Overall Takeaway

Pour one out for this win streak. I think I speak for all Boston fans when I say this was the most exciting stretch of baseball we have seen in years—Ceddanne Rafaela’s walk-off last year aside. The 15-game streak tied a record set 80 years ago and put Boston firmly in the playoff race. Even with tonight’s loss, the Red Sox remain in sole possession of the third Wild Card spot. The Yankees split their doubleheader today, so the Rays will hold on to first place in the AL East.

All three teams will likely be buyers at the trade deadline. Most insiders—and opinionated non-insiders like myself—believe Tampa Bay will be the most aggressive. On tonight’s episode of The Skippers View Podcast, Hagen and I discussed several potential deals for Boston. I brought up Casey Mize, while he suggested Freddy Peralta. At this point, I will take any pitcher who can step in and help fill the void left by Crochet.

As fun as this run was, there are still holes on this team that need to be filled. Fewer holes than a month ago, but still enough to sink a ship.

Game 1: Red Sox 6-5

Game 2: Red Sox 6-3

Game 3: Orioles 5-1

What I Loved

• Win Streak

  • Fine with the win streak ended. Honestly, the 1946 roster was stacked. They won 104 games, went to the World Series, and had five guys in Top 10 MVP voting, with Williams winning. This team has maybe one Hall of Famer at best. (Obviously I wanted the win streak to continue.)

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • I was posting my daily WAR leaders from www.statsoldier.com, and I noticed something interesting…. Ceddanne Rafaela had cracked the Top 10 for bWAR.

  • Forgot that Ceddanne had 4.9 bWAR last year as well. Still very early, but his contract is highway robbery. They got him for 8 years, $50 million. There is a real chance he produces $50 million of value this season alone.

• Willson Contreras

  • When Durbin hit his home run Monday, I thought that Contreras was going to run on the field and tackle Caleb before he rounded the bases. According to Stat Soldier, the last time Willson had a game that negatively affected Boston was June 23rd. A whole month!

  

• Caleb Durbin

  • Durbin’s home run into the night on Monday was electric and makes up for his slow start to the year. The broadcast was comparing his demeanor and work ethic to Dustin Pedroia today. I do not see the work he does so that I will take their word for it.

• NO ERRORS

  • Unlike last series, Boston had a clean series against Baltimore.

• Aroldis Chapman

  • Tied Dennis Eckersley, who was in attendance, for 9th All-Time on the saves list.

• Andruw Monasterio

  • Andruw has been superb over the last 11 days. Might be the best baseball he has ever played. I am posting this quickly, so I haven’t had time to check, but it feels right.

• Brayan Bello… Back?

  • *Knock on wood* Brayan Bello has been pretty good in his two appearances since returning to Boston. The team is desperate for some starter depth. Hoping it could be him.

  

• Jake Bennett… Again

  • An out away from his 6th straight quality start. This streak doesn’t happen without Bennett coming up and going on a streak. Biggest concern right now for Boston is taking care of their three young arms (Early, Tolle, Bennett)

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Jarren Duran Showing Some Life

  • His triple in Game One today reminded me of the spark that Duran can bring to this team. Still well below the Mendoza Line over the last 30 games, .139 AVG, so here’s hoping that today could be the start of a little hot streak. If not, I think the cries from fans will intensify to replace him at the deadline.

What I Didn’t Love

• Starting Pitching Depth Catching Up

  • Mentioned this on Sunday with the last bullpen game, and I am preaching to the choir, but the team desperately needs some starter depth.

  • It does not seem like Crochet will return in 2026, and Boston needs to keep Tolle, Early, and Bennett on some innings limit. Brayan Bello, knock on wood, could be that guy.

• Streak Ending

  • I know I said at the beginning that I was fine with the streak ending. I lied; it gave me life. It also gave me an excuse to watch the games every night. “Babe, I can’t be the one fan not to watch this historic streak.” Now I am going to have to watch Bravo Housewives in between innings again.

Now, I knew I had a next-to-zero percent chance of getting an interview. I was there to fill a spot and take some photos, and boy, did I.

Now, I didn’t get too many shots; I was bodied out of the way a few times and felt like the guy that Ken Rosenthal decked last year. It was definitely eye-opening for me that, for many of these reporters, it’s their sole job to get these photos and interviews. Meanwhile, I am just there for the first time getting my feet wet.

Overall, it was a very cool experience that was a good test run for Cooperstown. Two completely different beasts, but at least I got to see what it was like to be amongst the media.

As with all my review blogs, I will break this experience down into three categories. “What I Loved”, “What I was ‘Mid’ About”, “What I Didn’t Love”, and “Who Got Screwed.”

What I Loved

• Being In The Room Where It Happens (Sort Of)

  • There is a great song in Hamilton called “The Room Where It Happens.” It is all about the Compromise of 1790, in which Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison struck a deal about where the Capitol would be located. Aaron Burr was not in this meeting, so he sings about wanting to be in the room (this leads him into politics and eventually puts him at odds with Hamilton, who he kills, spoiler.)

  • Since starting The Skippers View, I wanted to eventually be “In The Room Where It Happens” for media. I am not saying I want to be front and center, but it is nice to see how the sausage gets made to a certain degree. Do I think I could handle it as my career? Nope, there were some savages out there (more on that later), but I had fun.

• Seeing The Players Up Close

  • I have been behind home plate at Fenway Park (flex), only a few feet from the players, but this was different. They were so close you could literally smell them (shout-out to Randy Arozarena’s cologne).

  • For me, the biggest thing was seeing them with their friends and family. It is very easy for us to trick ourselves into viewing these people as larger than life, both in size and presence. Being so close to them reminded me that they are just people.

• How Friendly The Players Were

  • There were for sure a few players that just tried to get down the red carpet as fast as possible and get on the buses to bring them back to the stadium. Besides the fact that they had a game in only a few hours, it was hot as heck. That being said, players really made an effort to stop, take pictures, sign autographs, do interviews, and even give a knuckle touch or two. Frankly, the bigger the name, the more they stopped.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• All The People Coming Out Before The Players

  • If it wasn’t so hot, I probably wouldn’t have cared, but watching the team mascots dance around for 30 minutes before players came out was rough. Not only did I feel bad for the poor souls inside the costumes, but I was also standing for two hours straight at that point waiting for the event to start.

What I Didn’t Love

• Adult Autograph Hawkers

  • I was shocked at how close fans could get to the players. Yes, the barriers were there, and the players tended to lean towards the media side of the carpet, but fans were right on the other side, throwing themselves over the barriers to get autographs. Now, I have no problem with kids trying to get autographs. However, grown men (even the ones with kids) who are begging players to sign their items and sprinting to the next players should be thrown on an island. I genuinely believe it is a reason that some players just zip on by and don’t turn their eyes. Even if they wanted to sign a few balls for kids, they know these hawks would fly in at any second and knock a kid over (happened twice, by the way)

  • Shout out to some players who seemed to sign as much as possible. Mike Trout, Paul Skenes (Livvy Dunne was practically held at gunpoint by some teenage boys), Corbin Carroll, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Matt Olson. Now, there were definitely other players signing, but these were the ones that stood out.

• The Heat

  • It was 100 degrees on the red carpet. My wife had me wear khaki pants as she thought I would be severely underdressed if I didn’t. I couldn’t disagree, and $80 later, I had them. Imagine my surprise when I got on the media line and saw people dressed in everything from tuxes to sweatpants and T-shirts. I like to think I fell somewhere in the middle. Back to the heat. It was hot, like I had five water bottles while I was standing there. You could tell by the players’ faces that they wanted to get off the carpet as fast as possible. All of them were dressed great, and all of them were sweating their balls off.

Who Got Screwed

• Fan Who Flipped Over Barrier

  • For some reason, once the event ends, they let you take (or steal, not really sure) all the covers to the barriers. They have cool logos on them, and I am sure would be cool to have at home on a wall somewhere. That being said, similar to the autograph hunters, once it was time to take them, people turned into savages. I watched a grown man (40s?) in a full sprint (sprint for him, jog for most) flip over a barrier as he was going to try and claim one of the covers. You would think that all the other fans would see this and respect the hustle; instead, a kid (12ish) just hopped over the guy and grabbed the cover.

  • Savages.

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The AL East is 100% up for grabs. You began to feel that way before the All-Star break, but to come out and sweep the 1st place Rays cements that. The Yankees are a mess without Aaron Judge (dropped another game this afternoon and have to play the Dodgers again this evening), the Blue Jays are falling apart, and the Rays just got manhandled.

Now Boston will get both Baltimore and Toronto at Fenway. Do not be surprised to see Boston a game or two back by next Monday.

Game 1: Red Sox 10-0

Game 2: Red Sox 5-3

Game 3: Red Sox 7-6

Game 4: Red Sox 6-1

What I Loved

• Willson Contreras

  • The heartbeat of the team returned, hitting another two home runs this series. He is now two away from matching his career high.

  • More importantly, he told Boston he will not waive his no-trade clause. Wants to finish his career with the Red Sox. We are not worthy!

• Jake Bennett

  • Five straight quality starts for Bennett. Completely entrenched in this rotation.

• Wilyer Abreu’s Power

  • Back-to-back games with 2 HR, including the go-ahead game-winning blast against Garrett Cleavinger on Saturday. His power had disappeared for almost a month, but he now has 5 home runs over his last seven games.

• Game One Hit Parade

  • All the starters got hits on Friday, except Romy Gonzalez (although he walked)

  • Home runs from Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez highlighted it.

• Sonny Gray

  • Gray threw 49 of 91 pitches for strikes, but it didn’t matter as the Rays could do nothing with RISP. That is now nine straight quality starts for Gray.

  • Forget about trade value; Gray is here to stay.

  

• Aroldis Chapman

  • Back-to-back saves in high-leverage spots (Save #20 in Game 2, Save #21 in Game 3). He navigated heavy traffic in Game 3 without breaking a sweat.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Bullpen Games

  • An Eduardo Rivera start is a bullpen game, even if they aren’t always fully presenting it as such.

  • Now, the bullpen was on fire in Game 2 after Guerrero gave up three over 2.1 innings—just a little concerning long-term.

What I Didn’t Love

• Patrick Sandoval Start

• Defense

  • Four errors across the series. Not terrible, but not what you expect out of arguably the best defensive team in baseball.

Who Got Screwed

• The Haters

  • I will continue to mention it because I think it is important. Many Twitter personalities took a hard stance against this team. Many said blow it up, many said sell the team, and many are now deleting those tweets and pretending it didn’t happen.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Game 4:

Over the last six months, Boston Red Sox fans have been on a roller coaster. Through it all, I have tried to stay positive. I freaking love watching Red Sox baseball. Yeah, when they are losing in embarrassing ways, it could be a little depressing.

But I would rather be watching Red Sox baseball, win or lose, over anything else in the world (along with Batman: The Animated Series and Seinfeld).

So, yeah, having to go on Twitter and see people CONSTANTLY being negative put a damper on following the team. If you go to my Twitter account, you will see one person who thinks I am specifically talking about him. I am not. I am talking about dozens of Red Sox content creators who have been a miserable sight on my timeline this season. Why this one person (whom I don’t even follow on Twitter) has decided to target me is beyond my comprehension. Just got to pray for them, I suppose.

(Editor’s Note: Let me be clear, I have no problem with people being critical of the team. I have been in the past as well (Cora). It just hit a point this season where it was unbearable and also felt inauthentic to get more clicks and likes.)

That all brings me to Craig Breslow. Have I loved every move that Craig Breslow has made? Nope! Do I think the team's current structure is a little hectic? Yep! But I can also sit here and recognize that he has also made some great moves that deserve applause.

(Editor’s Note: A lot of internal thoughts in this blog. If you watch the Netflix Documentary about the team “The Clubhouse,” you will see there was a clear power struggle between Craig Breslow and Alex Cora. Carry on.)

Like most of my blogs, I am going to break it down into “What I Loved”, “What I was Mid About,” and “What I Didn’t Love”

(Editor’s Note: Me again, this might look like a Breslow burner account. But look me in the eye and tell me these moves haven’t worked out.)

What I Loved

• Payton Tolle

  • Tolle was drafted by Breslow in the 2nd round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of TCU. He rose up the minors and has been an integral part of this 2026 squad.

• Jake Bennett Trade

  • Bennett came over in a December trade that no one gave a second thought. Coming off Tommy John, he was great in the minors for the Nationals in 2025. After some great starts in Worcester and a cup of coffee at Fenway, Bennett is now entrenched in the rotation.

• Garrett Crochet Trade

  • No explanation needed.

• Ranger Suarez Deal

  • Right now, you have to put Suarez in the loved section. Unlike Gray, he has a longer deal, so we will see how I feel in two years.

  • Slight damper on things as he hit the IL right before the All-Star break. Doesn’t seem to be a long-term issue, and I imagine we'll see him within ten days.

  

• Sonny Gray Signing

  • Gave up Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke, but got Gray and $20 million on top. Gray never found his Minnesota form with St. Louis, but he sure has with Boston this year. Now that Boston is right in the playoff race, I would be surprised to see him moved.

  

• Caleb Durbin Trade

  • A month ago, maybe Durbin wasn’t in the loved section, and you can argue now he shouldn’t be with his sub-700 OPS. But when Durbin got hot, the whole team followed. He is also a superb defender.

• Aroldis Chapman Signing

  • Along with Mason Miller, Chapman has been the best closer in baseball over the last two years. People are quick to forget his 1.17 ERA last year—a few hiccups here in 2026, but still an absolute dog.

• Willson Contreras Trade

  • When Contreras was swapped for Hunter Dobbins, I was definitely hurting a little. I was a big fan of Dobbins, mainly because he commented on one of my posts, but he tore his ACL last year and was a ways away from coming back.

  • I attribute 70% of the team’s success to Contreras. Besides being their best hitter, he is the team's heartbeat. An absolute psycho (respectfully) who will fight anyone and do anything to light a fire in the team. Even when Boston was in the complete gutter, he was playing like it was the World Series. Couldn’t ask for anything more.

  

• Move To Chad Tracy

  • This one is a biased pick for me. Personally, I was never a fan of Alex Cora as Red Sox manager. Some reports surfaced about extra tension in the clubhouse, and, frankly, watching the Netflix documentary, it was clear that the Cora/Breslow relationship wasn’t going to work. I don’t think it is worth debating who was at fault, but I think Cora wants to be a GM, and he wasn’t.

  • Tracy, on the other hand, has slid into a very difficult position and turned the team around.

• Trading Alex Verdugo

  • One of Breslow’s first moves was to trade Verdugo to the Yankees for Weissert and Richard Fitts. Richard Fitts was flipped for Sonny Gray.

  • Sonny Gray is an All-Star, and Weissert is part of the best bullpen in baseball. Feels like no one talks about this deal.

• Letting Alex Bregman Walk

  • Alright, here is where I know a lot of people are going to get upset. Durbin is better than Bregman this year. He is younger, costs less, and they will have him for three years at minimal cost.

  • Whenever this is brought up online, Bregman fans will jump in and say, “You can’t quantify the veteran presence.” You can, and it’s not worth almost $200 million.

    

• Kyson Witherspoon, Anthony Eyanson, and Justin Gonzales

  • All three are Top 5 prospects for Boston, with Eyanson and Gonzales both cracking MLB's Top 100—all are Breslow acquisitions. Don’t be shocked to see Eyanson called up in September.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Handling of Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, and Roman Anthony

  • If I am going to give Breslow so much praise, I need to point this out. “The Big Three” have been a mess so far. How much of that is Breslow’s fault? At least some.

• Quinn Priester Trade

  • I liked Nick Yorke, and then I liked Quinn Priester, and now I don’t know who I like. It is too early to say anything about the players the Red Sox got from the Priester trade. They used the pick on Marcus Phillips, their #8 prospect. John Holobitz is their #12 prospect, and Yophery Rodriguez doesn’t crack the Top 30 at the moment.

What I Didn’t Love

• Rafael Devers Trade

  • There is a real argument that freeing up the money was the right move. There is a real argument that Devers was no longer a fit in the locker room. But I am never going to say trading a franchise cornerstone is the right thing to do.

• Chris Sale Trade

  • Hindsight is 50/50, but with a similar thought process as above, Sale was such a foundational piece of the team. For him to go out and immediately win the Cy Young was just the cherry on top. (The term doesn’t really fit there, but I can’t think of the opposite of a cherry on top.)

• Inability To Express Himself

  • Sam from Discuss Baseball gave me this idea, and it is dead on. Breslow is a robot at times and not great at expressing his thoughts both inside the organization and to fans. Kind of an important role in his position.

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Overall Takeaway

I was boots on the ground for Saturday’s game, and let me tell you, barely anything happened. Yes, the Red Sox won and hit two bombs, but that was it from both sides. Probably not the game to take my wife to in an attempt to get her into baseball. Regardless, I had fun.

Entering the All-Star Break, I don’t think vibes can be higher for Red Sox fans. They are in the Wild Card race, and games are fun to watch.

What else could you ask for?

Game 1: Red Sox 6-2

Game 2: Red Sox 4-0

Game 3: Red Sox 3-2

What I Loved

• SMALL BALL WINS GAMES

  • Alex Cora rarely utilized the sacrifice bunt. Chad Tracy lives for it. Using it won the Red Sox the game on Sunday. He knew all they needed was a run, and the bullpen would lock it up. Manager of the year for me.

• Masataka Yoshida

  • Home run on Saturday, doubled twice on Friday, got benched on Sunday. Would have loved to see him start on Sunday with his hot hand.

• Sonny Gray

  • Shrugged off a 24-hour travel nightmare to deliver 6 strong innings of 1-run ball with 5 strikeouts. He is unbeaten in 13 consecutive starts.

• Andruw Monasterio

  • I have been critical of Monasterio in the past, but seeing him hit a home run a few seats from me on Saturday changed me. I also have to appreciate his ability to move from 1B to SS without being a liability.

• Bullpen

  • Aside from a home run given up by Weissert on Friday and by Bello on Sunday, the bullpen was nails. (I kind of don’t count Bello; it was a planned ministart with Tolle on a short leash.)

  • They continue to have the 2nd-best ERA in the American League.

  • Helped lock in Boston’s AL-leading 9th shutout of the season.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Brayan Bello

  • Bello looked great in his first two innings before giving up a home run to Francisco Lindor. He then settled in for the rest of the game. I am not ready to put him back in the “loved” section, but if you did, I wouldn’t fight you.

What I Didn’t Love

• The “Show and Go” Travel Nightmare

  • I don’t love the fact that something like this could totally derail a team. I do love the fact that yet another plane incident could start a Red Sox rally. The Red Sox caught fire after the Minnesota incident and secured an AL Wild Card spot. Hmmmmm.

• Jarren Duran

  • Jarren has a .457 OPS over his last 30 games. That is all.

    • (Editor’s Note: I have to write these blogs during the last game so that when it ends, I can publish them immediately. Very happy that Duran knocked in those runs in the 9th. That being said, it was not well hit, and I would not have removed him from this section.)

Who Got Screwed

• My Wife’s Credit Card

  • She got double-charged for a margarita behind center field at Citi Field. Financially, I do not know if we will ever recover from this.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

This year, I decided to do the last 10 as they are all still active in MLB. I’m also packing my bags to get boots on the ground for the Red Sox at the Mets at 4:10. I will post some photos from the game.

I will give their career stats, a quick summary, and a verdict.

Spoiler: Most of them are busts, and if you have a problem with that, I am sorry.

2025: Eli Willits

He is only 18, so not going to comment on him yet. However, I have stashed him in my dynasty leagues and hope he becomes a 30/30 guy.

2024: Travis Bazzana

Bazzana made his debut this year and has been solid. Over 63 games, he has produced 1.0 bWAR. Works out to about 2.6 across an entire season, which is not bad for a rookie.

Verdict: Australian

Career: 1.0 bWAR/ .242 BA / 7 HR / 28 RBI / 12 SB / .729 OPS

2023: Paul Skenes

I don’t want to say that Skenes has crashed back to earth, but he sure as heck isn't having the same success he had in his first two years. He is currently carrying a 3.58 ERA past the midway point of the year. His FIP is a significantly better 2.98, marking the first time in his career that it has been lower than his actual ERA. Some regression was expected, as his fastball velocity and spin rate have consistently dipped over the last two years.

Verdict: Home Run

Career: 15.6 WAR/ 21 Wins/ 2.36 ERA/ 509 SO/ 182 ERA+

2022: Jackson Holliday

He’s still only 22 years old. That is what Orioles fans are saying.

I agree with that, and I think he got rushed up to the majors two years ago because of his name and being the #1 pick.

Verdict: On The Path To Bust

Career: 1.3 WAR/ 27 HR/ .229 BA/ 93 RBI/ 88 OPS+

2021: Henry Davis

If he weren’t a catcher and seemingly Paul Skenes' buddy, he would be in the minors.

Verdict: Bust

Career: -1.11 WAR/ 22 HR/ .175 BA/ 54 OPS+

2020: Spencer Torkelson

I’ve stashed Torkelson on my dynasty team for years now. I have wanted him to work so badly. Last year, it looked like our dreams might finally be coming true. Then he went back to being a Mendoza Line hitter.

Look, I don’t love WAR. I use it because everyone wants me to. That being said, if you produce only 2.0 bWAR across 5 years, you aren’t getting anything above a BUST.

Verdict: BUST

Career: 2.0 / 96 HR/ .225 BA/ 291 RBI/ 101 OPS+

2019: Adley Rutschman

Adley started his career with a bang in his first three seasons. There were some red flags in the analytics, but he was consistent behind the plate and was healthy. Then those red flags started to manifest, and injuries began to appear as well. His 2025 was a real disappointment, and many fans started calling for Basallo to replace him. He has rebounded in 2026, so let’s see where the season finishes.

Verdict: Not a bust.

Career: 16.5 WAR/ 69 HR/ .255 BA/ 115 OPS+

2018: Casey Mize

Mize had a great 2021, in which he posted 3.4 bWAR. He then disappeared until last year, where he managed a sub-4.00 ERA again. He has looked great in 2026, carrying a 163 ERA+. Keep an eye on him at the trade deadline.

Verdict: Half Bust

Career: 7.3 WAR/ 9 Wins/ 3.98 ERA/ 437 SO/ 106 ERA+

2017: Royce Lewis

Unfortunately, Royce has never been able to stay healthy. At this point, we can only hope for a Mickey Moniak-type resurgence.

Verdict: Bust

Career: 4.5 WAR/ 55 HR/ .248 BA/ 183 RBI/ 105 OPS+

2016: Mickey Moniak

If you go to Mickey’s Baseball Reference page, there are a lot of negative WAR seasons with two exceptions. In 2023, he posted 2.2 bWAR over 85 games, and in 2026, he has posted 0.8 bWAR over 60 games. But for the non-WAR lovers (me), I like to look at his OPS. He has a .824 OPS over 135 games last year. PLENTY of teams would take that. This year, he has a .916 OPS. He won’t walk, he won’t make errors, he won’t make great plays, but he will hit some bombs.

Verdict: Bust

Career: 1.1 WAR/ 71 HR/ .248 BA/ 211 RBI

2015: Dansby Swanson

Dansby’s June was electric; the rest of 2026 has been mid at best.

He still has 2.6 bWAR for the year, and if you look at his Cubs contract, he has produced the “value” that they are paying him. If we are looking at the traditional $8 million per WAR, he more than covers what they have paid him so far. Take that, his 2 Gold Gloves, and his World Series title when judging him.

Verdict: Pleasntly pleased.

Career: 31.0 WAR/ 180 HR/ .248 BA/ 692 RBI/ OPS+ 97

Overall Takeaway

I am going to be very careful here with what I say in this blog. It has become clear that a Red Sox content creator is taking many of my tweets and blogs as direct attacks on him. Twice now, he has gone in and attacked me about my stuff. Little does he know I just got credentialed to attend the Hall of Fame Induction in Cooperstown (Blog coming about that), so nothing can bring me down.

Alright, on to the best team in baseball.

I am not going to sit here and pretend that this year has been a joy to watch from start to finish. But there is literally nothing else better in the world than watching Red Sox baseball. Win or lose, I don’t care, I just want to watch games.

Yeah, it is way more fun when the team is winning. And the team is on fire. They have won 11 of their last 13, including three sweeps (Yankees, Angels, and White Sox). They will now go play the Mets before the All-Star break. I will be boots on the ground for Saturday’s game, so look out for some content on my X account.

Go Boston.

Game 1: Red Sox 8-1

Game 2: Red Sox 5-0

Game 3: Red Sox 2-1

What I Loved

• Winning

  • Winning cures everything, and right now the Red Sox are the best team in baseball (Sorry, Marlins).

• Willson Contreras

  • Really only had an impact in Game 1, but his impact is beyond the diamond. He is the heart of the team at this point.

  

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • Home run on Tuesday, followed by another 2-5 game on Wednesday. Not much noise on Thursday, but he did his job.

  • Here are Ceddanne Rafaela’s splits over the last few years.

    • 2023: .241 AVG | .666 OPS | 76 wRC+
      2024: .246 AVG | .664 OPS | 81 wRC+
      2025: .249 AVG | .708 OPS | 91 wRC+
      2026: .287 AVG | .780 OPS | 114 wRC+

• Bullpen

  • Pen has been nails the last six games with a 1.33 ERA. I have no idea if Tanner Houck will actually be able to pitch this year, but get that guy in the bullpen, too, and make a run.

• Jake Bennett

  • I have a blog coming out called “In Defense of Craig Breslow”. A section of the blog will cover the trade for Jake Bennett.

  • Four straight quality starts from Jake.

    

• Payton Tolle

  • Wow, another player chosen by Craig Breslow? Yep.

  • Payton Tolle bounced back from his worst start of the season to throw six shutout innings on Tuesday. Was throwing a lot of cutters in that game against the Nationals, but reversed and used the sinker as his main secondary pitch.

    

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• NOTHING

  • I am on such a high with this win streak

What I Didn’t Love

• Jarren Duran

  • While the Red Sox have been great the last 20 games, Duran has not. He has carried a .495 OPS over that time span. Yikes. Lots of calls for him to be traded at the deadline, along with others, but that seems like a huge waste at this point. Any return you get will be underwhelming.

Who Got Screwed

• The Home Run Derby (Potentially)

  • I don’t think Contreras is ruled out of the derby yet, but you have to imagine they are contemplating it. Frankly, I was hoping to see him charge the mound or attack Junior Caminero. Would have made for good TV.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2

Game 3:

The Boston Red Sox farm system currently ranks between 10 and 15, depending on the publication. They were as high as #3 last year, but graduated a wave of talent. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, Payton Tolle, and Connelly Early have all been removed from the list.

What do the Red Sox have for all that talent?

Well, they are four games out of the Wild Card!

Campbell has been a disaster, Mayer not far behind, Anthony made of glass… but… Tolle and Early have been great. So, mixed bag.

In terms of the current Top 10 prospects for Boston, their performances have been a mixed bag so far. A lot of pitching on this list, including Bennett, who will be removed soon, so here’s hoping they turn out like Tolle and Early.

On the position-player side, Franklin Arias is having one of the best seasons in the minors. While there have been some calls from fans to move him up, there would be no benefit in bringing him into the madness of the current squad.

However, barring injury, they will have to bring him up over the next year. It is IMPERATIVE that they pick a position for him (hopefully SS), move all the other players off that position, and put him right in his natural spot. The most frustrating piece of the Red Sox player development over the last few years is that they are constantly moving players around the diamond. Just keep them in their position!

That being said, here are the Top 10 prospects for Boston and their stats so far this year.

1. Franklin Arias, SS
   Level: Double-A
   Age: 20
   Stats: .332/.418/.602, 17 HR, 47 RBI, 5 SB

2. Anthony Eyanson, RHP
   Level: Double-A
   Age: 21
   Stats: 1.29 ERA, 55.2 IP, 71 K, 20 BB, 0.86 WHIP

3. Justin Gonzales, OF
   Level: High-A
   Age: 19
   Stats: .250/.366/.414, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 6 SB

4. Kyson Witherspoon, RHP
   Level: High-A
   Age: 21
   Stats: 5.02 ERA, 61.0 IP, 65 K, 30 BB, 1.44 WHIP

5. Juan Valera, RHP
   Level: High-A
   Age: 20
   Stats: 1.93 ERA, 9.1 IP, 17 K, 4 BB, 0.86 WHIP

6. Jake Bennett, LHP
   Level: MLB
   Age: 25
   Stats: Promoted to Boston; 2026 combined MLB.com line: 2.36 ERA, 80.0 IP, 72 K, 16 BB, 1.00 WHIP

7. Dorian Soto, SS
   Level: Rookie
   Age: 18
   Stats: .213/.325/.265, 0 HR, 15 RBI, 9 SB

8. Marcus Phillips, RHP
   Level: High-A
   Age: 21
   Stats: 6.75 ERA, 41.1 IP, 46 K, 33 BB, 1.79 WHIP

9. Henry Godbout, 2B
   Level: High-A
   Age: 22
   Stats: .277/.410/.492, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB

10. Enddy Azocar, OF
    Level: High-A
    Age: 19
    Stats: .267/.329/.465, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 11 SB

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But for every team, there is at least one hitter who has been a disappointment. So, I went through all 30 teams and picked a player for each.

I’m not going to lie, some of the teams were pretty difficult to choose. Take teams like the Nationals and Marlins. They are overachieving offensively in a big way. If this list included pitchers, it would probably be easier. But I was not committed halfway through, so I stayed the course.

If there is a player on your team you're more frustrated with, feel free to head over to Twitter and let me hear it.

AL East

Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Position: 1B
2026 Stats: .271 AVG / 4 HR / 34 RBI / .706 OPS

Orioles: Gunnar Henderson
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .223 AVG / 16 HR / 39 RBI / .708 OPS

Rays: Cedric Mullins
Position: CF
2026 Stats: .207 AVG / 7 HR / 24 RBI / .609 OPS

Red Sox: Jarren Duran
Position: LF/CF
2026 Stats: .198 AVG / 12 HR / 38 RBI / .615 OPS

Yankees: Austin Wells
Position: C
2026 Stats: .160 AVG / 4 HR / 9 RBI / .510 OPS

AL Central

Guardians: Steven Kwan
Position: LF/CF
2026 Stats: .209 AVG / 1 HR / 13 RBI / .574 OPS

Royals: Salvador Perez
Position: C/DH
2026 Stats: .200 AVG / 10 HR / 30 RBI / .573 OPS

Tigers: Spencer Torkelson
Position: 1B
2026 Stats: .207 AVG / 12 HR / 32 RBI / .712 OPS

Twins: Royce Lewis
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .212 AVG / 7 HR / 22 RBI / .658 OPS

White Sox: Luisangel Acuña
Position: SS/OF
2026 Stats: .222 AVG / 1 HR / 10 RBI / .521 OPS

AL West

Angels: Logan O’Hoppe
Position: C
2026 Stats: .213 AVG / 1 HR / 8 RBI / .600 OPS

Astros: Brice Matthews
Position: CF/IF
2026 Stats: .196 AVG / 6 HR / 18 RBI / .574 OPS

Athletics: Lawrence Butler
Position: OF
2026 Stats: .198 AVG / 5 HR / 21 RBI / .593 OPS

Mariners: Cal Raleigh
Position: C
2026 Stats: .162 AVG / 8 HR / 21 RBI / .571 OPS

Rangers: Corey Seager
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .185 AVG / 10 HR / 25 RBI / .670 OPS

NL East

Braves: Austin Riley
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .212 AVG / 8 HR / 36 RBI / .635 OPS

Marlins: Owen Caissie
Position: RF
2026 Stats: .227 AVG / 9 HR / 43 RBI / .703 OPS

Mets: Mark Vientos
Position: 1B/3B
2026 Stats: .214 AVG / 10 HR / 33 RBI / .643 OPS

Phillies: Trea Turner
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .233 AVG / 7 HR / 24 RBI / .622 OPS

Nationals: Brady House
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .227 AVG / 7 HR / 25 RBI / .681 OPS

NL Central

Cubs: Alex Bregman
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .242 AVG / 6 HR / 27 RBI / .678 OPS

Reds: Matt McLain
Position: 2B
2026 Stats: .198 AVG / 8 HR / 25 RBI / .646 OPS

Brewers: Joey Ortiz
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .201 AVG / 1 HR / 15 RBI / .533 OPS

Pirates: Marcell Ozuna
Position: DH
2026 Stats: .204 AVG / 7 HR / 26 RBI / .614 OPS

Cardinals: Nolan Gorman
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .194 AVG / 7 HR / 26 RBI / .597 OPS

NL West

Diamondbacks: Nolan Arenado
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .240 AVG / 8 HR / 33 RBI / .704 OPS

Rockies: Ezequiel Tovar
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .211 AVG / 6 HR / 25 RBI / .591 OPS

Dodgers: Kyle Tucker
Position: RF
2026 Stats: .238 AVG / 7 HR / 44 RBI / .718 OPS

Padres: Manny Machado
Position: 3B
2026 Stats: .183 AVG / 14 HR / 43 RBI / .647 OPS

Giants: Willy Adames
Position: SS
2026 Stats: .230 AVG / 14 HR / 32 RBI / .707 OPS

Last night, as I lay on the couch eating buy-one-get-one-free Mogu, I was unable to watch the Red Sox due to blackout restrictions. I had the live stats up on www.statsoldier.com and decided to put on the White Sox vs. the Royals instead.

The White Sox absolutely manhandled the Royals, putting up 22 runs. It was fun. However, every other player that stepped to the plate was a former member of the Boston Red Sox.

Now, I am a pretty positive guy. I think the Red Sox are a wagon, will sweep the Yankees this weekend, and go on a World Series run. But I wanted to try and come up with a Red Sox lineup of just former Red Sox players who are still in the league.

I immediately became depressed.

Here is what the Red Sox roster COULD look like, if they kept their guys.

C - Kyle Teel

Teel just came off the IL, so the stats aren’t there at the moment. Still, I think we could all agree he would be a step up from Mickey Gasper (mustache not included)

1B - Rafael Devers

Say what you want about Devers. Two years ago, everyone was kissing his feet. I’d still kiss his feet, given the opportunity, as a thank you for everything he did in Boston.

I have my feelings on who ruined Rafael Devers. Thankfully, that person is no longer with the organization either.

2B - Vaughn Grissom

At first glance, I thought, “Well, this is a stretch.” Then I remembered that Anthony Seigler (Who?) is playing 2B against the Yankees today.

SS - Xander Bogaerts

If I were to kiss Rafael Devers feet, you can only imagine what I would do for Xander Bogaerts. It is a travesty that he is wasting away in San Diego.

3B - Alex Bregman

Full disclosure, I wanted to put Blaze Jordan here. However, there are Red Sox fans on X that will try to ruin my life if I don’t mention how amazing Alex Bregman was to Boston.

LF - Andrew Benintendi

When I was a young man, I wrote a letter to Andrew Benintendi. It isn’t weird because we are the same age, and I did get a reply. It was from his agent at the time, who told me Andrew was on vacation, but that he would write back as soon as possible.

A month later, reports surfaced accusing the agent of installing cameras in his shower to record his clients.

I never got that letter from Andrew Benintendi.

I live with that every day.

CF - Braden Montgomery

Braden Montgomery was drafted in the first MLB Draft, which I actually sat and watched start to finish.

Never got to see him do anything with the Red Sox, as he was traded away for Garrett Crochet.

RF - Mookie Betts

I know what you are thinking.

“Why isn’t Alex Verdugo in this spot?”

Unfortunately, Alex had surgery and is not on any active roster. Don’t worry, the second he starts playing again, I will launch Mookie Betts into the sun.

DH - Kyle Schwarber

No comment.

SP - Chris Sale

It isn’t that the Red Sox's pitching is bad right now.

It’s just that Chris Sale is better.

SP - Kyle Harrison

I am fully convinced that Kyle Harrison had no desire to play for Boston. He self-sabotaged himself so that he could get traded. It is the only explanation for how he got so good immediately after he left.

Right?

SP - Nathan Eovaldi

Nathan should have been kept in Boston until he died for what he did in 2018. The biggest trend on this list is loyalty. If the Red Sox threw analytics and business to the side and just were loyal to their players, they would have a World Series-contending team still.

SP - Eduardo Rodriguez

Again, loyalty.

SP - Michael Wacha

If I am being honest, I totally forgot that Wacha played for the Red Sox.

That being said, he has averaged 2.6 bWAR a year since leaving.

CP - Kenley Jansen

Yeah, give me Chapman over this guy every day of the week.

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Overall Takeaway

This is my first Red Sox series review in a few weeks. I strongly believe that if you are not sitting and watching the games, you shouldn’t be writing about them. I have watched the games over the last two weeks, but I have missed a few in each series, and I wanted to stay true to my morals.

However, my schedule is now officially free for the next two and a half months, so I have nothing stopping me from watching all the games. I made sure on Monday to get everything done so I could sit and take it all in. Immediately was thrown into negativity city.

Yes, them blowing a game in the 9th against one of the worst teams in baseball stinks. But they are also one of the worst teams in baseball right now, so does it really matter. I began taking screenshotting all the negative things the “Red Sox Content Creators” have been posting over the last month. I had to move it to my laptop because my phone storage began to run out. However, like last year, I find it exhausting being on X and other social media platforms and just having this negativity thrown down my throat by people who claim to be super fans.

I will be working on a blog tomorrow that lays out the Red Sox second half schedule and if there is any world they could make a run for the playoffs. I will then decide who I feel should be traded away.

Go Sox.

Game 1: Rockies 3-2

Game 2: Red Sox 5-2

Game 3: Rockies 8-6

What I Loved

• Ranger Suarez/ Sonny Gray/ Jake Bennett

  • Not the first time all three starters pitched great in a series, and won’t be the last. The pitching for the Red Sox has been the lone true bright spot of this season. When looking at the run differential in the American League, I was shocked to see Boston at only -5. Then I remembered how truly bad their offense is.

  • For Suarez, it is four straight starts going at least five innings and giving up three runs or less. Sonny Gray has not given up more than three runs in a start since APRIL 14th.

  

  

• Connor Wong

  • I can’t believe Wong hit his first home run since 2024.

  • I can’t believe Wong is still getting at bats in 2026.

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • Made the game worth watching on Wednesday.

  • I accidently put him in the “bust” section in my latest blog about early contract extensions. I really need to change that before Sox fans start going down my throat.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Having To Watch Andruw Montaserio

  • Super happy he got a home run on Wednesday. The team can take any offense. However, having to watch three straight days of Andruw consistently playing made me depressed. Nothing against him personally, I just thought the team would be a different place.

• Marcelo Mayer

  • It is really dissapointing to see the only member of the “Big Three” left in the majors struggling. I try and give him the benefit of the doubt. He has been hurt, sick, and distracted by his girlfriend. We have all been there. He also was thrown around the infield by Cora and Tracy over the last year. Bryce Eldridge had a great quote today about how playing everyday is the only way to get comfortable and deliver. Boston should take notes.

What I Didn’t Love

• Roman Anthony News

  • First, it was day-to-day, then a few weeks, then 6-8 weeks; now it seems to be season-ending.

• Aroldis Chapman Implosion Monday

  • First time in a Boston uniform that he was unable to record an out. Probably doesn’t hurt his trade value, but doesn’t go towards his 40 innings needed for his option to kick in. Did he self-sabotage?

  

• Caleb Durbin Sliding Into Home

  • Maybe Caleb’s private trainers can fill him in on the analytics of sliding into first base. (Spoiler: It doesn’t work.)

Who Got Screwed

• Willson Contreras’ Helmet

  • Rumors of off the field issues for Willson. He seemed to take it out on his helmet yesterday.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Ever wonder why so many of baseball’s greatest players were signing autographs and doing appearances up until they were on their deathbed? It’s because they made no money.

• Ted Williams: $1.5 million career earnings

• Hank Aaron: $2.1 million career earnings

• Willie Mays: $1.15 million career earnings

• Joe DiMaggio: $700,000 career earnings

• Babe Ruth: $856,000 career earnings

Even adjusted for inflation and taking into account all their other earnings, the combined net worths of just those five players at the time of their deaths were around $100 million. Over half of that comes from DiMaggio being the face of Mr. Coffee.

Then, in 1973, arbitration was introduced, with free agency following soon after, and over the last 50 years, players have been making more and more money.

Now? We have entered a new chapter.

Since 2018, MLB clubs have increasingly leaned into one of the most aggressive roster-building strategies in the sport: signing young players to long-term extensions before arbitration, buying out all of their arb years, and often pushing free agency into their late 20s or early 30s.

This is the world of Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Julio Rodríguez, Corbin Carroll, Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Merrill, Roman Anthony, Jackson Chourio, Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela, and a growing list of players who signed away the traditional arbitration path before they ever had to go year-to-year with their teams.

And honestly? It’s a pretty mixed bag for the teams shelling out the money.

What These Deals Actually Are

Before getting into the names, let’s explain what is going on.

Under normal MLB rules, a player is generally under team control for six seasons. The first three are usually pre-arbitration years, during which the player earns close to league minimum. The next three are arbitration years, where his salary can climb quickly based on performance.

After that, he reaches free agency.

These extensions change that path.

Instead of waiting for arbitration, the team says:

“We’ll give you life-changing guaranteed money right now. In exchange, we get cost certainty, your arbitration years, and at least one or two free-agent seasons.”

The player gets security.

The team gets upside.

And if the player turns into a superstar, the team may have just saved itself tens — or even hundreds — of millions of dollars.

But if the player doesn’t pan out…. Well, these are billionaires, so who really cares?

The Acuña-Albies Blueprint

The modern version of this trend really started with the Braves.

In April 2019, the Braves signed Ronald Acuña Jr. to an eight-year, $100 million extension. At the time, Acuña was only 21 years old and had less than a full year of MLB service time. Albeit a Rookie of the Year's worth of service time.

The deal bought out his pre-arb years, all of his arbitration years, and multiple free-agent seasons. It also included club options for 2027 and 2028, meaning Atlanta could potentially control Acuña through his age-30 season. Which they will.

At the time, $100 million for a 21-year-old looked massive.

In hindsight, it became one of the most team-friendly contracts in baseball history. Acuna has already produced almost $200 million worth of value, and that doesn’t take into account the World Series and his MVP.

Just days after signing Ronald, they signed Ozzie Albies to a seven-year, $35 million extension. That one became even more controversial. Albies was already an All-Star-caliber second baseman, and Atlanta locked him up for an incredibly low guarantee with two club options attached.

Those two contracts became the template.

Not because every future deal would be that cheap — the market eventually corrected — but because teams saw the larger idea:

If you believe in a player early enough, you can buy their prime years before the market fully prices them in. And players have no problem locking up tens of millions of dollars.

The First Wave: Teams Testing the Market

From 2018 through 2020, teams started experimenting with this model more aggressively.

Some deals were attached to players who had barely played in the majors. Others were signed before the player even debuted.

The early group included:

This group is fascinating because it shows both sides of the risk.

Acuña and Albies became enormous wins for Atlanta.

Luis Robert Jr., when healthy, looked like exactly the kind of player this model is designed for.

But Scott Kingery and Evan White also showed the danger. These deals are not automatic wins. If the player does not develop, gets hurt, or simply never becomes the player the team thought it was buying, the club is stuck with a guaranteed contract for a player who might not produce enough value.

That is the tradeoff.

Then the Numbers Got Bigger

Once teams got comfortable with the concept, and the Braves won a World Series, the money started climbing.

That is how we got deals like:

This is where the trend changed.

The early deals were mostly team-friendly gambles. But by the time we get to Tatis, Julio, Carroll, Witt, and Chourio, these are no longer small bets. These are franchise-shaping decisions.

The Padres looked at Tatis and said, “This is our guy for the next decade-plus.” Then he got ringworm and drove a motorcycle

The Mariners looked at Julio and built one of the most complicated young-star contracts ever. (It could end up being like 17 years and over $400 million. It won’t, but it could, and it’s confusing.)

That Witt deal is especially interesting because it is one of the more player-friendly contracts in this category. It includes player opt-outs and gives Witt far more flexibility than a traditional team-control extension.

Players and agents saw what happened with Acuña and Albies. They were not going to keep giving teams the same level of discount forever.

The Prospect Extension Era Is Here

In the last two years, these contracts have exploded. You still have your Merrills and PCA’s who sign after showing some promise, but now guys just sign before getting a single at-bat.

Recent examples include:

The cheapest contract here, Luis Lara, is more than Albies signed for. Keep in mind, Albies was already an All-Star. Lara is still in the minors.

It is WAY too early to make any determination on these contracts.

What Are The Results Of All These Deals

Frankly, it is a mixed bag right now for the teams that have committed to their young players early. I will break it down into three categories. Worked, So Far So Good, Bombed, Jury Still Out.

I added a few players (Bello, Greene, Keith, Hayes, Franco), that I did not reference in the work above.

Worked:

• Ronald Acuña Jr.

• Ketel Marte (Sort of)

  • His initial contract did.

• Ozzie Albies (He got robbed)

So Far So Good:

• Julio Rodriguez

• Corbin Carroll

• Jackson Chourio

• Bobby Witt Jr

• Pete Crow-Armstrong

• Kevin McGonigle

Bombed:

• Scott Kingery

• Eloy Jimenez

• Evan White

• Luis Robert Jr

• Ceddanne Rafaela

• Kristian Campbell

• Brayan Bello

• Ke’Bryan Hayes

• Wander Franco (Duh)

Jury Still Out:

• Fernando Tatis Jr (Go look at it and come back)

• Roman Anthony

• Ezequel Tovar

• Michael Harris II (Leaning towards worked)

• Spencer Strider (Was great, now isn’t)

• Samuel Basallo

• Jacob Wilson

• Colt Emerson

• Konnor Griffin

• Luis Lara

• Cooper Pratt

• Lawrence Butler

• Jackson Merrill

• Hunter Greene

• Colt Keith

The two top prospects in baseball were Jackson Holliday and Jackson Chourio; the 12th-best prospect was Jackson Merrill, and the 25th-best prospect was Jackson Jobe. However, the title of this blog is The Three Jacksons, so we are going to pretend like Jackson Jobe doesn’t exist.

All three franchises believed they had their cornerstone for the next decade. Two of them went and locked their men up (go look at the Chourio deal, it’s hilarious.)

After two years, I think we have enough of a sample size to play an appropriate game of F-K-M, that is, kid-friendly, of course. The three categories will be Firm Handshake, Kick Into The Sun, and Marry.

To be clear, this is strictly based on what they are doing on the field, nothing else.

Firm Handshake: Jackson Merrill

Over 341 career games, Merrill has posted a .265 batting average, .313 OBP, and .455 slugging percentage (.767 OPS). In his 1,262 at-bats, he's tallied 335 hits, 48 home runs, 187 RBIs, 168 runs scored, and 29 stolen bases, accumulating 7.9 WAR.

Merrill came out of the gates hot and ended up in the Top 10 of MVP voting in 2024. He had no chance of winning Rookie of the Year with Paul Skenes making his debut, but San Diego thought they had a perennial MVP candidate on their hands.

Then, well, 2025 happened, and Jackson battled injuries, playing only 115 games. He was still productive, and many gave him the benefit of the doubt coming into 2026. So far, he has regressed more and really started to make men like me wonder what his future holds.

San Diego has him locked up through 2035 on a non-crippling deal.

Right now, I am keeping Jackson as a firm handshake. I will hold the handshake long enough for him to know that there could be a future between us.

Kick Into The Sun: Jackson Holliday

Through 236 career games, Holliday owns a .227 batting average, .298 OBP, and .363 slugging percentage (.662 OPS). In 856 at-bats, he’s collected 194 hits, 26 home runs, 90 RBIs, 111 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases, good for 0.8 WAR.

When Holliday debuted a few years ago, I was genuinely excited. Thankfully for me, he debuted against the Red Sox, so I didn’t have to change the channel to see his debut. If you remember that series, he wasn’t great. Offensively, he was chasing; defensively, he was all over the place, and you could tell that Fenway was eating him up. Frankly, it seems he never broke out of that funk. He had an abysmal April and didn’t improve much when he returned later in the summer.

In 2025, he was “eh”. Better against righties, still couldn’t do anything against lefties, and battled some injuries. Started 2026 on the IL after hamate surgery, so his sample size right now is too small to judge.

Baltimore is the one team on this list that did not lock up Jackson in a long-term deal. They are looking pretty bright right now for that.

At the moment, I have to throw Holliday into the sun. His defense is bad; he can’t run the bases; his offense is bad; and he was by far the most hyped prospect.

Marry: Jackson Chourio

In 317 career games, Chourio is slashing .277/.323/.476 with a .799 OPS. Across 1,240 at-bats, he has racked up 343 hits, 52 homers, 185 RBIs, 196 runs scored, and 48 stolen bases, matching Merrill with a 7.9 WAR.

Chourio started his career with consecutive 20/20 seasons. His 2024 was good, but it was a good bit behind Merrill’s. Now, if you are looking at their career numbers, they are pretty freaking close. But what gives Chourio the edge is that he has consistently gotten better over the last three years. Whereas Merrill has regressed and Holliday never existed, Chourio took the adjustments pitchers made for him and actually countered them.

I know I said I am only taking on the field performance into account here, but sometimes you have to think about the money. Milwaukee can have him locked up until 2033 for pennies on the dollar. His 8-year $80 million deal is highway robbery.

I feel pretty confident in marrying Chourio. Yes, once in a while, I might see Merrrill and think what could have been. However, right now, I have to go with the younger, faster, more well-rounded man.

As a Red Sox fan, I was feeling some type of way last season when I saw the Red Sox had the top farm system according to Baseball America.

Now it is May, and I want to jump off the Green Monster (figuratively).

So, I went back and looked at all the top systems since 2010, and well, it didn’t make me feel much better.

Now, if this is too long and you don’t feel like reading, I will give you a quick bullet list of teams that ended up winning the World Series within a 5-year window of having the top farm system.

• Kansas City Royals (2011 #1 System): Won the World Series in 2015

• Chicago Cubs (2015 #1 System): Won the World Series in 2016.

• Los Angeles Dodgers (2016 #1 System): Won the World Series in 2020.

• Atlanta Braves (2017 & 2018 #1 System): Won the World Series in 2021.

Of those four teams, only two of them are still reaping the rewards of their great farm system. That would be the Braves and the Dodgers. So, in short, the last 16 teams with the top farm system: four won the World Series, two had prolonged success, and 12 are just eh.

2010

#1 Farm System: Tampa Bay Rays
Top Prospect: Desmond Jennings, OF

What Happened?

The Rays being here should not surprise anyone. Tampa Bay has basically been running a baseball laboratory for two decades while the rest of the league argues about whether their payroll is legal.

The 2010 Rays system was loaded with names like Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Davis, and Matt Moore. That is a very Rays group: one highly ranked outfielder, a bunch of arms, and enough depth to make you feel like they were about to invent another 89-win season out of duct tape and scouting reports.

Jennings had moments, but he never became the franchise-changing star some expected. Hellickson won AL Rookie of the Year in 2011. Wade Davis eventually became an elite reliever, though his best years came in Kansas City.

The Rays stayed competitive. They won the AL East in 2010 and remained annoying in the exact way the Rays always remain annoying. But this group did not deliver a World Series title to Tampa Bay.

It was a good system. It produced real big leaguers. It helped keep the Rays machine moving.

2011

#1 Farm System: Kansas City Royals
Top Prospect: Eric Hosmer, 1B

What Happened?

This is one of the best examples of prospect hype actually turning into something real.

The Royals had Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy, Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Mike Montgomery.

Hosmer became a key piece. Moustakas became a key piece. Salvy became the face of the franchise. Duffy helped the pitching staff. Wil Myers was eventually traded in the James Shields deal. While Shield was good for the Royals, he would not get a ring with the team.

Kansas City won the AL pennant in 2014, lost a Game 7 heartbreaker to Madison Bumgarner and the Giants, then came back in 2015 and finished the job.

2012

#1 Farm System: San Diego Padres
Top Prospect: Yonder Alonso, 1B

What Happened?

The Padres had the shiny farm system.

Yonder Alonso became a useful major leaguer, but he was never a franchise-changing bat. Yasmani Grandal was part of this group and became a valuable player, though most of his best years came elsewhere. San Diego had talent, but the system never turned into the core of a real contender.

In terms of not production, this is probably the worst system on this list.

2013

#1 Farm System: St. Louis Cardinals
Top Prospect: Oscar Taveras, OF

What Happened?

Oscar Taveras was one of the most exciting young hitters in baseball. He looked like the next great Cardinals bat, the type of player who could extend an already-successful St. Louis era and give them another middle-of-the-order monster.

Then tragedy hit.

Taveras died in a car crash in 2014 at just 22 years old.

So the normal “did the prospect pan out?” conversation does not really apply here. Baseball-wise, the Cardinals still got value from that era of talent. They remained competitive, reached the 2014 NLCS, won 100 games in 2015, and did not have a losing season until 2023.

The prospect who went on to have the best career would be Michael Wacha, who was their #6 prospect that year.

2014

#1 Farm System: Pittsburgh Pirates
Top Prospect: Gregory Polanco, OF

What Happened?

Gregory Polanco was the headliner, Jameson Taillon was #2, Tyler Glasnow was #3, Austin Meadows was #4, and Josh Bell was #6. And down near the bottom was Clay Holmes at #16.

This might come as a surprise to some Gen Z TikTok boys, but the Pirates had a brief window when they were pretty damn good. From 2013 to 2015, the Pirates made the playoffs and won over 88 games each season. Andrew McCutchen was in his prime, and the farm system was deep. Pirates fans saw a dynasty incoming.

Polanco had flashes but never became the star people hoped for. Taillon became a solid starter but had to battle major health issues. Glasnow never put it together with the Pirates and would go on to find his form with the Rays; the same goes for Austin Meadows. That trade for Chris Archer doesn’t get talked about enough.

2015

#1 Farm System: Chicago Cubs
Top Prospect: Kris Bryant, 3B

What Happened?

This is the cleanest “yes, the farm system mattered” example. There are some freaking names on this list.

Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber, Gleyber Torres, Eloy Jimenez, Jeimer Candelario, Daniel Vogelbach, Justin Steele, Dylan Cease, and Paul Blackburn.

Kris Bryant became NL Rookie of the Year in 2015, then NL MVP in 2016. Kyle Schwarber became a postseason folk hero. Addison Russell, despite everything that came later, was part of the on-field core. Torres was flipped for Chapman and we all know what came next.

And then, of course, 2016 happened.

2016

#1 Farm System: Los Angeles Dodgers
Top Prospect: Corey Seager, SS

What Happened?

Corey Seager became the NL Rookie of the Year in 2016, turned into one of the best shortstops in baseball, and eventually won World Series MVP in 2020 when the Dodgers finally captured their first championship since 1988.

There were some other significant names who either helped in the World Series or were traded away for pieces that played a role.

Julio Urias, Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas, Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo, Walker Buehler, Austin Barnes, Ross Stripling, and Kyle Farmer stand out.

2017 and 2018

#1 Farm System: Atlanta Braves
Top Prospect: Dansby Swanson, SS

What Happened?

The Braves are another clear success story and one of four teams on this list to appear twice. Both 2017 and 2018 saw them atop the rankings.

Dansby Swanson was the top name entering 2017, but the real strength of this system was the wave behind him. Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr, Max Fried, Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson, Sean Newcomb, and Austin Riley were coming.

Outside of 2025, the team has not had a losing season since it went 72-90 in 2017. Of course, that includes their World Series in 2021.

2019

#1 Farm System: San Diego Padres
Top Prospect: Fernando Tatis Jr., SS

What Happened?

This system produced a superstar, and well, that is about it. Fernando Tatis Jr. is the only name from that year who would go on to become a star.

MacKenzie Gore, Luis Urías, Francisco Mejía, Chris Paddack, Adrian Morejon, Michel Báez, and Luis Patiño rounded out the top prospects. Gore is the biggest name here, and he had his best years with the Nationals after the Soto trade.

Compared to 2012, this farm system at least led to some success. From 2020 to 2025, the Padres only had one losing season.

2020 and 2021

#1 Farm System: Tampa Bay Rays
Top Prospect: Wander Franco, SS

What Happened?

It should come as no surprise that the 2020 and 2021 top farm systems were the same. There wasn’t much minor league ball in 2020, and the draft was shortened.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. Wander Franco was the top prospect in both of these seasons. Yeah, he was really freaking good, but he is a terrible human being (allegedly).

Outside of that, there were some studs on these lists. Xavier Edwards, Shane Baz, Shane McClanahan, Joe Ryan, Josh Lowe, Randy Arozarena, and Taj Bradley, to name a few.

And in the short term, the Rays had some success. They won 100 games in 2021 and would go on to make the Wild Card in 2022 and 2023. They didn’t win a series and actually only won a single game, but that is more than a lot of teams on this list.

If the Rays go and win a World Series this year (I don’t think they will), it will not be because of this farm system.

2022

#1 Farm System: Seattle Mariners
Top Prospect: Julio Rodríguez, OF

What Happened?

While there is no World Series yet, this farm system has led directly to Seattle breaking their playoff drought.

Julio Rodriguez, George Kirby, Noelvi Marte, Emerson Hancock, Lazaro Montes, Edwin Arroyo, Bryce Miller, and a few other solid names have either directly contributed or been moved for important pieces.

The Mariners have not won the American League. They have not won a World Series. But this system has absolutely mattered.

2023 and 2024

#1 Farm System: Baltimore Orioles
Top Prospect: Gunnar Henderson, 3B/SS (2023), Jackson Holliday, SS (2024)

What Happened?

The Orioles were the rebuilding team everyone had been waiting on.

And are still waiting on. Let’s go over the names here across the two seasons.

Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall, Connor Norby, Joey Ortiz, Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, Samuel Basallo, Enrique Bradfield Jr, Cade Povich, and many more.

This is the only example on this list where maybe their farm system was TOO good. The Orioles didn’t seem to know what to do with all these guys and initially did not want to move any.

Their big league squad was performing superbly. 101 wins in 2023 and 91 wins in 2024 with all of this youth movement incoming? The sky was the limit.

Then they went 75-87 in 2025, were marred with injuries, and realized they should have moved a few of those names a year or two ago.

If they don’t see a World Series in the next three years, an argument can be made that this is the biggest farm system disaster in recent memory.

2025

#1 Farm System: Boston Red Sox
Top Prospect: Roman Anthony, OF

What Happened?

I almost feel dirty speaking poorly about a farm system this young.

Right now, everything looks like a disaster. Roman Anthony is hurt, Kristian Campbell is lost, Marcelo Mayer is eh.

Now, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle have looked great, so that is a big positive. Franklian Arias has also developed into the #3 prospect in all of MLB.

Overall Takeaway

Every time you think they are about to do something special, you get your heart ripped out. Tuesday’s game, I hid an AirPods and listened to the game on the radio. Like every good husband in America, I have been locked into the Summer House Reunion for the past two weeks. I am told I need to be on Team Kyle and Ciara, but frankly, they all seem like terrible people.

Kind of like the people around Fenway Park, if you asked Isiah Kiner-Falafel (purposely misspelled his name)

But yeah, according to IKF, one of the reasons the Red Sox are so bad at Fenway (1-20 if they give up more than 3 runs and 10-21 overall) is the distractions around the stadium. Team is totally fine….

Game 1: Orioles 4-2

Game 2: Red Sox 8-1

Game 3: Orioles 8-2

What I Loved

• Payton Tolle

  • Ace? Yes.

    • Everything Tolle has done so far is impressive. The most impressive number for me thus far? The 2.66 FIP. That would be in the Top 10 for qualified pitchers, right, with Skenes.

      

• Caleb Durbin

  • Batting .357 with a .952 over his last seven games. I will talk more about his new hitting coach at the bottom, but it is clear now that some sort of tweak is working for him. Durbin went from about to be defenestrated to "alright, we can deal with that.”

• Ceddanne Rafaela

  • Rafaela is quietly having the best offensive season of his career. Got a hit every game this series, striking out better than his career average, and is walking more than he ever has.

• Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras

  • Homers from both as they continue to be the only two guys on offense who you could vote for the All-Star game and not be completely biased.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Connelly Early

  • Putting Connelly in “mid” again this week. The home run ball has been his kryptonite. Over his last five starts, he has given up two home runs in three of those games. The two he didn’t give up any bombs? Both had 7 shut-out innings.

What I Didn’t Love

• Brayan Bello

  • Chad Tracy gave a press conference where he laid it out on the line and said that Bello is a starter and he needs to start. Fact of the matter is, he is one of the worst, if not the worst, pitchers in baseball when he is starting. Looking at all the pitching talent that has walked out of Boston over the last few years, this is starting to raise some eyebrows. I am not sounding the alarm just yet. Early and Tolle are great. However, you have to imagine that ownership/Theo is starting to question what is going on.

  • I also think the team seriously has to consider sending him to the minors to get right.

Who Got Screwed

• John Soteropulos

  • Watched an interview with John on the pregame today, and he seems like a happy-go-lucky guy. So, I want to emphasize that this is not an attack on him.

  • It is starting to look comical how quickly Caleb Durbin has turned it around since going and seeing the hitting coach out in Waltham. Tons of players do stuff like this, so it isn’t unheard of, but Caleb had the worst wRC+ in all MLB then immediately went on a hot streak.

  • IT IS A BAD LOOK. No one should want their players to drive an hour outside the city before every home game to work on their swing.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Overall Takeaway

Well, that was as miserable as the weather this weekend. Everytime Boston seemed to get into the games they immediately gave up the lead. Then right when you think they might make a come back, they are swinging on the first pitch, or sending CONNOR WONG TO HOME PLATE WITH ONE OUT.

I think the biggest statistical takeaway from this weekend is the team is 6th in hits, 2nd in doubles, T-1st in triples, and dead last in runs, OPS, HR, and SLG. They just do not know how to hit with runners on base.

Now time to play the best team in baseball. Yay.

Game 1: Twins 8-6

Game 2: Twins 4-2

Game 3: Twins 6-5

What I Loved

• Masataka Yoshida

  • Was sad to see Masataka’s interview Sunday morning where it was clear that he is frustrated with the inconsistent play he has received in his Boston tenure. I mostly chalk that up to Alex Cora being the king of tinerking lineups.

  • Was happy to see him finally hit a home run Sunday. I truly hope they give him consistent playing time, if not let him free.

• Marcelo Mayer At SS

  • Still a lot to be desired offensively. Dave O’Brien pointed it out early in the game that he hopes being at one position will help him get into an offensive flow as well. This is something I was preaching from the roof tops last year with both Mayer and Kristian Campbell. We saw what happened with Kristian Campbell, let’s hope that doesn’t happen with Mayer.

• Wilsson Contreras

  • Eight game hitting streak with seven extra base hits mixed in. He is the heart and soul of the team here in 2026. Which in itself is kind of sad.

• Payton Tolle

  • Another quality start for Tolle. His ERA actually rose to 2.46 on the season.

    

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Brayan Bello

  • I suppose Bryan Bello wasn’t terrible on Saturday, ignore the score on the top right we are tweaking that, but I can’t get behind the fact that he needs an opener to be mediocore. The numbers are kind of nuts and aren’t sustainable.

    • As a starter: 9.68 ERA through 30.2 IP
      As reliever: 0.98 ERA through 18.1 IP

      

What I Didn’t Love

• Bullpen and Defense

  • Last series, I pointed out how great the bullpen had been over the last few weeks. Well, this series was a little different. Five runs on Friday, two on Saturday, and three more Sunday. On the defensive side, there were four errors across the series, and frankly could have been more. For as great as Willson Contreras has been that bobble at home plate killed them Friday.

• The Offense

  • They are sixth in the American League in hits and dead last in OPS, HR, Runs, and SLG. Need a generational turn around.

• Home Record

  • The Red Sox have the worst home record of any team in baseball. The Colorado Rockies are better. Have fun going to sleep knowing that.

Who Got Screwed

• Tyler Samaniego

  • I understand he has options, so he gets the short end of the stick. However, 1.04 ERA over 17 innings isn’t easy to replace. Hoping to see him again soon.

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Overall Takeaway

SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP. TWO GAMES OUT OF WILD CARD. POP THE TOPS.

In all seriousness, it was very refreshing to watch the Red Sox play complete baseball this series. Their offense began to click, their pitching was superb, and their defense was, well, pretty good.

All the success this series has had distracted us from the fact that Roman Anthony is still not feeling right. This team has no chance long-term if he is not right. Cherish the series, take a day off, and go take care of business against the Twins at Fenway.

Game 1: Red Sox 3-1

Game 2: Red Sox 7-1

Game 3: Red Sox 4-3

What I Loved

• Sonny Gray

  • Next to Duran’s Game 3, I would give Gray the MVP of the series. He did a superb job mixing his fastball, cutter, sweeper, and curveball. His nine strikeouts are the most so far in a Red Sox uniform.

    

• Willson Contreras

  • Feels like Contreras is hitting a home run every series. Now has 10 on the season with a .866 OPS.

• Jarren Duran

  • Got on base twice in Game 1, which started off the series on a positive note. Padded the lead in Game 2 with a 3-run home run in the 9th inning, and was the player of the game tonight with another home run, a triple in the 9th, and some great defensive plays.

• BULLPEN

  • Bullpen currently has the 2nd-best ERA of any group in MLB. They also rank Top 5 in BAA, WHIP, K/9, and IP.

• Connely Early

  • The home run ball has been a major problem for Early over the last few weeks. He did not allow a home run in his first eight career starts. Well, over the last seven, he has allowed 8 HR, including two tonight. Lucky for Early, most of these bombs have been solo shots, but how long will that last?

    

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Ranger Suarez

  • Unfortunately, Suarez was pulled in the 5th inning after giving up one run, but issuing three walks. Suarez still has an insane 1.12 ERA over his last seven starts. Not enough credit is being given to the Front Office for this move.

• Masataka Yoshida

  • I have been beating the drum for Masa more than anyone. He has not beaten the drum in return. Over the last seven games, he has been batting .176 with only one RBI and no home runs. Got a few hits in this series, but needs to do a lot to get himself in the lineup consistently.

• Caleb Durbin

  • I understand that he is a ++ defender. However, he is a bottom-10 hitter in all of baseball at the moment. Sat a lot over the last couple of days against righties.

What I Didn’t Love

• Nothing

  • I have not gotten the chance to put anything in this section yet in 2026. So, I am taking advantage of a series sweep. ( I secretly don’t love IKF, but I am not saying that right now.)

Stat Soldier Score Cards

Game 1:

Game 2

Game 3:

Overall Takeaway

Let’s focus on the positives for a moment. The Red Sox starting pitching has been some of the best in baseball the last few weeks, and that is without Garrett Crochet. They stole a win from one of the best teams in baseball, and dragged them to extras on Friday. Even with the lost series, the team is still within three games of a Wild Card spot (which is insane).

Alright now the negative. This might be the most frustrating Boston offensive I have ever watched. The only thing giving me life is that they are still in the playoffs race and Roman Anthony has shown zero signs of life. Once he does, the team will roll with him.

Game 1: Braves 3-2

Game 2: Red Sox 3-2

Game 3: Braves 8-1

What I Loved

• Payton Tolle

  • Tolle had the longest outing of his career on Saturday and has now put together four great starts in his first five games of the year.

  

• Connely Early

  • Early’s start on Friday was not as good as his first outing, where he went seven and gave up zero runs, but it was one of the only bright spots this weekend. Home run ball hurt him as he gave up two solo shots.

• Aroldis Chapman

  • I know the video of him hugging teammates made headlines, but I am salivating at the package Boston could get for him at the deadline.

What I Was ‘Mid’ About

• Marcelo Mayer

  • A lot of talk right now about Mayer potentially moving to SS with Story hitting the IL. Personally, I think this is something that should have been done at the beginning of the season. He is very smooth right now on defense, and if he is going to be a cornerstone of the franchise. Offensively, he had a home run this weekend, but didn’t do much else outside that.

What I Didn’t Love

• Brayan Bello

  • Bello started to turn a corner once Tracy started putting an opener ahead of him. Then he started today's game and went back to his old ways.

• The Entire Offense

  • Just defenestrate the entire offense at this point. Maybe not Willson Contreras, but everyone else can go. They rank in the bottom 5 in almost every major offensive category, and worst of all don't have any energy. Need Kristian Campbell to figure it out (he hit a home run last week, yay.)

But don’t worry, you will still get a little taste of Red Sox on this list.

HOT HITTERS

Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies

Home Runs (HR): 5

Runs Batted In (RBI): 7

Batting Average (AVG): .258

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.055

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

Home Runs (HR): 4

Runs Batted In (RBI): 5

Batting Average (AVG): .429

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.568

Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers

Home Runs (HR): 4

Runs Batted In (RBI): 8

Batting Average (AVG): .417

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.357

Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 4

Batting Average (AVG): .391

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.310

Brandon Marsh, Philadelphia Phillies

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 3

Batting Average (AVG): .519

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.126

Josh Naylor, Seattle Mariners

Home Runs (HR): 1

Runs Batted In (RBI): 3

Batting Average (AVG): .458

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.126

Luke Raley, Seattle Mariners

Home Runs (HR): 3

Runs Batted In (RBI): 10

Batting Average (AVG): .300

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): 1.564

COLD HITTERS

Trevor Story, Boston Red Sox

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .160

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .392

Strikeouts (SO): 14

Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 4

Batting Average (AVG): .095

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .262

Strikeouts (SO): 8

Bo Bichette, New York Mets

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 1

Batting Average (AVG): .091

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .291

Strikeouts (SO): 1

Taylor Ward, Baltimore Orioles

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .053

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .472

Strikeouts (SO): 9

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

Home Runs (HR): 1

Runs Batted In (RBI): 2

Batting Average (AVG): .087

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .439

Strikeouts (SO): 10

Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 0

Batting Average (AVG): .125

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .389

Strikeouts (SO): 3

Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs

Home Runs (HR): 0

Runs Batted In (RBI): 1

Batting Average (AVG): .154

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS): .377

Strikeouts (SO): 3

Full disclosure, I have a Tai Peete Bowman 1st True Gold auto in a PSA 10. The PSA 10 of this card hasn't sold in a few months, but it’s probably in the $500 range. Cards like these, if the player is good, are very sought after. Kevin McGonigle’s version of this card just sold for over $12,000.

Tai Peete is not Kevin McGonigle…. Yet.

So, I will be doing weekly updates on Tai Peete’s progression this season, in hopes that he continues to improve, becomes Kevin McGongile, and helps me pay for a house. I will do this in the same format as my other blogs, but this one will be a little more in-depth since it's the first.

What You Need To Know

When the Cardinals traded Brendan Donovan, most of the attention understandably went towards him. Of course, for me, all I could think about was Tai Peete.

Now, a month into his first year with the Cardinals organization, Peete is starting to make his mark.

Peete is hitting .286 with a .919 OPS, and the power has shown up quickly. Four home runs in 98 at-bats may not sound ridiculous on its own, but when you add the extra-base impact, the run production, and the fact that he is walking at a higher clip than last year it seems like things are starting to come together.

What I Like

The first thing that stands out is the damage. Peete’s OPS is sitting at .919, and FanGraphs has him with a strong .272 ISO. He is doing real extra-base damage, and currently leads the Cardinals farm system with 14.

Second, he is currently hitting 70 points higher than he did in 2025. That is all patience and looking for the right pitches, which is evident by his BB/K numbers improving.

The third thing is, he is still 20 years old people. He started playing in the minors at 17 years old.

What I’m Watching

The obvious one: strikeouts.

FanGraphs has Peete at a 30.1% strikeout rate in its current 2026 minor league sample. He had a 30.6 % rate in 2025, and a 30.7 % rate in 2024. His BB% is the best it has ever been, so it does at least seem like he is being a little more patient.

Where He Stands Now

Every week I will show the changes from the previous week. For now, I will just list them.

• Average (AVG): .283

• On-Base Percentage (OBP): .359

• Slugging Percentage (SLG): .554

• OPS: .914

• Home Runs: 4

• RBI: 20

• SB: 4

See you next week.