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The 28-year-old southpaw allowed just three hits on the night and uncharacteristically issued a pair of walks while striking out six. Each of the three hits that he allowed were singles. The only real threat came with two outs in the second inning as Coby Mayo walked and Dylan Carlson followed with an infield single to put runners on the corners, but Skubal battled back to strike out Colton Cowser to silence the threat. Skubal got 14 whiffs on 98 pitches on the night, posting a solid CSW of 29 percent. Now 6-1 on the season, he’ll bring a magnificent 1.99 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and a ridiculous 111/9 K/BB ratio (90 1/3 innings) into Wednesday’s battle against the Pirates.

Both pitchers are coming off Tommy John surgery, but Brown seems more optimistic about Javier’s return in 2025. “He’s going to help us this year,” Brown said of Javier, who was up to 95 mph in his first rehab appearance over the weekend. Garcia was up to 94 mph on his fastball, but Brown said, “It’s probably going to take him a little bit longer.”

Contreras struck out three and walked two while throwing 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes. In 10 starts for Triple-A Norfolk, Contreras has a 2.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 31/11 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings. The strikeout upside is not immense, but Contreras has pitched well enough as a starter that he’s probably worthy of an opportunity over guys like Brandon Young. Contreras is still just 25 years old, so it might be a good idea for Baltimore to see if he could push for a spot in the starting rotation next season.

The left-hander also struck out three and didn’t walk anybody while throwing 23 of his 36 pitches for strikes. The command is the biggest thing here, and McClanahan seemed to be more than able to fill up the zone. His breaking pitches had plenty of movement and generated a handful of swings and misses, which is also nice to see. His fastball sat just 94 mph, but this was his first rehab appearance, so we assume that number will tick up as he continues to ramp up. We’d expect a few more starts for McClanahan at Triple-A, with an early August return looking likely. It’s probably time ot stash him in leagues where he was dropped.

Harrison needed 92 pitches to get 11 outs, throwing 54 of those pitches for strikes while allowing four hits. Harrison threw primarily fastballs and got eight of his nine whiffs on his four-seam. He also threw 22 curves and mixed in 15 of his new cutters. Patience is required when making changes to an approach and pitch mix. Given the Red Sox’s success with their pitchers at the minor league level, it’s reasonable to assume Harrison will work out the kinks. But with Tanner Houck also nearing a return from the IL, they may not need to rush Harrison up to the big leagues.

The 24-year-old is now hitting .362/.426/.776 in 14 games at Triple-A with seven home runs, 15 RBI, and six steals. He has some very loud raw tools that hint at stardom, but he also has 20 strikeouts in those 14 Triple-A games with just a 64 percent overall contact rate and a nearly 19 percent swinging strike rate. He had just a 58 percent contact rate and an 18.5 percent swinging strike rate at Double-A before his promotion. It’s rare for a player with such a poor contact profile to succeed at the big league level with any consistency.

McGee has made four appearances with the Brewers this season, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 5/3 K/BB ratio over six innings of work. No word yet on a corresponding move just yet, the Brewers will ride it out over the All-Star break before setting their roster before opening the second half of the season against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Friday.

Time had run out on Perkins’ minor league rehab assignment so they needed to activate him from the 60-day injured list. He’ll remain at Triple-A Nashville, where he had been rehabbing, until the Brewers have a need for an extra outfielder.

The Brewers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the return of Blake Perkins from the 60-day injured list and unfortunately Avans drew the short straw this time around. It seems likely that the 29-year-old outfielder will pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra outfield depth for the Brewers.

The 31-year-old hurler elected free agency from the Yankees on Friday and it didn’t take him long to find another viable opportunity with a contender. He’ll report to Triple-A Toledo to begin his Tigers’ tenure, but don’t be surprised to see him in Motown shortly after the All-Star break.

The dynamic 27-year-old outfielder is having a brutal season offensively, slashing .189/.275/.322 with nine homers, 34 RBI and 22 stolen bases. The common assumption though is that he just needs a change of scenery. Heyman didn’t note any of the teams that have checked in, but expect it to be a who’s who of contenders in both leagues.