By Scott Barancik, Editor
What, you may wonder, is going on lately in the Majors, Minors, and independent and foreign leagues? Well, ask and ye shall receive. The latest news about Jewish ballplayers follows below.
Play ball!
MLB
3B Alex Bregman (Cubs) is heating up. Over six games through July 20, he hit .320 (8-for-25) with 3 HRs, a double, 8 RBIs, 3 walks, and a 1.113 OPS (7/21/2026)
RHP Dylan Cease (Blue Jays)—whose father is Jewish and who was on Israel’s preliminary roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic—started this year’s All-Star Game for the American League. He tossed a hitless inning with three strikeouts and a walk en route to a 4-0 victory over the National League. In a 2023 article in the Forward, Cease acknowledged his Jewish heritage but noted he did not “necessarily identify” as Jewish. According to author Bob Wechsler, RHP Steve Stone was the last Jewish pitcher to start an All-Star Game, representing the AL 46 years ago, in 1980. Stone, who went on to earn the AL Cy Young Award that season, tossed three perfect innings and struck out three. Before Stone, the only other known Jewish starter was LHP Sandy Koufax, who represented the NL in 1966, his final season. That year, he finished 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA, 27 complete games, a 0.985 WHIP, and 317 strikeouts (7/21/2026)
DH Joc Pederson and Jake Burger led the Rangers with 17 HRs apiece through July 20, though Pederson logged 84 fewer plate appearances. Pederson’s .827 OPS ranks third on the team. Since the All-Star Game, he has gone 5-for-11 with 2 HRs, a double, and 2 RBIs (7/21/2026)
Houston traded LHP Colton Gordon and RHP Lance McCullers Jr. to Milwaukee on July 15 in exchange for prospect Jadyn Fielder—son and grandson of former MLB stars Prince and Cecil Fielder, respectively—and cash. The deal ended Gordon’s six-year tenure with the Astros, who drafted him in the eighth round in 2021. It also came only days after Gordon earned his third Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week (July 6-12). At the time of the trade, Gordon ranked second in WHIP and third in walks-per-9-innings among all Pacific Coast League (AAA) pitchers with at least 40 innings. (Thanks to Ethel H. for these stats.) The Brewers assigned Gordon to Triple-A (7/21/2026)
Although no such Jew-for-Jew trade has been rumored, Bleacher Report suggested the Yankees could add power by dealing Triple-A pitchers Eric Reyzelman and Carlos Lagrange to the Athletics for IF/OF Zack Gelof (7/21/2026)
Talk about unexpected outcomes. RHP Max Lazar and C Garrett Stubbs each pitched one inning in Philadelphia’s 10-2 loss to Detroit on July 10, but Stubbs found more success. In the 7th inning, Lazar gave up 3 earned runs on 3 hits and one walk while striking out two. Stubbs relieved him in the 8th inning, needing just four pitches to retire the Tigers 1-2-3. His fastest pitch clocked in at a blazing 46 mph (7/21/2026)
A quick correction regarding C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies). A recent post about his roster spot claimed Stubbs had below-average sprint speed. JBN reader Ethel H. set us straight: as of July 19, the fan favorite’s peak s[eed of 26.6 feet per second ranked 29th out of 73 MLB catchers (7/21/2026)
Retired MLB All-Star and Gold Glove winner Ian Kinsler—who played for Israel in the 2020 Olympics and managed the team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic—is the proud dad of a champion. Jack Kinsler’s team won the USA Baseball Arizona 14U championship 10-1 on July 7, with Jack going 2-for-2 with two triples. “The challenge for Dad is trying to calm down, deliver the message, show it’s a learning moment, and that they can still have fun,” Ian told USA Baseball (7/21/2026)
If you want to know more about the late RF Richie Scheinblum, who hit .263 over an eight-year MLB career that ended in 1974, JBN reader Jeff F. recommends a 2008 article. Scheinblum, who lived in foster care until age 7, won the American Association MVP Award (Triple-A) in 1971 after hitting a league-record .388 (7/21/2026)
MINORS
RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/AA) is having quite a season. The third-year pro had eight saves through July 20, tied for second in the Texas League. Among league pitchers with at least 40 innings, his 2.03 ERA and 0.95 WHIP ranked second, while his 4.64 K/BB ratio ranked fourth (7/21/2026)
RHP Robert Stock (Mets/AAA), activated from the 60-day injured list on July 19, allowed one earned run on three hits and hit a batter over four innings with three strikeouts in his Triple-A season debut that day. The 36-year-old veteran previously struck out eight over 3.1 perfect innings in a High-A rehab start on July 10 (7/21/2026)
LHP Ryan Prager (Guardians/Single-A) allowed one earned run on four hits and a walk over five innings while striking out seven in a 4-1 win on July 18 against the Nationals’ first-place affiliate. In 13 games (4 starts) with the Hill City Howlers, the 2025 draftee is 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA. His 13.78 strikeouts per 9 innings ranks No. 4 among all Carolina League pitchers (min. 30 innings). Prager also was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for May 25-31 (7/21/2026)
RHP Noah Millikan (Nationals/Rookie) has dominated since signing a minor-league contract with Washington on May 23, going 4-1 with a 0.90 ERA, an opponents’ batting average of .163, and 36 strikeouts in 30 innings to earn a starting rotation spot on July 1. Millikan has excelled at every level since graduating from the U. of Pennsylvania in 2025. He began his pro career that year with the Oakland Ballers of the hitter-friendly Pioneer League, where he finished 7-1 with a 2.12 ERA (No. 3 in the league) in 14 starts, 96 strikeouts (No. 7) against just 12 walks, and a 0.91 WHIP. (Read more here.) Before joining Washington, he opened 2026 with the Winnipeg Goldeyes (American Association), throwing five scoreless innings in his sole start (7/21/2026)
LF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AAA) rebounded from a slow start with a strong May, hitting .297 with 4 HRs, 25 RBIs, and a .435 OBP that month. Unfortunately, the prospect hurt himself stealing second on June 3 and remains on the injured list (7/21/2026)
RHP Jacob Steinmetz (Diamondbacks/Single-A) returned July 3 after spending more than a month on the injured list. In three rehab starts—the first with Arizona’s rookie-league team, the latter two at Single-A—the 6-foot-5-inch Orthodox pitcher posted a 2.25 ERA across eight innings, allowing 5 hits and 4 walks while striking out 13 batters. Steinmetz missed all of 2025 due to injuries (7/21/2026)
RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/Single-A), just 19, leads the Florida State League with 87 strikeouts. A first-round draft pick in 2024, Sterling is 4-5 with a 4.67 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and a .217 opponents’ batting average. His finest start came July 12, when he allowed one earned run on 3 hits and no walks over 5 innings while striking out nine (7/21/2026)
July 9 was an auspicious day for professional baseball’s three Orthodox players: C Elie Kligman, 2B Zev Moore, and RHP Jacob Steinmetz. Kligman (State College Spikes) drew a bases-loaded walk in an 0-for-4 effort; Moore (Trenton Thunder) went 0-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and a steal; and Steinmetz (Diamondbacks/Single-A) tossed three scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk with four strikeouts (7/21/2026)
INDEPENDENTS
Mazel tov to C Jason Agresti (New York Boulders), brother of recent Angels draftee Adam Agresti, for being chosen to play in the independent Frontier League’s All-Star Game. Through July 20, Jason was hitting .348 (No. 7 in the league) with 7 HRs, 20 doubles (tied for No. 1), 46 RBIs, a .419 OBP, and a .945 OPS (7/21/2026)
University of Albany alum Dylan Banner, the 2026 America East Conference Pitcher of the Year, signed with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers (Atlantic League) on July 14. He joins fellow Jewish pitchers and former minor-league prospects Daniel Federman and Jake Miednik (7/21/2026)
FOREIGN
Former independent-league player and Team Israel member Robb Paller is playing for the Twins Oosterhout in the Dutch Hoofdklasse league. Paller maximized limited action in 2025, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with 3 HRs, 3 doubles, 6 RBIs, 8 walks, .567 OBP, and 1.521 OPS before his team competed in the WBSC Baseball Champions League Europe, facing top clubs from Italy, Germany, Czechia, and Spain. Through July 18 this season, he was hitting .354 (No. 10 in the league) with 12 doubles (tied for No. 1), 20 RBIs (No. 10), a .536 OBP (No. 2), a .620 slugging percentage (No. 4), and a 1.156 OPS (7/21/2026)
MLB DRAFT LEAGUE
At least four 2026 college graduates recently signed pro contracts with MLB Draft League teams. They include RHP Jacob Fried (Aberdeen Birds), a 6-foot-5-inch Loyola Marymount alum; C Elie Kligman (State College Spikes), who spent his senior season at the U. of Michigan; 2B Zev Moore (Trenton Thunder), an Israeli citizen and graduate of Division III Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and C Ethan Swidler (State College Spikes), who transferred to the U. of Washington for his senior year. Founded in 2021, the six-team Draft League features a split-season format: the first half showcases draft-eligible amateurs, while the second operates as a pro league for players who have exhausted their amateur eligibility (7/21/2026)egman (Cubs) is heating up. Over six games through July 20, he hit .320 (8-for-25) with 3 HRs, a double, 8 RBIs, 3 walks, and a 1.113 OPS (7/21/2026)
— Da End —
