Sánchez threw seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over San Diego on Wednesday, extending his streak to 44⅔ innings and shattering Grover Cleveland Alexander's 115-year-old Phillies record. He also broke Clayton Kershaw's Expansion-Era mark for left-handers (41 IP, 2014) and now holds the seventh-longest single-season scoreless streak in the Live Ball Era. The only bar left is Orel Hershiser's all-time record of 59 innings from 1988. Sánchez now owns a 1.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 95:16 K:BB ratio across 79.1 innings. The Phillies swept the Padres.
After 11 consecutive scoreless Triple-A innings and an MLB Pipeline rank of 41st overall, Gage Jump allowed four runs on nine hits in five innings in Tuesday's debut. He did strike out five and threw strikes on 58 of 88 pitches — the Mariners simply put the barrel on his heater. Jump took the loss in Oakland's 4-1 defeat.
Mets called up 21-year-old shortstop A.J. Ewing for his MLB debut this week. In Triple-A across 2025-26, Ewing stole 87 bases in 154 games with a .412 xwOBA and 9.8% strikeout rate — elite speed with genuine plate discipline. He joins Henry Bolte (OAK, debuted May 13), Colt Emerson (SEA, debuted May 17), and Jackson Holliday (BAL, returned May 19) as part of a prospect wave reshaping waiver wires across the league.
Will Vest gave up a go-ahead grand slam to Vaughn Grissom in the eighth inning, turning a 6-4 Tigers lead into a 10-6 Angels loss. Detroit runs a committee involving Vest, Kyle Finnegan, and others — but three blown saves in five games is pushing ownership toward the exit. Tarik Skubal and Javier Báez are also on the IL, thinning the roster further heading into a home series with the Angels.
Who's Hot This Week
Bolte debuted May 13 and slid directly into an everyday center-field role. In Triple-A this spring he slashed .348/.418/.658 with 12 home runs and 17 steals in just 37 games — one of the most explosive minor-league lines of the season. At 22 with 80-grade speed, the floor is a .280 average with 15+ steals in a half season. Oakland's offense limits run and RBI upside, but the raw counting-stat tools are unmistakable. At 18% ownership, this is the quietest speed stash in baseball heading into the second half of Week 9.
Worth Reading
RotoBaller's mid-week update covers the newest callups hitting waivers — Ewing, Bolte, and updated add/drop advice around the prospect wave. Includes specific ownership percentages and FAAB bid suggestions for competitive formats.
Deep breakdown of Ewing and Bolte's minor-league profiles, role clarity at the MLB level, and which league sizes should be targeting each. Includes Triple-A slash lines, scouting grades, and positional eligibility timelines.
FantasyPros aggregates expert consensus on the week's top targets including Jackson Holliday's return from hamate surgery, updated ownership projections, and a useful second-check on bid sizing before Sunday's FAAB deadline.
Tweaked his left oblique during batting practice on May 26 and aggravated it the following day. Testing is pending to determine severity. The Dodgers are being cautious — obliques in position players frequently land on the IL once imaging is done. Expect a placement if scans show meaningful tearing.
On the IL with loose bodies in his left elbow. No return timeline has been given, and loose bodies in a pitcher's throwing elbow are inherently unpredictable — some require arthroscopic removal, others resolve with rest. Skubal has been the best pitcher in baseball for two seasons; this situation warrants holding even through the uncertainty.
Exited his May 25 start vs. Pittsburgh in the fifth inning with a left hamstring strain. Manager Schneider described it as mild and expects a return around the IL minimum, but pitchers and hamstrings are unpredictable — realistically target June 8 or later. Cease had been solid: 3.05 ERA, 92 K, 1.21 WHIP across 62 innings.
Has completed six rehab appearances across two minor-league levels (6 IP, 1 ER, 9 K) and is expected back in the first week of June. Bryan King has held the closer role with 4 saves and a clean ERA. The return timetable is firming — expect an activation announcement around June 2-7.
The premise of this FanGraphs piece is straightforward but striking: from 2025 to 2026, only six pitchers in baseball improved their K-BB% by more than Sánchez — and he was already the biggest breakout of 2025. Improving by nearly as much again, while sustaining those earlier gains, is essentially without recent precedent. The article places him alongside historically elite names in K-BB% improvement trajectories.
The mechanism of improvement runs through pitch sequencing and strategic deployment of his sinker. Sánchez now throws more sinkers to lefties and fewer to righties, unlocking his changeup — which has a pronounced reverse-split advantage — against right-handed hitters. His 6'6" frame and lower arm slot create natural crossbody deception, and three plus pitches (sinker, changeup, gyro slider) mean there's no obvious platoon weakness to exploit. The result is a 1.48 FIP against lefties and 2.08 FIP against righties — genuinely neutral in a way that SP1 arms almost always are.
The article does not shy away from the skeptic's case: his ERA has outpaced even his strong peripherals at times, and location-driven improvements historically carry more regression risk than pure stuff changes. But as of late May, the strand rate is sustainable, the BABIP is legitimate, and the 44⅔ consecutive scoreless innings have moved the burden of proof firmly to the doubters.
The May 27 Leverage Ledger featured Raisel Iglesias picking up his ninth save in Boston despite snapping a 28.1-inning scoreless streak in the process — held on for the one-run win. Will Vest's Tigers blew another lead earlier in the week (grand slam to Vaughn Grissom), adding to three blown saves in the past five games from a committee that shows no signs of stabilizing. The Cubs' 10-game losing streak has cut off all save opportunities for Daniel Palencia — he hasn't recorded a save since May 14.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanner Scott | LAD | 🟡 Watch | Edwin Díaz is out with elbow surgery until at least the second half. Scott has posted a 0.67 ERA with three May saves in 20 appearances and is getting the ninth-inning calls. The Dodgers haven't named him closer officially, but he's getting the opportunities. Monitor when Díaz's return timeline hardens — Scott's value depends on Díaz remaining sidelined. |
| Will Vest / Kyle Finnegan | DET | 🔴 Committee | Three blown saves in five games from a committee that has shown zero intention of clarifying roles. Vest (grand slam to Grissom), Finnegan, and others are all in the mix. Both are streaming-only in the current environment. Skubal's IL stint further destabilizes a bullpen that needed steadiness. |
| Bryan Baker | TB | 🟡 Watch | Baker has 14 saves and a clean ERA as Tampa's incumbent closer — but the Rays just signed Craig Kimbrel to a MLB deal off the Mets' DFA list. Kimbrel hasn't been given the role yet and Baker remains the man, but any dip in performance could accelerate the transition. Monitor Rays usage for the next 7-10 days. |
| Daniel Palencia | CHC | 🟡 Watch | Palencia is sharp and holds the Cubs' closer job — the problem is Chicago hasn't had a lead to protect during a 10-game losing streak. His last save was May 14. He's not losing the role; the Cubs are just not giving him the ball in the ninth. Hold if you have roster space; drop only if you're desperate. |
Official MLB channel posted full Phillies vs. Padres game highlights — the complete Cristopher Sánchez outing where he broke Grover Cleveland Alexander's 115-year-old record and extended his scoreless streak to 44⅔ innings in a 3-0 Phillies win.
Full game highlights from Braves 7, Red Sox 6 on May 27 — a late Braves rally in Boston that sets the stage for today's rematch (4:10 ET, Chris Sale on the hill for Atlanta).
Reds 7, Mets 2 full game highlights from May 27. Cincinnati's lineup came alive while the Mets' offense went quiet — key context for managers rostering New York hitters heading into today's slate.
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