Major League Baseball

Covered by: Will Thompson

Ben Rice, C NYY (MLB)

2-for-3, HR, 3B, R, RBI, BB

The Yankees offense came into last night red hot, but only one man was able to notch an extra base hit. That man is Ben Rice, who homered and tripled and gave the Yankees a chance to win a game that frankly they had no business competing in with all the mistakes they made. Rice had a rough night defensively, but the fact he’s even playable there in a pinch shows how good he is offensively and there’s more to come too. He pulls the ball hard in the air and plays at the perfect ballpark to do just that. Ben Rice is an insanely good hitter.

Roman Anthony, RF BOS (MLB)

2-for-5, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, K

Well, this is what budding superstars look like. How about a clutch two-run homer for Roman Anthony in his first ever game at Yankee Stadium? Just to put into context how good Anthony has been at just 21 years old already, there have been three players since 2000 who have gotten on-base 102 or 103 times in their first 59 career games at age 21 or younger. Juan Soto, Albert Pujols, and Roman Anthony. That says enough. (Note via J.P. Long and @SoxNotes on X).

Joe Boyle, RHP TBR (MLB)

4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

I was so excited for Joe Boyle and it looked like he was figuring it out with the Rays and becoming the organization’s latest pitching success story. Unfortunately, his last five starts have been absolutely brutal, allowing 19 ER over his last 17.2 IP. A big part of that has been his control problems resurfacing, as the righty has walked 15 in that span. We know the stuff is there, but when the strike throwing isn’t, it can get ugly quick.

Dylan Beavers, RF BAL (MLB)

1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB

The Orioles lost yesterday but Dylan Beavers launched his first career home run. It’s a small sample of course, but Beavers has been fantastic and an on-base machine so far with the Orioles. He’s as tooled up as they come and going to become a really solid player for a long time.

Jesus Sanchez, RF HOU (MLB)

5-for-5, 2B, R, RBI

Man did Jesus Sanchez need a game like this or what? Sanchez has been ice cold since his trade to Houston and others in the Astros lineup have struggled similarly. This five hit day came out of nowhere though and maybe it can help get him going because Houston really needs his bat to get hot.

Francisco Lindor, SS NYM (MLB)

3-for-5, HR, R, RBI

Well the Mets are falling apart at the moment but don’t blame Francisco Lindor! He’s mashed recently and in the month of August is hitting .356/.434/.644 with 5 HR and six doubles.

James Wood, DH WSH (MLB)

1-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, 3 K

Wood has definitely slowed down as the season has gone on, but he’s still a stud. He was having a rough game until the bottom of the eighth, where he hit his patented James Wood missile to the opposite field for a homer. He’s had major swing and miss problems since the break, striking out at a 39.8% clip in that span.

Chase Dollander, RHP COL (MLB)

3.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA

The Rockies threw Dollander to the wolves yesterday having him face the Dodgers and unsurprisingly he got rocked. His fastball shape just isn’t going to work and he’s throwing more sinkers of late. There’s still an avenue to being good and the talent is there, but it’s going to get worse before it gets better. This line against the Dodgers was quite predictable.

Alex Freeland, 3B LAD (MLB)

3-for-5, 3B, 2B, R, RBI

Freeland had the best game of his young career against the Rockies yesterday, coming up just a homer short of the cycle. The numbers haven’t been great so far for the 23-year-old, but he walks a ton and rarely chases. His 35.6% swing rate is notable though, patience is good but he’s closer to passive than patient at the moment. Still an excellent player that I love long term though.

Tyler Soderstrom, LF ATH (MLB)

4-for-4, 2B, R

If a theme park opened up a roller coaster called “The Tyler Soderstrom,” THAT is a ride I want to go on. If you ever wondered what player’s season would make the most fun ride, the 2025 award goes to Soderstrom. He’s red hot right now and is hitting .387/.457/.694 with 4 HR in the month of August.

Nick Kurtz, 1B ATH (MLB)

2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI, BB, K

What Nick Kurtz is doing right now is one of the most absurd seasons I can remember. He now has 26 homers in 87 games with a 184 wRC+. Not to dampen the mood with Kurtz, but I don’t think he’ll be a .315 hitter for his career but he hits the ball so hard that it doesn't matter anyway. The man has a .399 BABIP after all even though he’s got a ridiculous 18% barrel rate. Nonetheless, Kurtz is an absolute star.

Triple-A

Covered by: Rhys White

Matthew Etzel, CF MIA (AAA)

2-for-5, RBI, SB

Eztel is one of the prospects I like more than most. There is some power and some speed here, but I do worry about the contact. He is an interesting fourth outfielder at the very worst. But the Marlins are getting 90th percentile outcomes from some of their guys these days, so maybe he breaks in and is a cheap power and speed threat. He is worth a shout in deeper leagues.

‼️ Trey Yesavage, RHP TOR (AAA)

4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K

After a terrible first start in Triple-A, Yesavage is so back. The changeup was disgusting in this one, as he got eight of his thirteen whiffs off the changeup. He got Spencer Jones badly with a changeup out on the outer third, to the point where Jones had to challenge it to avoid looking silly, I would guess. Yesavage is a ready-made SP3, with upside for more.

Bryce Eldridge, 1B SFG (AAA)

2-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, BB

The Bryce is right! Eldridge is in a weird spot because with Devers now being in the fold, does this mean that Eldridge has to learn a new position, or do they DH Devers? The Giants' corner infield situation is weird. But Eldridge has struggled a little bit this year, and it will be fun to dig into why this offseason. There is big-time power, or as much big-time power as there can be for someone who plays half their games in Oracle, or whatever one of our corporate overlords has the naming rights to this stadium.

JR Ritchie, RHP ATL (AAA)

3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 3 K

Not the greatest outing for Ritchie when you look at the traditional baseball card stats, but he was clearly working on the changeup as he threw it twenty times, just as many times as his sinker. People forget that the minor leagues are about development, and maybe the Braves wanted him to work on the changeup in different counts.

🔜 Rhys Hoskins, 1B MIL (AAA)

1-for-0, 4 HR, R

Everyone's second-favorite Rhys will be back soon, enjoying pocket pancakes and the power of friendship.

Hector Rodriguez, LF CIN (AAA)

3-for-4, HR, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI

HRod has some volatile plate skills, but man, there is some interesting power and speed here. I think he gets dinged, rightfully so, in OBP formats because he doesn't walk all that much. You would have to think he is the Austin Hays replacement for the Reds, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw him break camp with the Reds next season.