By Scott Barancik, Editor
What a week for the long ball. Three homers for Alex Bregman. Three more for Joshua Báez—in his first Major League game. And three in six games for Zack Gelof. Those are just a few of this week’s highlights, which also include Levi Sterling’s 11-strikeout gem and promotion, six Jewish players on MLB Pipeline’s newly updated Top 30 prospect lists, Max Fried’s return to the injured list, and plenty of movement in the NCAA transfer portal.
Play ball!
MLB NEWS
3B Alex Bregman (Cubs) had quite a two-day stretch last week, and the Nationals were victims both times. On August 11, he went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo HR in an 8-6 win over Washington, sending a 97.5 mph sinker into the left-field seats. A day later, Breggy hit three HRs for the first time in his 11-year career, finishing 3-for-3 with two walks and a career-high seven RBIs in Chicago’s 12-6 victory over Washington. A few notes:
- Bregman is just the fifth player in MLB history to have 3+ home runs, 7+ RBIs, and 2+ walks in a single game. Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (California Angels) was the first to accomplish the feat, in 1986
- Bregman was the 11th major leaguer to hit 3 HRs this season, doing so in his 1,343rd game. But Cardinals rookie Joshua Báez overshadowed him three days later in his MLB debut—at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, no less. Báez launched the first pitch he saw 449 feet for a home run, then added two more to become the first player in modern MLB history to hit three HRs in his debut game
3B Zack Gelof (Athletics) homered in three of six games from August 10-16. His two-run shot against Texas on August 16 broke a tie and led to a 5-2 win. (DH Joc Pederson went 0-for-2 for the Rangers.) On August 12, Gelof went 2-for-4 with a solo shot in a loss to the Rays. As reported last week, he hit a career-best 456-foot blast in an August 10 loss to the first-place Rays. Gelof ranks second on Oakland in slugging percentage among players with at least 250 plate appearances—a mere .001 behind Shea Langeliers’ .497
DH Joc Pederson (Rangers) hit his 22nd home run in an August 11 loss to the Angels, going 1-for-1 with three walks. The 416-foot shot was his seventh leadoff homer this season, third-most in the Majors. JBN reader Ethel H. notes that when Pederson hits his 23rd round-tripper, he will become one of just 21 active major leaguers to reach 23 or more homers in at least seven seasons
C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies) was behind the plate when rookie RHP Andrew Painter took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on August 10. It wasn’t their first notable pairing: Stubbs—known for his excellent work with young pitchers—also caught Painter’s first Triple-A start
RHP Robert Stock (Mets) allowed one unearned run over 4.1 innings in a 4-1 win over the Nationals on August 14, yielding three hits and three walks while striking out five. For Washington, RHP Jake Bird surrendered two earned runs on three hits and two walks in one inning of relief
It was a tough week for LHP Max Fried (Yankees). On August 13, the veteran held the Mariners to one earned run over five innings but took the loss when Seattle prevailed 1-0. Four days later, the Yankees placed Fried on the 15-day injured list with a bone bruise in his pitching elbow—the same injury that sidelined him for more than two months earlier this season. In five starts since returning from the injured list in late July, Fried posted a combined 0-1 record with a 1.82 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and eight walks in 24.2 innings
MINOR-LEAGUE BULLETIN
MLB Pipeline recently updated its list of each team’s Top 30 prospects. Six Jewish players made the cut: 2B Henry Godbout (AA) is Boston’s #6, RHP Levi Sterling (High-A) is Pittsburgh’s #12, OF RJ Schreck (AAA) is Toronto’s #13, RHP Charlie Beilenson (AAA) is Seattle’s #18, RHP Josh Mallitz (AA) is San Diego’s #29, and RHP RJ Gordon (AA) is the Mets’ #30
3B Noah Mendlinger (Cardinals/AAA) and teammate Jared Shuster teamed up on August 11 to help beat the Rays affiliate 6-0. Mendlinger, batting ninth, went 3-for-4 with two doubles—including a two-run, ground-rule double that bounced into the opponent’s bullpen—while southpaw Shuster threw 1.2 scoreless innings of relief and struck out three to earn the win. Since his June 1 promotion, Mendlinger has hit .282 (37-for-131) with 18 RBIs and a .383 OBP, which ranks fourth among Memphis Redbirds hitters with at least 150 plate appearances
RHP Jacob Steinmetz (Diamondbacks/High-A) threw four scoreless innings for the second consecutive start on August 11, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out six in a 5-4 win over the Giants affiliate. In nine starts and one relief appearance across three teams through August 17, the 23-year-old has posted a 3.63 ERA and 1.209 WHIP while averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings, though his record remains 0-0
RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/Single-A) needed just six innings in an August 13 start to strike out 11 batters, tying a Bradenton Marauders record and bringing his season total to a league-high 112. Although Bradenton ultimately lost 3-0 to the Tigers affiliate and Sterling took the loss, he had reason to celebrate five days later, when Pittsburgh promoted him to High-A
It’s not every day a professional ballplayer faces a 39.7 mph slider, but that’s exactly the pitch C CJ Stubbs (Blue Jays/AAA) smashed over the left-field wall in a 10-3 loss to the Red Sox affiliate on August 13. The man behind the slow throw was opposing catcher Nathan Hickey, a 26-year-old who has made 11 late-inning pitching appearances this season. Stubbs homered his next game—this time off a 94.5 mph sinker
3B/2B Jake Gelof (Dodgers/AA) has hit two-run homers in three of his past five games, all of them in victories over the Mariners affiliate. On August 12, Gelof hit a go-ahead HR in a 9-8 win. Two days later, he did it again, propelling his first-place team to victory. Batting cleanup on August 16, he added a first\-pitch home run to left-center. Gelof’s 25 HRs are tied for fourth in the Texas League
Recently acquired RHP Scott Effross (Mariners/AAA) made his organizational debut in an August 13 win over the Diamondbacks affiliate, retiring two batters on just four pitches to earn a hold. Two days later, the 32-year-old Ohio native tossed two scoreless innings in a win over the same team, yielding two hits and no walks while striking out one. Effross—who previously pitched in the Majors for the Cubs and Yankees—had been released by the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate on August 8
RHP RJ Gordon (Mets/AA) muzzled the first-place Red Sox affiliate in an August 11 win, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out four over seven innings. In three starts this month, the 24-year-old is 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and .159 opponent batting average
You don’t see this very often: both the winning and losing pitchers in an August 11 matchup between two Triple-A teams were Jewish. RHP Max Lazar (Phillies/AAA) earned the win after tossing a perfect ninth inning, while RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AAA) was tagged with the loss and a blown save after yielding three earned runs over two-thirds of an inning
Major League teams drafted three Jewish collegians in the 2026 amateur draft: C Adam Agresti (Angels), RHP Alex Kranzler (Red Sox), and C Max Kaufer (Rangers). A day later, the Cubs signed undrafted OF Harrison Feinberg. Through August 18, none of the four had made his minor-league debut, although Kranzler was promoted to Single-A on August 19
INDEPENDENT LEAGUES
We missed it: 1B Matt Mervis signed with Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League on May 12. The former Cub and Marlin went 1-for-16 with one RBI before being released on June 10
Former Marlins prospect Michael Snyder has been busy this summer. Less than a week after Florida released the third baseman, he was snapped up by the Lancaster Stormers of the top-rated Atlantic League, where he hit .186 (13-for-70) with three HRs, seven RBIs, and a .360 OBP before parting ways with the team. Snyder then signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent American Association on August 1. Through August 17, he was hitting .261 (6-for-23) with a double, three RBIs, and a .438 OBP
OF Sam Biller (High-A) signed with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association on August 15, less than three weeks after the Mets released him
COLLEGE UPDATE
3B Ryan Zuckerman will return to Georgia Tech for his senior season in 2027 after going undrafted in the 2026 MLB Draft—welcome news for the program. In 2026, his first year there after two seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, Zuckerman hit .345 (80-for-232) with 23 HRs (second-most in the ACC), 79 RBIs (third-most), a .438 OBP, and a 1.158 OPS (fourth-highest). Zuckerman was named a D1Baseball All-American, First-Team All-ACC, and ACC Tournament MVP
2B CJ Weinstein, a recent high-school graduate whom Prep Baseball Report ranks #6 among California shortstops in the Class of 2026, has flipped his commitment from LSU to home-state UCLA
Roughly 2,400 athletes who played D-I baseball this year entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Jewish Baseball News has identified nearly two dozen Jewish players among them. Below is where they stand for 2027:
Committed to a new D-I school
- Aric Berg — Fordham University to University of Washington
- Charlie Buckles — Florida State University to Northwestern University
- Alex Cohen — Sacramento State University to Cal State Northridge
- Nate Eisfelder — University of Tennessee to Indiana University
- Marc Emmerman — San Diego State University to Saint Louis University
- Ethan Firestein — Bucknell University to Radford University
- Asher Friedman — Alcorn State University to University of Maryland-Baltimore County
- Ethan Hott — Stanford University to University of Southern California
- Cooper Katskee — University of Nebraska to University of Notre Dame
- Ari Kligman — Sacramento State University to College of William & Mary
- Maddon Ocko — Fordham University to New Mexico State University
- Nate Kugler — Dartmouth College to University of Southern California
- Jake Moss — University of Pennsylvania to University of North Carolina
- Ben Schulman — University of Virginia to Dartmouth College
- Austin Weiss — University of Maryland to University of South Florida
Moving to a non-D-I school
- Liam Kirsh: Indiana State University to Murray State College (D-III)
- Wyatt Shaw: Valparaiso University to Walters State Community College (NJCAA D-III)
Reportedly staying at current school
- Andrew Cohen (Grand Canyon University)
- Jack Ruditzky (Rider University)
Still in Transfer Portal
- Drew Charney (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)
- Lawrence Elinson (Long Island University)
- Aidan Gelbsman (Boston College)
- Mike Savino (Manhattan University)
TRANSACTIONS
- Giants transfer CF Harrison Bader from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day list due to left plantar fasciitis (8/19/2026)
- Red Sox promote RHP Alex Kranzler to Single-A (8/19/2026)
- Pirates promote RHP Jacob Steinmetz to High-A (8/18/2026)
- Yankees place LHP Max Fried on injured list with left elbow bone bruise (8/17/2026)
- Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association sign OF Sam Biller (8/15/2026)
- Mariners sign RHP Scott Effross to minor-league contract, assign him to Triple-A (8/12/2026)
- Red Sox promote SS Henry Godbout to Double-A (8/11/2026)
—Da End—
