Pitching Grips

Jerome Miron and Chadd Cady-Imagn Images I’ve been thinking a lot about the All-Star rosters this week. They’re not bad, but they’re weird, and missing many of the biggest names in the sport. That’s fine. There’s been heavy turnover atop the WAR leaderboards this year, as Ben Clemens pointed out last month , and that’s given us plenty of fresh storylines — many of which will be deservedly celebrated at the annual halftime show next week. Still, this feels like it must matter in some way beyond an exhibition. And so I scoured the rosters, looking for a narrative to drive. One thing I noticed is, of the top 25 batters projected by FanGraphs Depth Charts, 17 did not make an All-Star team. Of those, eight are in competitive races out west. Indeed, the stars have dimmed in the West. How these players perform after the break could determine the shape of the season still to come. The AL West Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez were each projected as top-five batters by WAR entering the sea...

Grady Emerson Photo: Brett Davis-Imagn Images MLB Draft 2026 What Do Real Prospects Think About MLB’s Draft Proposal? 2026 Mock Draft 1.0 The Biggest (Literally) Draft Class Yet Final 2026 MLB Draft Rankings Update Jackson Flora's Evolution, Alain Gomez's Incredible Journey, and Other Tales from the 2026 Draft Class 2026 Mock Draft 2.0: The Day Of Day One Draft Chat Day One Recap Draft Potpurri Here is my first mock draft of the year, compiled with rumors sourced from scouts, executives, agents, and sometimes educated guesses based on team/personnel tendencies from the recent past. If there is enough new information between now and the draft (there usually is), I’ll publish an updated mock on Saturday morning, before things fire off. You can find updated scouting reports and tool grades for over 100 players on The Board , including all of the players mocked below. I’ve hard-ranked all of the 40+ FV and above players, with the others currently grouped by...

2:00 Brendan Gawlowski : Hello everybody 2:00 Brendan Gawlowski : Eric and I are working furiously a T100 update and all manner of draft coverage. He’s running point on most things draft but I’m hammering away at college pitchers and we’ll both be in Philly to cover proceedings. 2:01 Brendan Gawlowski : For now, let’s chat. My goal for today is to spend more time on guys who generally do not get asked about. Y’all can help with this, of course. 2:01 wiguy94 : You asked me to check back in this week on Josiah Ragsdale and here I am. 2:01 Brendan Gawlowski : Good start! 2:02 Brendan Gawlowski : Stock way up. Good eye, measurable power is average, which is ahead of where it was in college and a good bit better than how it looked in his debut cameo last season. 2:02 Brendan Gawlowski : Open strider, low hands, which makes me wonder about plate coverage and high fastballs in the long run, hasn...