

Brisson, 23, spent most of last season in the AHL, recording 25 points in 61 games. The Rangers acquired the 2020 first-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in March. The left winger was a minus-2 in two games this pre-season.

Richard, 28, played 15 games for the Flyers last season, recording six points. The center and left winger scored a goal in two pre-season contests.

Olausson, 22, was selected 28th overall in the 2021 NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche. They traded the right winger to the Sharks this past July in exchange for Danil Gushchin. Olausson has yet to record an NHL point after four career games, and he was a minus-1 in one pre-season match.

Phillips, 24, has played 56 career NHL games, including three last season, when he scored once. The defenseman was a minus-2 and took two shots in two pre-season games.

All 22 players placed on waivers on Sept. 29 cleared, including Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Kevin Gravel and Jiri Patera.

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The Mets wrap up their 2025 regular season with a must-win series finale against the Marlins at 3:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here’s what to know about the game and how to watch…

Mets Notes

• With a pair of walks in Saturday’s big win, Juan Soto broke the franchise’s single-season walks record (126)
• Pete Alonso hit his 38th home run and NL-leading 41st double on Saturday, bumping his season OPS to .874
• Game 162 will feature Sean Manaea, who allowed two runs in one inning of relief against the Cubs on Sept. 24
• In order to clinch the third and final NL Wild Card spot, the Mets need a win and a Reds loss to the Brewers
• If the Mets secure a postseason berth, they’ll play the Dodgers in a best-of-three Wild Card series next week

METSMARLINS——————————————————

What channel is SNY?

Check your TV or streaming provider’s website or channel finder to find your local listings.

How can I stream the game?

The new way to stream SNY games is via the MLB App or MLB.tv. Streaming on the SNY App has been discontinued.

In order to stream games in SNY’s regional territory, you will need to have SNY as part of your TV package (cable or streaming), or you can now purchase an in-market SNY subscription package. Both ways will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

How can I watch the game on my computer via MLB?

To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:

• Log in using your provider credentials. If you are unsure of your provider credentials, please contact your provider.

• Link your provider credentials with a new or existing MLB.com account.

• Log in using your MLB.com credentials to watch Mets games on SNY.

• Select the SNY Mets game you wish to view from the Multimedia Center.

How can I watch the game on the MLB App?

MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access SNY on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.

• Download the free MLB App.

• Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.

• Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.”

• To access live or on-demand content, tap on the “Watch” tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the “Games” sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available.

For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

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The Mets continue a three-game series against the Marlins at IoanDepot Park on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY.

Here’s what to know about the game and how to watch…

Mets Notes

• Juan Soto is just two stolen bases away from putting together his first career 40/40 season
• Francisco Lindor has been swinging a hot bat down the stretch, homering four times in the last five games
• Clay Holmes has a 4.15 ERA in September, but he’s posted back-to-back scoreless appearances
• Holmes allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk the last time he faced the Marlins

METSMARLINSXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

What channel is SNY?

Check your TV or streaming provider’s website or channel finder to find your local listings.

How can I stream the game?

The new way to stream SNY games is via the MLB App or MLB.tv. Streaming on the SNY App has been discontinued.

In order to stream games in SNY’s regional territory, you will need to have SNY as part of your TV package (cable or streaming), or you can now purchase an in-market SNY subscription package. Both ways will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

How can I watch the game on my computer via MLB?

To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:

• Log in using your provider credentials. If you are unsure of your provider credentials, please contact your provider.

• Link your provider credentials with a new or existing MLB.com account.

• Log in using your MLB.com credentials to watch Mets games on SNY.

• Select the SNY Mets game you wish to view from the Multimedia Center.

How can I watch the game on the MLB App?

MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access SNY on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.

• Download the free MLB App.

• Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.

• Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.”

• To access live or on-demand content, tap on the “Watch” tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the “Games” sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available.

For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

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The Mets open a three-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday at 7:40 p.m. on SNY.

Here’s what to know about the game and how to watch…

Mets Notes

• Pete Alonso is hitting .347/.393/.644 with eight home runs in 112 plate appearances over 25 games dating back to Aug. 26
• In 8.2 innings over eight appearances this month, Edwin Diaz has allowed one run on five hits while walking three and striking out 12
• David Peterson has struggled in three starts this month, with a 7.63 ERA over 15.1 innings

METSCUBS––––––––––––––––––

What channel is SNY?

Check your TV or streaming provider’s website or channel finder to find your local listings.

How can I stream the game?

The new way to stream SNY games is via the MLB App or MLB.tv. Streaming on the SNY App has been discontinued.

In order to stream games in SNY’s regional territory, you will need to have SNY as part of your TV package (cable or streaming), or you can now purchase an in-market SNY subscription package. Both ways will allow fans to watch the Mets on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.

How can I watch the game on my computer via MLB?

To get started on your computer, click here and then follow these steps:

• Log in using your provider credentials. If you are unsure of your provider credentials, please contact your provider.

• Link your provider credentials with a new or existing MLB.com account.

• Log in using your MLB.com credentials to watch Mets games on SNY.

• Select the SNY Mets game you wish to view from the Multimedia Center.

How can I watch the game on the MLB App?

MLB App access is included for FREE with SNY. To access SNY on your favorite supported Apple or Android mobile device, please follow the steps below.

• Download the free MLB App.

• Open “MLB” and tap on “Subscriber Login” for Apple Devices or “Sign in with MLB.com” for Android Devices.

• Type in your MLB.com credentials and tap “Log In.”

• To access live or on-demand content, tap on the “Watch” tab from the bottom navigation bar. Select the “Games” sub-tab to see a listing of available games. You can scroll to previous dates using the left and right arrows. Tap on a game to select from the game feeds available.

For more information on how to stream Mets games on SNY, please click here.

Source link

Each Monday morning, we highlight 10 players who stood out to us based on their underlying Statcast metrics. Data will usually be through Saturday of that week, but may include some data from Sunday games. These are not full scouting reports, but often serve as good early indicators of prospects who might be ready to break out or are demonstrating MLB-ready skills.

Last week, we discussed Nelson Rada’s path to success in the major leagues and discussed how Joe Mack’s combination of elite defense and optimized batting approach projects him as a very valuable player. For the final week of the regular season, we’ll discuss:

10 Statcast Standout

Daniel Espino, RHP, Guardians

I often get asked fantasy baseball questions, as people erroneously assume I am a fantasy baseball expert. A while back, I received a query about Espino. I replied: “I will be shocked if he ever pitches again. And if he does, I’ll be even more shocked if he’s anywhere close to the guy he was.”

I’ve never been more delighted to be wrong.

1,241 days between strikeouts.

Cleveland #Guardians 24yr old RHP prospect Daniel Espino picked up his 1st strikeout since 4/29/2022 while with Double-A Akron for Triple-A Columbus today vs St. Paul.

Espino’s fastball topped out at 98.3 mph in the outing. #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/Rkt9w0p5Ze

— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) September 20, 2025

Back in 2022, Espino looked like one of the best pure-stuff pitchers we’d seen in a long time. He was blowing hitters away at Double-A and looking like he was months or maybe weeks away from doing the same on a major league mound. Then he stopped pitching. There were rumblings about knee soreness. Espino disappeared, with no clear explanation. Much later in the season, it was announced that he also had shoulder soreness—always ominous for a pitcher.

Early in 2023, Espino was diagnosed with a shoulder muscle tear, which would require surgery and a lengthy 12-14 month recovery window. Then in 2024, Espino re-injured his shoulder, this time requiring rotator cuff surgery. Most pitchers struggle to come back from one major shoulder injury, let alone two.

It takes a special kind of athlete to grind back from that kind of injury history. If you want to be great at any endeavor, it’s usually not enough to just be supremely talented. You also need to embrace the grind of boring work. Compared to playing in real games, there aren’t many things less interesting than rehab—especially three years of it—and it comes with all the doubts and fears that maybe you won’t ever get back to the player you were before you got hurt.

Let’s take a look at what Espino’s first inning back on the mound in three years—he gave up three earned runs on three hits with a strikeout in what is an extremely small sample size—looked like under the hood:

Espino’s fastball shape isn’t all the way back, as he was getting about average ride given his arm slot. His velocity, however, which averaged 98 mph and touched 99, was extremely encouraging. If we assume he’ll ramp up a little as he settles back in, this is looking like a potential plus-plus pitch again. Most importantly, the command of the pitch looked very on point:

That’s a lot of zoned fastballs, mostly in the top third of the zone.

Espino’s slider looks to be a plus-plus pitch, with premium velocity and huge vertical separation off the fastball. His huge two-plane curveball looks promising, as well. He flashed a changeup, but it didn’t impress from a shape standpoint.

If Espino’s velocity and command have returned, it suggests he might not be far off from the electric pitcher he was before his three-year injury hiatus. I, for one, am very excited to be able to cover him again and look forward to seeing him in action in the Arizona Fall League.

Zach Cole, OF, Astros

There is a cognitive bias in baseball prospecting that results in “old” prospects tending to get overlooked. Generally speaking, once a player demonstrates who they are as a player, they very rarely break out of that mould. This is especially true the older the player gets.

Baseball America’s scouting report on Cole had him with 55 power, 60 run, 60 field and 70 arm, but he’s ranked 22nd on the Astros’ Top 30 due to questions about his hit tool, is graded as 30. He was also recently ranked 30th in the Astros organization by FanGraphs.

A lot of this was due to an abysmal season in Double-A last year in which Cole struck out 38% of the time as a 24-year-old. He repeated Double-A to start this season and was still striking out at a 36% clip, justifying the concerns about his hit tool.

However, the Astros saw enough improvement that they promoted him to Triple-A:

The result was a spectacular 240-pitch sample, with a plus-plus damage on contact profile, a potentially average hit tool and elite patience. Cole was so good in Triple-A that he was promoted to the majors, where he has just kept on mashing:

That’s elite raw power from an exit velocity standpoint, with potentially elite game power if the flyball exit velocities hold up in a larger sample. The zone contact has held up, as have the swing decisions, though. they’ve leveled out as closer to average.

You may be tempted to be skeptical about the power—don’t be. Cole’s 76.2 mph average bat speed would rank 12th among qualified batters, sandwiched between Julio Rodriguez and James Wood. He’s also showing plus-plus or better foot speed, with an average sprint speed of 29 feet/second.

What’s the moral of the story here? Don’t necessarily write off an athlete because he’s old for a level. Sometimes a player is a simply a tweak away from fully tapping into his potential. No player embodies this more than Cole, who has transformed himself from a fringe prospect into the Astros’ 2025 MiLB Player of the Year and a legitimate candidate for 2026 rookie of the year in the American League.

Luis Perales, RHP, Red Sox

Perales’ fastball averages 99 mph with more than two inches of ride above expected. That’s an easy plus-plus pitch that will play up because of his arsenal. All of Perales’ pitches operate within a 12-to-14 inch horizontal space. That means batters have very little information on what pitch type they are seeing based on horizontal movement. He prefers his 90-92 mph cutter to the fastball, using it as his primary weapon in the early going. Both the cutter and slider (the cluster around the 0 vertical movement line) grade out as plus-plus or better pitches.

The changeup should tunnel well with the fastball, and it has unicorn traits given the lack of horizontal movement. This makes it a potential fourth weapon for Perales, though I’m concerned the velocity separation from the fastball might be too large. We’ll need to see how it plays against major league competition.

Perales’ combination of tight horizontal tunneling and a plus-plus fastball looks like the stuff of nightmares. This could be a special arm for the Red Sox.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHP, Yankees

The Yankees are arguably the premier organization for developing supinators. Supinators, generally speaking, excel at creating east/west movement and usually struggle to create a fastball with plus shape. Rodriguez-Cruz looks to be a prime example of this. Whereas Perales had a very narrow band of horizontal movement, Rodriguez-Cruz has a very narrow band of vertical movement, but a huge spread of horizontal movement.

The sinker has a ton of movement, making it effective against righties and lefties. When he executes the sinker well, it gets a ton of seam-shifted wake depth. As he gets more consistent with the pitch, it should be a groundball weapon, no matter the matchup.

The key to success for pitchers of this archetype often rests on the shoulders of a bridge cutter, splitting the arsenal. It’s highly encouraging to see this present, and Rodriguez-Cruz uses it primarily against lefties, against whom his power sinker will be somewhat less effective.

Rodriguez-Cruz’s splitter/changeup looks like a potential plus-plus weapon, with ideal velocity separation and a ton of fade and depth. His sweeper doesn’t get elite horizontal movement, but it has a lot of seam-shifted wake lift that should add to its deception, especially in that velocity band. There’s likely room for refinement there as he figures out what shapes he can produce and which ones work for him.

There’s a lot to like with Rodriguez-Cruz’s arsenal, and he’s in the right organization to help him maximize it.

Jhancarlos Lara, RHP, Braves

Lara’s cutter/slider might be a true 80-grade pitch given the shape and performance. In Triple-A this season, he’s thrown it around 56% of the time. When batters swing at the pitch, he’s getting whiffs 51.4% of the time, good for an excellent 19.7% whiff/pitch. The fastball has great velocity but has well below-average shape, and his sinker has a similar velo/shape divergence. However, due to his great velo, both pitches should play as at least average.

Lara’s command has been spotty, but the raw stuff is enormous. He should be a weapon out of the bullpen, where he can overwhelm hitters who aren’t familiar with him.

Deyvison De Los Santos, 1B/3B/DH, Marlins

What happened to De Los Santos? The underlying data suggests something has gone wrong after coming over to the Marlins from the Diamondbacks in a trade last year.

Let’s start at the beginning. Here’s what De Los Santos looked like before the trade:

That’s a plus-plus damage-on-contact profile, with better contact in the air, decent contact rates and an aggressive approach that would likely be easily exploited at the major league level. Then he got traded to the Marlins and everything fell apart (note that the 90th EV is computed for the entire season, not the stint):

One might be tempted to point to the change from the Pacific Coast League to the International League. While that may have been part of the issue, there’s a substantial change that isn’t reflected in the charts above: Spray angle.

Specifically, the horizontal direction of batted balls:

STINT/METRIC2024 Arizona2024 Miami2025 MiamiSpray Angle-1 Degrees+10 Degrees (oppo)+8 Degrees (oppo)Fly Ball EV93.6 mph93.0 mph87.9 mphHard Hit Launch Angle11.4 degrees10.3 degrees6.4 degreesSwing %57.0%58.3%51.5%Chase Swing%45.5%49.1%36.7%

The data suggests the Marlins thought they needed to fix De Los Santos, as he’s made two significant changes. First, they had him wait on the ball just a tick, going from an approach that was mostly up the middle to one that was significantly oppo-heavy. The assumption here is that the two are correlated and that this was an intentional change. This season, they’ve had him focus on fixing his chase rates, with which he has made substantial progress:

However, being more patient and selective has taken away the key to his success—aggressive, damage-on-contact swings. We see that in the abysmal contact quality on fly balls, which is critical for hitting home runs.

I’m of two minds here. On the one hand, De Los Santos looks “broken”. On the other hand, he’s made substantial progress in improving his swing decisions. If he can maintain that while getting back to his old ways, he might be a substantially better version of the batter he was before he landed with the Marlins. For some players, leaning into their strengths is often superior to fixing their weaknesses and taking away what made them great in the first place.

Hopefully, De Los Santos can blend his new-found improved selectivity with his 2024 swing for improved results.

Kemp Alderman, OF, Marlins

We took an early look at Alderman a couple weeks ago. And while his zone contact rate has come down as expected, he still looks like a future masher:

While the Marlins potentially did a poor job with De Los Santos, they’ve done an incredible job with Alderman, who has a what could be a 70-to-75 grade damage-on-contact profile. Alderman possesses 80-grade raw power, which he combines with good launch angles. No matter which way you slice it, it’s at least plus-plus raw and game power, with a direct path to 75-or-better game power.

What could this profile look like in the majors? One possible answer is Kyle Schwarber, if everything breaks right:

Eduardo Valencia, C/DH, Tigers

Baseball is a crazy sport. Occasionally, we see a player go from looking like he has absolutely no chance at making it to looking like a solid bet to be at least an average player or better at the highest level of the sport. Valencia’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric.

Last season, Valencia repeated A ball for the third time at the age of 24 after spending most of 2023 injured. That was not to be the end of Valencia’s story. With a healthy offseason, he came into 2025 a completely different ballplayer. We often attribute player successes to their team, and in this case, that may be warranted, as the Tigers started him off in Double-A despite Valencia not having found success during his brief experience in High-A.

Valencia hit .304/.359/.500 (149 wRC+) in Double-A. After his promotion to Triple-A, he did even better—.315/.400/.613 (164 wRC+) through Saturday. That slash line is fully supported by the metrics, which suggest something like a 45 hit/60 power combination with strong swing decisions.

I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like this. Valencia has never graced any top prospect lists, and he looked to be on the verge of being out of baseball at the end of last season. Now, he’s on the cusp of cracking the big leagues and looks poised to stay for a while.

Luis Campusano, C, Padres

You may have forgotten about Campusano—and we wouldn’t blame you.

Last season, he hit a woeful .227/.281/.361 in the majors. You will also be forgiven if his .319/.356/.491 line in 2023 has been forgotten. This year in Triple-A, though? A spectacular .336/.441/.595 line, good for a 148 wRC+.

If you’re reading this series, you probably aren’t too keen on slash line propaganda. So, let’s take a look at Campusano via a Statcast lens:

That’s easily plus-plus raw power that will play closer to a 55 grade with those launch angles. He doesn’t chase and make a lot of contact, especially against in-zone fastballs. Campusano’s top-end exit velocities are higher than he’s ever shown, and he’s married that to the plus contact rates he was showing during his successful 2023 campaign.

Liomar Martinez, RHP, Marlins

It’s rare to see a pitcher this young with such a diverse arsenal. Martinez is the rare specimen who can get plus vertical ride on his fastball, while executing a wide supination-bias east/west arsenal. The sweeper is probably the best secondary, with strong spin rates and the ability to hit 20 inches of horizontal break. The curveball should play well with the sweeper, and it gives him a pair of high-potential breaking balls.

The changeup needs work, as it doesn’t get the results or shape you’d like to see from the pitch. The splitter is likely a cutter. He’s showing what looks like a cutter and a gyro slider, but it’s a little messy.

Given Martinez’s age, this is a profile that looks primed for a massive leap forward. Baseball is a game of small adjustments, and small improvements to all of Martinez’s pitches, along with an overhaul on the changeup, could all work together to make him a top-tier pitcher.

If you’re looking for a “pick to click” in 2026, look no further than Martinez. His combination of command, pitch mix and youth suggest a breakout is right around the corner.

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This is, if you can believe it, the final Power Rankings of the regular season with all 30 teams listed. One week from now, we will be down to 12 teams, just a day away from the start of the Wild Card Series. For 18 of these teams, we wonâ€t see them again in the Power Rankings, after this week, until the offseason. Thus, to make sure everybody gets their due, weâ€re going to to look at the best player on each team, the one who, when we look back at this season, will be the player who stands out. Hereâ€s to every teamâ€s MVP. And then we say goodbye to 18 teams … and to the other 12, well, weâ€ll see you next week.

These rankings, as always, are compiled from MLB.com contributors whose names you can find at the bottom of this (and every) piece, but the words are mine. If you dislike the rankings, yell at all of us. But if you dislike the words, feel free to yell at me.

1. Brewers (previously: 1)
Freddy Peralta. The fun of the Brewers this season is that no one player stands too far among all the others. Youâ€ve got so many options to choose from here; it could be anyone as their MVP. Iâ€ll go with the guy who has given them 30-plus starts with a 2.65 ERA.

2. Phillies (previously: 2)
Kyle Schwarber. The Phillies, and the rest of us, have gotten the best possible Kyle Schwarber this year. And donâ€t forget: He hasnâ€t missed a game all season either. Trea Turner has been better than people realize, and Bryce Harper is Bryce Harper, but this has been Kyleâ€s year.

3. Dodgers (previously: 4)
Shohei Ohtani. He leads in just about every offensive category, and now heâ€s pitching again – and getting himself worked into perfect shape for the postseason. (Unlike last year.) What more could we possibly want?

4. Blue Jays (previously: 3)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays†2025 WAR leader is, surprisingly, George Springer, but Vlad Jr. is always the center of everything here. The seeds for this season were planted with that contract extension: It has been nothing but happiness ever since.

5. Cubs (previously: 5)
Kyle Tucker. There was a stretch in the first half of the season that you wondered if the Cubs would have three MVP candidates. Big fall-offs from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, along with Tuckerâ€s injury, eliminated that notion, but Tucker still sure feels like heâ€s going to make himself a lot of money this offseason.

6. Mariners (previously: 8)
Cal Raleigh. Aaron Judge may – may – end up winning the MVP, and Shohei Ohtani may end up with more WAR, but when we look back at this season, I bet the one player who comes to mind first is Cal Raleigh.

7. Yankees (previously: 7)
Aaron Judge. Heâ€s a homer away from his fourth 50-homer season, the fourth player to do that, but this season he has actually had a higher batting average, and soon a higher run total, than any other season of his career.

8. Red Sox (previously: 11)
Garrett Crochet. The Red Sox have gotten everything they could have possibly hoped for from Crochet. Not only has he been fantastic, leading the Majors in strikeouts, he has always been durable: He also leads MLB in innings pitched and the AL in batters faced.

9. Guardians (previously: 15)
José Ramírez. Itâ€s another 30-30 season for J-Ram – I am glad this nickname has finally stuck – and itâ€s sure starting to look like the Hall of Fame is in his future. One of these years, theyâ€re going to get hot in the postseason and heâ€ll have a chance to be a full-on legend. Maybe itâ€s this year.

10. Tigers (previously: 6)
Tarik Skubal. Heâ€s not going to win the pitching Triple Crown like he did last year, but his ERA+ is actually about 12 points better: This has probably been the best season of his career.

11. Padres (previously: 10)
Fernando Tatis Jr.. Manny Machado is, as always, the team leader, but Tatis returning to his pre-suspension MVP self is the best possible thing that could happen to the Padres moving forward.

12. Astros (previously: 9)
Hunter Brown. Iâ€ll hear the case for Jeremy Peña here, but Brown has become the pitcher the Astros have long believed he could be. On a team that always seems to have pitching somewhere, heâ€s the best one.

13. Mets (previously: 13)
Juan Soto. The Mets have had a wildly fluctuating season, to say the least. But there hasnâ€t been anything fluctuating about Soto: Heâ€s just doing what Juan Soto does, over and over, like he always has.

14. Reds (previously: 16)
Elly De La Cruz. Andrew Abbott hit a little bit of a skid come late August, dropping him out of this spot, but still: It feels like De La Cruz still is just starting to scratch the surface of what heâ€s capable of.

15. Diamondbacks (previously: 17)
Geraldo Perdomo. Corbin Carroll is fourth in baseball in extra-base hits, but Perdomo has been a revelation. An above average defensive shortstop with a .390 OBP. Those do not grow on trees.

16. Rangers (previously: 12)
Nathan Eovaldi. That his season ended early shouldnâ€t distract from how magical it was. He ended up with a 1.73 ERA! Heâ€s 35 years old!

17. Royals (previously: 18)
Bobby Witt Jr. Witt hasnâ€t quite gotten the attention for his 2025 season that he did for his 2024 season – likely because he didnâ€t just sign a contract extension and because the Royals havenâ€t quite been as good – but he has been, easily, the third-best player in the AL this year. The defense keeps getting better and better, too.

18. Giants (previously: 14)
Logan Webb. This has been just another year for Webb: Itâ€s his fourth straight year of 192 or more innings pitched and an ERA under 3.50. Webb has to be the most underrated pitcher in the sport.

19. Rays (previously: 19)
Junior Caminero. Heâ€s only two homers behind Carlos Peña for the franchise all-time single-season mark (46), and he just turned 22 years old in July.

20. Marlins (previously: 23)
Kyle Stowers. Connor Norby might have been the headliner of the Trevor Rogers trade, but Stowers, before injuries wiped out the last month of their season, has been the Marlins†breakout star. This team is finishing strong in 2025 and will have Stowers back in full effect for 2026.

21. Cardinals (previously: 20)
Masyn Winn. In a year where the Cardinals had troubles getting their young players to step up and establish themselves as big league regulars, Winn was a notable exception. The bat still has a bit to go, but Winn may well be the best fielder in baseball – only a late-season injury dropped him out of the top spot on the Outs Above Average Leaderboard. Heâ€ll be a part of everything the Cardinals are doing for a long time.

22. Aâ€s (previously: 22)
Nick Kurtz. If Kurtz had been up on Opening Day and hitting the way he has hit all season, forget Rookie of the Year: You could have made a serious case for him to be AL MVP. Now you just have to save it for 2026.

23. Braves (previously: 25)
Matt Olson. Drake Baldwin may win NL Rookie of the Year, and Ronald Acuña Jr. is the superstar, but in a rough year, the happiest story might have been Olson getting back to his MVP-level self after a difficult 2024. He might not hit 54 homers again, but he leads the NL in doubles and put up the second highest OBP of his career.

24. Orioles (previously: 21)
Trevor Rogers. Speaking of Trevor Rogers, raise your hand if you saw the Orioles left-hander being the team leader in WAR after his nightmare stint in Baltimore last year and an injury that kept him out until late May. Since then, he has maybe been one of the best five pitchers in baseball. The Orioles could use that again next year.

25. Angels (previously: 24)
Zach Neto. This is probably the second consecutive season Neto has been the best player on the Angels, which says a little about Mike Trout and a lot about the young talent the Angels have compiled on this roster. Both Nolan Schanuel and Jo Adell are right there with Neto … and above Trout.

26. Pirates (previously: 27)
Paul Skenes. This is, uh, not a difficult call. Perhaps just as encouraging as his likely Cy Young-winning season is his willingness to call out the organization, saying he doesnâ€t want this to be a “wasted season.†Skenes may, already, be the Pirates†leader. Will everyone follow?

27. Twins (previously: 26)
Byron Buxton. Obviously things got pretty dark for the Twins after the Trade Deadline, but one unquestioned positive was a (mostly) full season from Buxton, who made his second All-Star team and will end up playing 125 games or so, the second-most he has ever played in his career. This is now two straight years he has played more than 100 games and had an OPS over .859, the only two times he has done that in his career.

28. Nationals (previously: 28)
CJ Abrams. James Wood gets most of the prospect hype, but the strikeouts got so out of control by the end of the year that Abrams, who was a 20-20 shortstop in 2024 and is two homers shy of that mark this season at the age of 24, ended up passing him. The Nationals still need to turn the corner, but when they do, Abrams will be a primary reason why.

29. White Sox (previously: 29)
Kyle Teel. Teel wonâ€t end up reaching 80 games this year, but the 75 or so he has played has shot him to the top of nearly every White Sox statistical leaderboard. (He leads them in WAR, playing less than half a season.) The White Sox have some young exciting position players in Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Miguel Vargas. But Teel is the best of them.

30. Rockies (previously: 30)
Hunter Goodman. Speaking of catchers, Goodman made his first All-Star team this year, but he was even better in the second half than he was in the first, raising his OPS nearly 30 points. Heâ€s a 30-home run hitter, heâ€s a terrific defensive catcher and heâ€s only 25 years old. The Rockies, quietly, have themselves one of the most valuable commodities in baseball.

Voters: Nathalie Alonso, Jason Catania, Mark Feinsand, Will Leitch, Travis Miller, Brian Murphy, Arturo Pardavila, Andrew Simon, David Venn, Zac Vierra.

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This installment collects all transactions involving minor league players, i.e. those not on 40-man rosters, for the period Sept 5–18. As always, transactions are conveyed by Major League Baseball.

The abbreviation that follows player listings refer to minor league level: Triple-A (AAA), Double-A (AA), High-A (A+), Low-A (A), Rookie-level Complex League (R) or Dominican Summer League (DSL).

Arizona Diamondbacks
Released: RHP Jimmy Endersby (AAA)
Released: IF Juan Corniel (A+)
Released: OF Albert Almora Jr. (AAA)
Released: OF Jefferson Peña (R)
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Philip Abner

Atlanta Braves
Released: RHP Giomar Diaz (A+)
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Jose Suarez
Added to 40-man roster: C Sandy Leon
Added to 40-man roster: SS Luke Williams
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP John Brebbia (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: SS Luke Williams (AAA)
Elected free agency: RHP John Brebbia

Baltimore Orioles
Designated for assignment: RHP Carson Ragsdale (claimed by Braves)
Outrighted to minor leagues: 3B Emmanuel Rivera (AAA)

Boston Red Sox
Signed: RHP John Brebbia (AAA)
Released: RHP Yodrian Beltre (DSL)
Released: RHP Luis Cabrera (DSL)
Released: IF Kenyon Simmons (DSL)
Released: OF Rafi Montesino (DSL)
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Connelly Early

Chicago Cubs
Transferred to full-season IL: RHP Brandon Birdsell (AAA)

Chicago White Sox
Released: RHP Jordan Mikel (AA)
Released: LHP Kaleb Sophy (R)
Added to 40-man roster: OF Dominic Fletcher
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Bryse Wilson (AAA)

Cincinnati Reds
Signed: SS Alexander Vargas (A+)
Released: RHP Connor O’Hara (R)
Outrighted to minor leagues: LHP Joe La Sorda (AAA)
Elected free agency: LHP Joe La Sorda

Detroit Tigers
Released: RHP Wilmer Flores (AAA)
Released: RHP Codi Heuer (AAA)

Houston Astros
Released: OF Jacob Hurtubise (AAA)
Added to 40-man roster: OF Zach Cole

Kansas City Royals
Released: RHP Nicholas Regalado (AA)
Released: RHP Marvin Rojas (DSL)
Released: RHP Mauricio Veliz (AA)
Released: LHP Tyler Davis (A+)
Released: OF Jose Paulino (DSL)

Los Angeles Angels
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Connor Brogdon
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Samuel Peralta
Added to 40-man roster: C Sebastian Rivero
Added to 40-man roster: C Chad Wallach
Added to 40-man roster: 3B Carter Kieboom
Added to 40-man roster: SS Denzer Guzman
Designated for assignment: 1B Niko Kavadas
Designated for assignment: SS Chad Stevens
Outrighted to minor leagues: C Chad Wallach (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: 1B Niko Kavadas (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: SS Chad Stevens (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: OF Scott Kingery (AAA)

Los Angeles Dodgers
Added to 40-man roster: C Chuckie Robinson
Designated for assignment: RHP Matt Sauer
Transferred to 60-day IL: RHP Jose Rodriguez (AAA)

Miami Marlins
Released: RHP Declan Cronin (AAA)
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Christian Roa
Added to 40-man roster: 3B Jack Winkler
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Luarbert Arias (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Seth Martinez (AAA)
Elected free agency: RHP Seth Martinez

Milwaukee Brewers
Released: SS Gery Holguin (A)

Minnesota Twins
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Cody Laweryson
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Brooks Kriske (AAA)

New York Mets
Signed: LHP Joe La Sorda (AAA)
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Brandon Sproat
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Wander Suero
Designated for assignment: RHP Justin Garza
Designated for assignment: RHP Wander Suero
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Justin Garza (AAA)
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Wander Suero (AAA)
Elected free agency: RHP Justin Garza

New York Yankees
Traded: OF Marshall Toole (A) to Rays as player to be named to complete SS Jose Caballero deal

Philadelphia Phillies
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Walker Buehler
Added to 40-man roster: 2B Rafael Lantigua
Added to 40-man roster: 3B Donnie Walton
Designated for assignment: RHP Matt Manning
Designated for assignment: OF Brewer Hicklen
Outrighted to minor leagues: RHP Matt Manning (AA)

Pittsburgh Pirates
Added to 40-man roster: C Rafael Flores

St. Louis Cardinals
Released: RHP Benjamin Arias (A+)
Added to 40-man roster: LHP Nick Raquet

San Diego Padres
Released: RHP Wilkins Matos (DSL)
Released: RHP Darlin Mendez (R)

San Francisco Giants
Added to 40-man roster: 1B Bryce Eldridge
Designated for assignment: 2B Brett Wisely (claimed by Braves)

Seattle Mariners
Outrighted to minor leagues: LHP Joe Jacques (AAA)

Tampa Bay Rays
Signed: LHP Andersson Barvosa (DSL)
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Garrett Acton
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Cole Wilcox
Acquired: OF Marshall Toole (A) from Yankees as player to be named to complete SS Jose Caballero deal

Texas Rangers
Signed: RHP Cal Quantrill (R)
Signed: 1B Donovan Solano (AAA)
Released: RHP Daniel Beles (DSL)
Released: RHP Masahiro Fukuda (DSL)
Released: RHP Angel Gomez (DSL)
Released: RHP Oscar Romero (DSL)
Released: RHP Maykel Sanchez (DSL)
Released: LHP Emmanuel Martinez (DSL)
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Carl Edwards Jr.
Added to 40-man roster: OF Dustin Harris

Toronto Blue Jays
Released: RHP Eliander Alcalde (A)
Released: RHP Samuel Colmenares (R)
Released: RHP Luis Quinones (AAA)
Added to 40-man roster: RHP Trey Yesavage
Designated for assignment: SS Orelvis Martinez
Outrighted to minor leagues: LHP Ryan Borucki (AAA)

Washington Nationals
Outrighted to minor leagues: 2B Darren Baker (AAA)

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With seven games remaining in the regular season, theMets are looking to hold off a handful of teams for the final Wild Card spot in the National League.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of play on Sept. 21…

Mets: 80-75, 1.0 game up on Reds for third Wild Card

Next up: vs. Nationals, Sunday at 1:40 p.m. on SNY (Sean Manaea vs. Jake Irvin)
Latest result: 5-3 loss to Nationals on Saturday
Remaining schedule: 1 vs. WSH, 3 @ CHC, 3 @ MIA
Odds to make playoffs: 75.9 percent
*Mets hold tiebreaker over Giants by virtue of winning the season series, while Reds hold tiebreaker over Mets. The tiebreaker between the Mets and Diamondbacks is TBD, and will likely be based on intradivision record since the two clubs split the season series

Reds: 79-76, 1.0 game back of Mets

Next up: vs. Cubs, Sunday at 1:40 p.m. (Andrew Abbott vs. Jameson Taillon)
Latest result: 6-3 win over Cubs on Saturday
Remaining schedule: 1 vs. CHC, 3 vs. PIT, 3 @ MIL
Odds to make playoffs: 20.5 percent

Diamondbacks: 78-77, 2.0 games back of Mets

Next up: vs. Phillies, Sunday at 4:10 p.m. (Eduardo Rodriguezvs. Ranger Suarez)
Latest result: 4-3 win over Phillies on Saturday
Remaining schedule: 1 vs. PHI, 3 vs. LAD, 3 @ SD
Odds to make playoffs: 3.4 percent

Giants: 76-79, 4.0 games back of Mets

Next up: @ Dodgers, Sunday at 4:10 p.m.(Trevor McDonald vs. Emmet Sheehan)
Latest result: 7-5 loss to Dodgers on Saturday
Remaining schedule: 1 @ LAD, 3 vs. STL, 3 vs. COL
Odds to make playoffs: 0.1 percent

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With eight games remaining in the regular season, the Mets are looking to hold off a handful of teams for…

The Mets continue a three-game series against the Nationals at Citi Field on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. on SNY.Here's what…