MLB Player News

McGonigle is one of the best prep hitters in the class and arguably could be the best hitter in the entire class. His bat-to-ball skills are elite, and he consistently finds the barrel and can seemingly place the ball wherever he likes. While he hasn’t shown over-the-fence power, The 18-year-old middle infielder constantly racks up extra-base hits with his all-fields approach. He’s a fringy runner, so don’t expect too many stolen bases in his future. He currently plays shortstop but is most likely best suited for second base.

Things have not gone well for the Mets despite another tremendous season from Soto. His first inning home run gave them their first lead since last Friday, which they also got from a Soto first inning home run. Also, he was caught stealing for the second time this season in seven tries. For comparison, he was 38-for-42 as a base stealer last season. Even without carrying his newfound speed into this campaign, he has 12 home runs, a .301 batting average, and a .986 OPS through 39 games this season.

Williams did his best Houdini impression here, walking the first two batters he faced in a two-run game and eventually walking the bases loaded. Eventually, he struck out the other three batters he faced to secure the stressful save. After throwing 10 straight scoreless outings and only allowing two hits over that span, Williams coughed up a walk-off grand slam last time out and was shaky once again here. It looks like this could just be a Jekyll and Hyde type of season from the right-hander.

Tong was not as sharp here compared to his season debut against the Marlins last time out. There was some shoddy defense behind him – including his own error which led to an unearned run – but his changeup lacked serious bite and his curveball was literally all over the place. The one saving grace was his cutter. While also being erratic, it flashed as the exact swing-and-miss offering he’s desperately searching for to pair with his lively fastball. Tong is taking baby steps and should be left on waiver wires as he tries to build up his repertoire while working in this bulk relief role.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: a batter coming to the plate six times in a game where their team only scored two runs. Just about the only way to do that is by stranding 17 runners on base like the Reds did here. Dunn contributed to that number himself too, by making two outs with runners in scoring position including a game-ending strikeout with the bases loaded. Nevertheless, this was his fourth straight game hitting lead-off – against a mix of right and left-handed pitchers – and he has instant fantasy value in that role.

Abbott did well to attack the zone here and dare the Mets’ floundering lineup to hit him. They did though, to a certain extent. Both Juan Soto and Eric Wagaman socked solo home runs to account for Abbott’s only two earned runs and an untimely Elly De La Cruz error followed by Carson Benge run-scoring single brought home the unearned run. While those were the only runs, the Mets stung 10 total hard-hit balls and there were more than a few balls caught by Reds’ outfielders on the warning track. Nevertheless, that made it six straight starts by Abbott in which he’s allowed two or fewer runs. The underlying stuff still isn’t strong with a 42:27 strikeout to walk ratio over 62 2/3 innings so far this season. He’s scheduled to face the Royals at home next time out.

Buxton put the Twins on the board early, slugging a leadoff homer off David Sandlin to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. It was the 17th homer of the season for Buxton, who continues to swing a hot bat for the Twins. The veteran righty is slashing .270/341/.703 on the month with nine homers and 16 RBI.

Now this is Gerrit Cole. He was utterly dominant facing just three batters over the minimum and forcing 15 swings-and-misses. He got some help from his defense too when Aaron Judge threw a strike to nail Michael Massey at home plate. After that, just one more Royal reached scoring position as the righties had fits trying to put a bat on Cole’s slider and lefties the same with his changeup. It was all held up by his fastball that consistently sat around 97 mph and Cole was able to spot it wherever he wanted. This looked like one of the best pitchers in the league, as Cole has been for the better part of the last decade. Keep an eye on his workload, as he hasn’t gone above 80 pitches yet in two starts off the injured list. He’s scheduled to face the Guardians next time out.

Rice had been considered ‘cold’ coming into this series against the Royals without a multi-hit game in slightly over a week and only two extra-base hits over that span. Oh, the horror. Now, over his last two games he’s gone 5-for-9 with a double, a triple, four RBI, and four runs scored. He’s also pushed his OPS back over 1.000, re-joining Yordan Alvarez as the only two qualified hitters to clear that plateau.

Things have finally – hopefully – begun to turn for Pasquantino. Before this contest, he’d hit safely in five straight games with two doubles and two walks over that span. Then, another hit-less night here pushed his average back below the Mendoza line. Also, a game like this where he only swung-and-missed one time, but also didn’t have a hard-hit ball sort of underscores what could be his problem this season as he’s shortened up his swing and lost plenty of bat speed in the process.

Cameron cruised early in this one, going nine up and nine down in his first go around the Yankees’ lineup. Then, they started to see him better and scratched two across in the fourth inning. The top of that lineup came back around to start the sixth, Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice reached again to start it, and Cameron was pulled before Aaron Judge got to see him a third time. Overall, his fastball was hit hard as he threw it a lot low in the zone and the command of his changeup wasn’t up to his usual standards. Still, we’ll take a start like this in a tough matchup as Cameron heads into a two-start week against the Reds and Twins with both starts coming on the road.