Posts

The 20-round event will have its first day hosted on both ESPN and MLB Network, before MLB.com carries days two and three. The first two rounds will be on Day 1, Day 2 will host rounds 3-10, and Day 3 will be rounds 11-20. Georgia high school outfielder Druw Jones, son of former major leaguer Andruw Jones, is widely thought to be the top prospect in this year’s draft, alongside shortstop Brooks Lee out of Cal Poly....

“We are not considering shorter-term deals at this time. The goal has been and will continue to be a long-term contract for Justin Upton,” Upton’s agent, Larry Reynolds, said Friday (via MLB.com). MORE: The top 10 highest-paid MLB players Earlier reports Friday said that Upton may be satisfied with accepting a one-year deal this offseason and then testing the market again after the 2016 season. That could pay off if he continues putting up top-end offensive numbers, but it looks like he doesn’t want to take that risk and wants to cash in sooner rather than later....

On Sunday, July 15, Team USA vs. Team World takes place once again, live on the MLB Network at 4 p.m ET. This year, 30 of MLB’s top 100 prospects take the field in a showdown of future top major-league talent. FAGAN: The greatest pitching performance that you’ve never heard of Here’s all you need to know about the 2018 All-Star Futures Game. MLB Futures Game 2018 date, start time The Futures Game airs on Sunday, July 15 at 4 p....

Entering Friday, the final day of May, MLB players needed to hit 25 home runs to set the record for most dingers hit in a month. That’s exactly happened when the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went deep in Colorado for his sixth home run of the season. In all, 1,135 home runs have been hit across MLB in the month. The record-breaking May immediately followed a prolific March/April period in which 1,144 home runs were hit....

Instead, under baseball’s tentative five-year collective bargaining agreement, the pennant winner with the best regular-season record will have the home-field advantage in the World Series, The Associated Press reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the tentative CBA. That edge used to go to the team from the league that won the All-Star Game. MORE: 10 most memorable Game 7s in World Series history, ranked The collective-bargaining agreement won’t be finalized until the owners and players union ratify it....

The Rangers were aggressive before the lockdown hit, signing middle infielders Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to massive deals and bringing Jon Gray in to help shore up the rotation. The Mets locked down Max Scherzer, plus Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. The Tigers brought in Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez. MORE: Why baseball fans often side with owners during a labor dispute Fans of those clubs are happy, with the big presents wrapped and under the tree....

Where do we begin? Trying to piece together the important events across MLB on Tuesday is no small feat. MORE: Tanaka outduels Scherzer in October setting | Who is Chris Heston? | Heston LL coach at park Albert Pujols got things started when he tied Mickey Mantle for 16th on the all-time home run list with No. 536. Shortly after, Reds first baseman Joey Votto sent a third ball into orbit in the seventh inning of an 11-2 thrashing of the Phillies, joining Johnny Bench as the only players in franchise history to amass three, three-home run games....

A two-month hot start will now mean the same thing as a two-month hot finish. The short-terming would seem to favor the more established winning teams vs. upstart clubs, but there’s bound to be more unpredictability with batter and pitching performances, too, with a smaller sample size. That makes the MLB odds a lot more interesting for 2020, from World Series futures to team win totals to individual player props....

St. Louis comes in as a -151 road favorite tonight behind Lance Lynn (15-10, 2.73 ERA) against Wade Miley, but there are a few reasons why the home team might offer some value. ‘Arizona’ and ‘value’ in the same sentence might sound like an oxymoron, but the first reason to choose St. Louis to lose stems from Lynn, who has gone winless in his last three starts. It’s not that Lynn has been terrible over those recent starts (0-2, 2....

The Tigers are rolling with a three-game win streak and have a 1.5-game lead on the Royals in the AL Central ahead of Monday’s action. St. Louis has a 3.5-game lead over Pittsburgh in the NL Central, but it’s that close largely because the Pirates have had some favorable scheduling against weak opponents. The Giants took the opener of a key home series with the first-place Dodgers, but lost the final two and dropped a game in the standings, where they are now three games back in the NL West....

The pitching matchup is why this game is so intriguing — Jose Fernandez is a -119 favorite over Robbie Ray and the total is set at 7 (OV -115). MORE: NL’s best players under 25 | Reds should sell big Fernandez gets a lot of hype because he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball making his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery. But the left-handed Ray has flown under the radar despite having an outstanding first nine starts since being called up on two separate occasions from Triple-A Reno, the last being June 3....

Check The Linemakers on Sporting News’ odds page for current baseball lines from Las Vegas. Detroit Tigers +106 (@ Oakland Athletics) Jesse Hahn vs Shane Greene Simply too good an offer to let slip through our fingers. The Tigers have lost two in a row, whereas the Athletics have won two, and the betting market may be overreacting to these short-term results. AccuScore simulations predict the Tigers to have a 57....

The allegations against Bauer were detailed in the victim’s domestic violence restraining order, which were elaborated in a report released from The Athletic. MLB released a statement surrounding its decision to place Bauer on leave on Friday: In graphic details surrounding the assaults, the victim claims that Bauer had strangled her several times, leaving her unconscious. Bauer left the victim with scrapes and bruises on her face. The restraining order filed also indicates Bauer had penetrated the victim anally without the victim’s consent....

DeGrom’s strikeouts tied Tom Seaver’s single-game franchise postseason record set in Game 1 of the 1973 NLCS against the Reds. It’s also the first time a pitcher has struck out 13 batters and surrendered zero runs in his postseason debut since Tim Lincecum in 2010. MORE: Best NLDS photos | Starters combine to make postseason history Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy opened the scoring with a solo home run in the fourth inning....

The Rangers’ All-Star third baseman sat out Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Friday with a back strain. His replacement, Hanser Alberto, delivered an RBI single in the top of the 14th inning to give the Rangers the lead for good in Toronto. MORE: Top ALDS photos | MLB postseason schedule Delino DeShields Jr. gave Texas insurance with an RBI infield single off Jays reliever Liam Hendriks....

There were a lot of highlights. Two immediate reactions: — Good grief, no one’s going to remember all of these do’s and (mostly) don’ts. — Some of the on-field social distancing measures, though well-intentioned, are going to be really challenging. MORE: Key points of Bryce Harper’s plan to save baseball in 2020 Three examples from the AP’s report: And now for some more rapid reactions: — First basemen are going to have to stay on the move as they shuttle between the bag and a few feet behind it when they’re holding runners....

The Phillies selected Goeddel, a corner outfielder, from the Rays with the first pick in Thursday’s Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn. Goeddel, who turned 23 in October, was the 41st overall pick in the 2011 draft. Drafted as a third baseman, he shifted to the outfield full-time in 2015 at Double-A Montgomery. He hit .279/.350/.433 with 17 doubles, 10 triples and 12 homers in 123 games while also stealing 28 bases....

RUMOR: The White Sox want to sign either Alex Gordon or Yoenis Cespedes, but only if they’re willing to take a three-year deal or less. REPORTED BY: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale THE DETAILS: Having already made two big trades this offseason, the White Sox are trying to further strengthen their roster in the suddenly competitive AL Central. Gordon and Cespedes have both played in the division before, but Chicago is unwilling to give either of them a massive contract....

New York was expected to be sellers at the deadline but instead acquired Marcus Stroman and held onto Zack Wheeler, who is set to be a free agent after the season. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen discussed the team’s moves when he met with reporters Wednesday. “Our focus at the trade deadline … is to win now and win in the future,” Van Wagenen said, via The Athletic. “We evaluated a lot of different opportunities, but we wanted to make sure we only considered moves that improved our club and kept us on mission....