Nelson Velázquez homers, but Cardinals blown out

The 30-year-old Martin was the Royals ' 25th-round pick in 2014. After seven years in the system, he joined the Nats organization in 2022 and then landed in indy ball for a time. He rejoined the Royals in 2025 and has been excellent this year, hitting .284/.414/.441 with 33 steals between Double- and Triple-A. It seems unlikely that another club would be willing to bring him right to the majors, but a contender might be open to adding him to the 40-man and looking at him as a potential tactical option down the stretch and in the postseason.

McGee, 28, was DFA’d by the Brewers on Friday. He pitched two scoreless innings for Milwaukee earlier this season and has a 3.08 ERA in 26 1/3 innings as a major league since debuting with the Rays in 2022, but since he doesn’t light up the radar guns or post big strikeout or groundball numbers, he’d had difficulty getting an extended look.

According to MLB.com, Mears had a setback last week after throwing to hitters, so he was destined to miss at least another month. This officially rules him out until July 27. He had a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings before going down at the end of May.

Smith began the season as the White Sox’s Opening Day starter and was demoted to Triple-A after only three starts. He then suffered a rotator cuff strain at the end of April and has been sidelined ever since. While a return to the Triple-A rotation doesn’t mean he’s close to a big league return, getting the 26-year-old healthy and effective would be a big win for the White Sox as they enter the playoff race.

Ayers has enjoyed a breakout season in his second full professional year. He hit six home runs in 11 games at High-A and was immediately promoted to Double-A, where he hit .304/.417/.591 with 16 home runs, 48 RBI, and three steals in 65 games. That came with a 15.1 percent walk rate. Ayers was old for the level at Double-A, so we’ll need to see if he can keep it up in Triple-A, but the power in his bat looks very real.

Walker entered the event as one of the field’s biggest underdogs, but looked cool, calm and collected from the outset, launching 19 home runs on just 27 swings, including 13 in the first round, to cruise into the finals. He then eliminated one of the favorites, Junior Caminero, to earn a showdown with Kyle Schwarber in an electric final round. The 24-year-old burgeoning star went deep on each of his final six swings to become the first Cardinals hitter in franchise history to win the Home Run Derby. It was an unbelievable performance.

Schwarber’s defining characteristic is an uncanny ability to thrive under pressure, somehow always finding his swing and locking in on the biggest stages in baseball. The 33-year-old entered as the overwhelming favorite in his home ballpark and managed to overcome a frosty start to narrowly advance to the semifinals before outlasting former teammate Willson Contreras to reach the final round. He homered on seven of his first 10 swings in the finals and finished with a whopping 11 on 15 swings. It took a herculean effort from Cardinals emerging star Jordan Walker, who homered on each of his final six swings to pull off an incredible comeback.

Harris heads to Triple-A El Paso as extra outfield depth for San Diego. The 27-year-old has hit .233 (10-for-43) with five homers in 52 plate appearances across 17 games between the White Sox and Astros this season.

Cholowsky receives a $10.35 million signing bonus, which represents a roughly $1 million under-slot deal, as the top-overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. The 21-year-old was universally regarded as the most polished collegiate shortstop in at least a decade with a real chance to be above average both at the plate and in the field. From a fantasy standpoint, he projects as a strong contributor in the power department with enough hit tool projection to envision a respectable batting average. He won’t help at all in the stolen base department, which caps his realistic upside. Still, he’s a phenomenal prospect with a chance to bolster Chicago’s rapidly improving young nucleus as one one of their franchise cornerstones.

Raquet heads back to the minors after allowing three runs over 3 2/3 innings across four appearances for the Orioles. The 30-year-old lefty has made six relief appearances in the big leagues over the last two years.