By Scott Barancik, Editor
Expect the unexpected. A 5-foot-7 infielder was sent to the mound to protect a one-run lead. A pitcher who began August with a 1-8 record and 6.94 ERA reeled off four excellent starts. An independent-league star jumped directly to Double-A, posted an .835 OPS, and was released anyway. And Jewish twins took over the top two spots in New York’s Class of 2027 prospect rankings. Meanwhile, Alex Bregman provided more familiar fireworks, delivering game-tying homers on consecutive days, plus a walk-off single. From the Majors to high school, this week’s update features a host of unusual performances and surprising turns.
Play ball!
MLB NEWS
3B Alex Bregman (Cubs) continues to surge following his three-homer, seven-RBI game on August 12. Against the crosstown White Sox on August 18, Bregman hit a game-tying single in the 7th inning and a walk-off single in the 9th inning. The first-year Chicagoan homered twice in an August 21 loss to the Mariners, including a game-tying shot in the 9th inning, added another game-tying HR the following day, and drove in two runs in a 19-2 laugher over Seattle on August 23. Bregman’s 22 RBIs so far this month rank second among N.L. hitters, while his eight HRs trail N.L. co-leaders Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs) and Alec Burleson (Cardinals) by one
RHP Robert Stock (Mets) helped defeat the Padres 4-2 on August 19, working 4.1 innings in his fourth start for the club. The 36-year-old allowed one earned run on two hits, three walks, and a hit batter while striking out six
RHP Jake Bird (Nationals) has tossed a scoreless inning of relief in each of his past four appearances through August 24. Across those four games, he allowed just one hit and zero walks while striking out five
MINOR-LEAGUE BULLETIN
RHP RJ Gordon (Mets) is on a roll. As of August 4, the 24-year-old was 1-8 with a 6.94 ERA, and opponents were hitting .311 with a .925 OPS against him. But in four starts since then, Gordon has gone 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA, and opponents have hit just .171 with a .464 OPS. The stretch includes six scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Pirates’ affiliate on August 22
RHP Josh Mallitz (Padres/AA) has made 33 appearances this season and compiled impressive stats: 4-0 record, 3.83 ERA, six saves in eight chances, five holds, a 1.11 WHIP, and a .205 opponent batting average. Excluding two rough outings to open the 2026 season—in which the Florida native allowed 11 earned runs over three innings—Mallitz boasts a 2.12 ERA, a .170 opponent batting average, and a .546 opponent OPS across his last 31 games
It’s no surprise to see 2B/3B/OF Noah Mendlinger (Cardinals/AAA) performing reliably at the plate. Since his midseason promotion to Triple-A, the versatile fielder is hitting .287 (41-for-143) with 19 RBIs and a .383 OBP. Far less predictable was the “mind-blowing decision”—as St. Louis Cardinals on SI described it—to send him to the mound with Memphis leading the Marlins affiliate 4-3 in the 9th inning. Mendlinger had pitched only once previously as a pro, in the 9th inning of a 17-3 blowout on June 20. Before that, his last mound appearance came in 2021 at Georgia College & State University (D-II). The August 20 stint didn’t go well: Mendlinger allowed five earned runs over one inning, taking an 8-4 loss. The likeliest explanation was a taxed bullpen: several relievers had worked over the previous two days, while teammates Jared Shuster and Matt Svanson had already pitched that night. Memphis also had clinched a berth in the International League Championship Series, reducing the stakes. But as SI noted, “there had to be a better option” than turning to the 5-foot-7 Mendlinger
2B Colby Halter (Athletics/AAA) built a six-game hitting streak last week, batting .389 (7-for-18) with a home run, double, four walks, four RBIs, and a 1.111 OPS. Highlights included a two-run HR in an August 19 win over the Rockies affiliate and a game-tying double in an August 21 victory over the same team (xxx)
SS Henry Godbout (Red Sox/AA) is hitting just .167 with only six hits since being promoted to Double-A earlier this month, but half were home runs hit last week against the Phillies affiliate. Godbout hit a solo shot in an August 18 win, followed by a two-run HR a day later, and added a third HR in an August 23 loss (xxx)
Free agent OF Adam Fogel has traversed an unusual baseball path. The 6-foot-5 outfielder played six years of college ball from 2017 through 2022, including five at the University of Hawaii and one at the University of Kentucky. After going undrafted, Fogel sat out 2023, then starred with the Missoula Paddleheads of the independent Pioneer League. In 2024, he ranked first in the league in batting average (.388), home runs (35), OBP (.495), and slugging (.773), and second in RBIs (115). It was more of the same in 2025. The White Sox signed Fogel in February 2026 and assigned him to Double-A to open the season. The 27-year-old was hitting a respectable .250 (20-for-80) for Birmingham with five HRs, six doubles, 17 RBIs, and an .835 OPS on July 31 when the Sox released him (xxx)
RHP Alex Kranzler (Red Sox/Single-A) was credited with the win in his professional debut on August 22, despite allowing three earned runs on two hits and a walk over 1.2 innings while striking out three (xxx)
INDEPENDENT LEAGUES
C/LF Jason Agresti (New York Boulders) leads the Frontier League club with a .324 batting average, ranks second with 64 RBIs, and is tied for second with 10 HRs (xxx)
RHP Dylan Banner (Gastonia Ghost Peppers) earned the win as the Atlantic League club defeated the Charleston Dirty Birds 5-3 on August 21, yielding one unearned run on two hits and three walks over five innings while striking out one (xxx)
RHP Aaron Glickstein (Schaumburg Boomers) leads the Frontier League club with a 3.32 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, and he ranks second with 2.21 walks per nine innings (xxx)
We recently misreported that 1B Hank Zeisler (Florence Y’alls) of the independent Frontier League had 10 HRs to date. The 27-year-old has hit 23 this season, fourth-most in the league (xxx)
HIGH SCHOOL
Jewish twins Derek and Ryan Yormack are the #1 and #2 prospects, respectively, in New York’s High School Class of 2027, according to Prep Baseball Report. RHP Derek Yormack, the 2025-26 Gatorade New York Player of the Year, ranks first. 1B Ryan Yormack, who set his high school’s career hits record as a junior, is second. Both committed to Vanderbilt University (xxx)
SS Ethan Bass, who originally committed to Wake Forest University, is an incoming freshman at the University of South Carolina. Prep Baseball Report ranks Bass as the #2 prospect in Illinois’ High School Class of 2026 and the #28 prospect nationwide (xxx)
LATEST TRANSACTIONS
- Yankees promote RHP Harrison Cohen to Triple-A (8/23/2026)
- Mets place RHP Josh Blum (High-A) on 7-day injured list (8/21/2026)
- Phillies transfer C Jordan Dissin (AAA) to development list (8/21/2026)
- Phillies activate C Jordan Dissin (AAA) from development list (8/20/2026)
- Giants transfer CF Harrison Bader from 10-day injured list to 60-day injured list with left plantar fasciitis (8/19/2026)
- Red Sox promote RHP Alex Kranzler to Single-A (8/19/2026)
- York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League signs RHP Jordan Geber (8/18/2026)
—Da End—
