• Bouncing back from his only loss of the season, LHP Max Fried (Yankees) pitched another beaut on June 5, giving up just one hit over 6 shutout innings and walking 2 while striking out 7 in a 4-0 shutdown of the Guardians. Fried’s 8-1 record is tied for #1 in the MLB, and his 1.78 ERA ranks #4 among all qualified pitchers (6/10/2024)
  • In a 4-2 loss to the Mets on June 6, RHP Jake Bird (Rockies) entered the game in the top of the 6th inning with men on first and second bases and no outs. He proceeded to crush the rally, much to the delight of Colorado fans lucky enough to witness the team’s 12th win of the season. (The Rockies had a 12-53 record through June 8.) Bird struck out 3 of 4 batters he faced — he hit the fourth with an 83.1-mph slider — to earn his 8th hold of the season and lower his ERA to 1.49, #6 among all MLB pitchers with at least 30 innings under their belt (6/10/2025)
  • Astros rookie Colton Gordon had his best start in 5 appearances on June 6, yielding one earned run on 7 hits, zero walks, and 5 strikeouts in a 4-2 victory over the Guardians. Among all MLB starters with at least 5 appearances through June 8, Gordon’s 8.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio (25 vs. 3) ranks #2 — and that doesn’t reflect the fact that two of his three walks have been intentional. Click here to see a recent 10-minute interview with Gordon (6/10/2025)
  • On May 28, Baseball America updated its projection of the Top 500 prospects for July’s MLB draft, and at least three Jewish players were listed: 2B Henry Godbout (U. of Virginia) was ranked #79; recent high-school graduate and U. of Maryland commit LHP/OF Austin Weiss came in at #154; and LHP Ryan Prager (Texas A&M) landed at #174. Prager’s stock has fallen significantly since the 2024 draft, when he was selected #81 overall by the Angels with a slot value of $948,600 but turned it down to return for his senior year at A&M — and to seize a “sizable NIL deal,” according to Baseball America (6/10/2025)
  • Adapting to a higher level of minor-league ball can take some time, and different players respond differently. Take RHP Aaron Davenport (Guardians/AAA), who went 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, and .170 opponent batting average in Double-A this season before being promoted to Triple-A on May 23. In his first three Triple-A starts, Davenport has an 8.68 ERA, 2.46 WHIP, and .389 opponent batting average. OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AAA), Toronto’s #14 prospect according to Baseball America, has had a different trajectory. Promoted on June 4, he hit a 2-run HR in his first Triple-A at-bat the same day and finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs in a 7-6 loss to the Mets’ affiliate (6/10/2025)
  • 2B Chase Strumpf (Cubs/AAA) went 3-for-5 with a HR, double, walk, and 3 RBIs in a double header against the Royals’ affiliate on June 6. The teams split the day one game apiece. Through 6/8/2025, Strumpf was tied for #13 in the International League with 9 HRs and tied for #24 with 31 RBIs (6/10/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA), who went homerless in his last 68 Marlins plate appearances before being reassigned to Triple-A, homered in his first game there, a 7-1 loss to the Rays’ affiliate on June 3 (6/9/2025)
  • RHP Zack Weiss (Cardinals/AAA) earned his second save of the season in a 10-2 victory over the Pirates’ affiliate on June 7, throwing 3 scoreless innings on one hit, two walks, and 5 strikeouts. Through June 8, Weiss was 2-1 and tied for #9 in the International League with a 2.25 ERA, his lowest minor-league ERA since 2015. He also had earned one hold, 2 saves in 2 chances, a 1.06 WHIP (tied for #8), and a .180 opponent batting average (6/10/2025)
  • RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/rookie league), an 18-year-old chosen in the 1st round of the 2024 MLB draft (#37 overall), is trying to get his footing in his first pro season. On 6/3/2025, the 18-year-old gave up 7 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks over 1.2 innings en route to a 15-8 loss to the Red Sox’ affiliate. For the season, Sterling is 2-2 with a 10.43 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and .365 opponent batting average (6/10/2025)
  • LF/1B Michael Snyder (Marlins/High-A) is on the Midwest League’s leaderboard in multiple offensive categories. Among all batters with at least 160 plate appearances through June 8, the second-year pro ranked #1 with a 21.7% walk rate, #2 with a .452 OBP, #4 with a 161 wrc+ (a measure of overall run production), #7 with a 1.00 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and tied for #13 with 14 SBs (6/10/2025)
  • RHP Harrison Cohen (Yankees/AA) lowered his ERA to 2.11 with a combined 2.2 no-hit innings on June 5 and June 8, yielding 2 walks and striking out one batter (6/10/2025)
  • Across four games from June 5 to June 8, 1B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A) hit .538 (7-for-13) with a HR, double, 3 RBIs, stolen base, and 5 walks versus 3 strikeouts (6/10/2025)
  • The Reno Aces (Angels/AAA) and Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics/AAA) both will host a Jewish Heritage Night on June 12. Click a team’s name above for tickets (6/10/2025)
  • 3B/1B Jake Scheiner, a former Phillies and Mariners prospect who played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 2024, announced his retirement on 6/7/2025. “Baseball has given me so much, and now it’s time for the next chapter,” he wrote on Instagram. “Being home, being fully present, and pouring my energy into my biggest blessing, my son. I can’t wait to walk alongside him, cheer him on, and be the dad he deserves” (6/10/2025)
  • OF Ellis Schwartz, who hit .346 (72-for-208) with 9 HRs, 45 RBIs, a .454 OBP, and 1.036 OPS for George Washington U. in 2025, signed with the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League on June 5. Through his first 3 games with the team, Schwartz hit .400 (4-for-10) with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, and 2 walks (6/10/2025)
  • Brad Eisen, founder of the Israel Baseball Academy and its high-school and college showcases, added 3 names to the list of incoming freshmen who will play baseball at D-1 schools in 2026. They include LHP Paul Grossman (U. of Southern California), who was ranked the #5 left-handed pitcher in California’s 2025 high-school graduating class by Prep Baseball Report; SS/3B Marc Emmerman (San Diego State), the #30 shortstop in California’s 2025 high-school graduating class; and RHP Andrew Cohen, who will play for Grand Canyon U. (6/10/2025)
  • At 9 wins against 50 losses through June 1, the Rockies are on pace to finish with the worst winning percentage in Major League history. And despite also being a member of arguably the most abysmal pitching staff in baseball today, Colorado middle reliever Jake Bird is soaring like a, well, you know. Among all N.L. pitchers with at least 30 innings under their belt so far this season, according to JBN reader Jack W., Bird ranked #1 in Z-swing% Against (a measure of deceptive strikes), tied for #3 with a 1.60 ERA, and came in at #4 with a 30.7% strikeout rate. His latest triumph? Striking out the side in the 6th inning of a 5-3 loss to the Mets on June 1, a performance that led the Rockies’ play-by-play man to exclaim, “Man, has he been outstanding.” Bird has come a long way since 2023, when he became the first pitcher in modern MLB history to earn at least 11 save opportunities but blow every single one. The 29-year-old UCLA alum’s timing couldn’t be much better: he will be eligible for salary arbitration in 2026 (6/2/2025)
  • Speaking of the Rockies: now that the front office has fired manager Bud Black, should they consider hiring Gabe Kapler? Kapler, a former Major Leaguer and Team Israel coach currently serving as an assistant general manager with the Marlins, has managed two MLB teams and was named N.L. Manager of the Year in 2021 after leading the Giants to a franchise-record 107 wins. Opinions about him vary. For example, while a Fansided blog recently named Kapler one of three people Colorado should consider for the top on-field job, the Denver Post didn’t list him among its top 10 candidates (6/3/2025)
  • Could this be the end of CF Kevin Pillar’s career? The fielding phenom once known as “Superman” has toyed with the idea of retirement for several years now and said at the end of the 2024 season he was 98% sure he was going to quit. The Rangers offered Pillar a lifeline when they signed him to a minor-league contract this February, and the 36-year-old California native ended up making the Opening Day roster. But Texas released him May 30 after a dismal 20 games at the plate, leaving him a free agent. Pillar’s departure brings to mind comments he made after the Rangers signed him. “Not everyone gets to choose when their career’s over,” he said (6/3/2025)
  • And another one bites the dust. 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins), whose fast start this season left him with an MLB-best seven HRs through April 23, including 6 round-trippers in just 8 games, hit .117 (7-for-60) over the next 23 games, managing zero RBIs and striking out 25 times against just 4 walks. On May 30, a no-longer patient Miami designed Mervis for assignment with the franchise’s Triple-A club (6/3/2025)
  • When the Dodgers came from behind to beat the Yankees 8-5 on May 30, they handed LHP Max Fried (Yankees) his first loss of the season. Fried, who had given up 10 runs total across his first 11 starts en route to an MLB-best 7-0 record, gave up 6 earned runs to Los Angeles over 5 innings. Even so, Fried’s svelte 1.92 ERA remained #5 in the A.L. through June 2, and he sat in the Top 10 in multiple other categories, including win probability added, fielding-independent pitching, strikeout-to-walk ratio, walks/hits per inning, and assists (6/3/2025)
  • The Cincinnati Reds will host a Jewish Heritage Night on June 6. Click here for tickets (6/3/2025)
  • After hitting zero round-trippers in April, surging Cardinals prospect RJ Schreck (AA) smashed his ninth home run of the month in a 7-6 win over the Rockies’ affiliate on May 28 and was tied for #2 in the Eastern League through June 2. A bright spot on a team with the league’s third-worst record, Schreck also ranks #2 (tied) with a .522 slugging percentage, #3 with a .394 OBP, and #4 in wRC+, a statistic that measures how many runs a player contributes to his team relative to the league average (6/3/2025)
  • LHP Rob Kaminsky (Cardinals/AAA), who managed to pitch just one game with the Memphis Redbirds in an injury-riddled season, was released on June 2, just 2 days after returning to the injured list. Kaminsky tallied a 1.93 ERA in 5 games with the Cardinals in 2020 but has yet to return to the Majors (6/3/2025)
  • Former Marlins reliever Jake Fishman is playing for Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. The southpaw is carrying a 1-0 record with 3.86 ERA over 17 appearances and giving up an average of only 3.9 hits per 9 innings, ranking him #1 on his team (6/3/2025)
  • Three collegians have joined JBN’s list of D-1 ballplayers. RHP Lawrence Elinson, a sophomore reliever at Long Island U., tallied a 5.68 ERA over 8 games this season and has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal. LHP Aidan Gelbsman, a redshirt freshman who has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal, finished the season 1-1 with a 3.90 ERA and ranked #2 on the team with a 1.446 WHIP — just behind fellow Jewish starter Dylan Banner. And C MIke Savino, who hit .339 (19-for-56) with 10 RBIs for Division III school CCNY in 2025, will transfer to Mississippi Valley State U. for his final year of eligibility. Savino could be seen putting on tefillin after a 24-3 win over Yeshiva U. earlier this season (6/3/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) upped his season record to 7-0 in a 13-1 crushing of the Rockies on May 24. The Cy Young Award candidate breezed through 7.1 innings of one-run ball, yielding 6 hits and a walk while striking out 7 and tossing a wild pitch. His 83 pitches were tied for the fewest in the Majors this year for a hurler throwing at least 7.1 innings. The 3-time Gold Glove winner also picked-off 2 runners for the third time in his career, giving him an MLB-leading 5 for the season. He is one of only 17 pitchers since 2020 to tally two pickoffs in a single game (5/27/2025)
  • CF Harrison Bader (Twins) is enjoying the best hitting season of his 9-year MLB career. Through May 25, the first-year Twin and Gold Glove centerfielder was on a path toward career highs in batting average (.276), OBP (.359), and OPS (.792), and walk-to-strikeout ratio (0.39). Meanwhile, his solo HR in a 5-4 win over the Royals on May 24 came off the bat at 110.7-mph and traveled 417 feet to left field, both season highs. The 2021 Gold Glove winner also continues to excel with the glove, as demonstrated with this May 23 grab (5/27/2025)
  • RHP Max Lazar (Phillies), appearing with Philadelphia for the second time this season, nailed his first save opportunity in 13 big-league games. After his teammates scored 3 runs in the top of the 11th inning of a May 24 matchup against Oakland, Lazar tossed a scoreless inning to secure a 9-6 victory, the team’s 9th straight win. He ended the game with a gorgeous curveball that left 1B Logan Davidson swinging at air (5/27/2025)
  • LHP Colton Gordon (Astros) made his third major-league start in a 5-3 win over the Mariners on May 25. The U. of Central Florida alum gave up 3 earned runs on 7 hits while striking out 4 batters and walking none. Moreover, Gordon ran up 0-2 counts on 10 of the 23 batters he faced. Although opposing batters are hitting Gordon at a .302 clip, the pinpoint southpaw has walked just 2 batters in 14.2 innings while striking out 14 (5/27/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) is hitting with more power this season than he has since 2019, a controversial year in which he finished second in voting for the National League MVP award. The Gold Glove winner and 2-time All Star is hitting balls at an average exit velocity of 92.1-mph (#1 in career), smacking 48.1% of balls in play at 95-mph or more (#1), and mustering a .553 slugging percentage (#2), all the while batting a career-best .299 through May 25. But the news is not all good. Boston placed Bregman on the injured list May 24, a day after he strained his right quad while making the turn past first base on a single. Meanwhile, former Reds and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden predicted in a recent column that Bregman — who met Israeli Omer Shem Tov on May 19 when the former hostage tossed out the first pitch at Fenway Park — will opt out of his 3-year contract in order to enter free agency in this Fall (5/27/2025)
  • Speaking of injuries: the bad luck continues for 2B Zack Gelof (Athletics). The third-year player, who underwent surgery after breaking his right wrist during Spring Training and has yet to play for Oakland this season, was just 3 days into a minor-league rehab assignment in early May when he suffered a stress reaction in his ribs, sending him back to the injured list. On May 23, his injury continuing to nag, Oakland moved Gelof to the 60-day injured list (5/27/2025)
  • Add DH Joc Pederson (Rangers) to the growing list of injured major-league Jews. Pederson was facing RHP Bryse Wilson on May 24 when the White Sox hurler struck him with an 87.5-mph cutter, fracturing a knuckle on the slugger’s right hand and sending him to the ground in agony. As MLB.com pointed out after the game, Pederson had been on the rise since suffering a team record 0-for-41 stretch earlier this season (5/27/2025)
  • Three teams are hosting Jewish Heritage Nights in the coming week. The Detroit Tigers will celebrate on May 27, the Norfolk Tides (Orioles/AAA) on May 28, and the Somerset Patriots (Yankees/AA) — home of RHP Harrison Cohen — on May 29. Click dates for ticket information (5/27/2025)
  • The most prolific Jewish base-stealer in the minors this season — admittedly, that’s not saying much — is IF Michael Snyder (Marlins/High-A). The second-year pro is a perfect 9-for-9 in thefts, making him one of only two Midwest League players to steal at least 9 bases without once being caught. That Snyder stands 6’3″ and has fewer plate appearances than all but one base-stealer ahead of him makes his stats particularly notable. For Snyder, it’s as much about instinct and basepath smarts as it is about swiftness. Among Midwest League batters with at least 100 PAs through May 25, he ranked #23 in total stolen bases but #63 in speed (5/27/2025)
  • IF Michael Snyder (Marlins/High-A) also is racking up impressive walk numbers. Through May 25, he had drawn walks in 24.8% of his plate appearances, #2 among all Midwest League batters with at least 100 PAs. Meanwhile, his .427 OBP ranked #4 (5/27/2025)
  • OF Zach Levenson (Cardinals/High-A) tallied the first multi-HR game of his pro career on May 20, going yard in the 2nd and 6th innings en route to a 12-5 victory over the Reds affiliate. It was Levenson’s first game back from the injured list (5/27/2025)
  • To say that RHP Dylan Hecht (Giants/High-A) was on the fringes of baseball would be putting it mildly. A 2017 community-college graduate who went undrafted, the California native’s only pro experience — brief independent-league stints where his best ERA was 10.13 — ended in 2021, in part due to a medical condition. But when a Giants’ farm director got a tip this Spring about an Asian Breeze player who was throwing 97-mph strikes, the franchise called and quickly offered Hecht, now 31, a minor-league contract, according to Baseball America. Until then, he recalled, “I had no aspirations. I was done. I was just playing to have fun.” In 7 appearances with San Francisco’s High-A team, Hecht has put up a 2.45 ERA and 1.909 WHIP over 7.1 innings. Credit to JBN reader Zack Raab for telling us about Hecht and teammate Josh Wolf for confirming that the rookie is indeed Jewish (5/27/2025)
  • C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies/AAA) is playing in the minors for the first time since 2021 and impressing at the plate. Through May 25, the 32-year-old ranked #4 on his team with a batting average of .295 (31-for-105), #2 with a .413 OBP, #3 with a .870 OPS, and #3 with 27 RBIs. Behind the plate, Stubbs has made just 2 errors in 238 innings (5/27/2025)
  • We missed this one: on April 10, RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/High-A) showed off his reflexes and glove in a jaw-dropping play on the pitcher’s mound. He went on to record 3 near-perfect innings, giving up one hit and striking out 6 batters en route to an 8-4 win over the Mariners affiliate (5/27/2025)
  • 3B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A), a 6’5″ native of Siberia, has gained more in hitting power from 2024 to 2025 than any other minor-league batter but one. According to Baseball America, the top 10% of Miller-Green’s exit velocities have risen from an average of 103.3-mph in 2024 to 110.6-mph in 2025, the second-biggest jump behind Nationals prospect Nick Peoples (5/27/2025)
  • 3B Noah Mendlinger (Cardinals/AA) ranks among the Texas League’s best in plate discipline. Among batters with at least 100 plate appearances through May 25, Mendlinger’s 1.75 walk-to-strikeout ratio was #1 in the league and his 6.5% strikeout rate ranked #2. Only 5 other hitters had tallied more walks than strikeouts (5/27/2025)
  • RHP Josh Blum (Mets/Single-A), who led USC with 10 saves and a 1.87 ERA in 2024, earned his first 2 saves as a pro earlier this month. Blum tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in a 6-4 win over the Reds affiliate on May 15, and an inning of one-run ball in a 9-7 triumph over the same team on May 18 (5/27/2025)
  • LF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AA) didn’t hit a single home run in April, but May has been a different story. Through May 25, the third-year pro had smashed 8 round-trippers, vaulting him into a tie for #4 among Eastern League batters (5/27/2025)
  • 2B/3B Michael Wielansky hasn’t played minor-league ball since 2022, but the former Astros and Giants prospect hasn’t gone away. After hitting .304 (109-for-359) with 10 HRs, 55 RBIs, and a .420 OBP in the independent Atlantic League last year, Wielansky is tearing up the Mexican League. The Charros de Jalisco star is hitting .359 (47-for-155) with 2 HRs, 24 RBIs, 16 stolen bases in 16 attempts, a .435 OBP, and .916 OPS through May 25. And playing exclusively at second base this season, Wielansky has made just one error in 156 chances. Other Jewish players currently in the Mexican League include former Marlins LHP Jake Fishman, ex-Pirates and Marlins prospect LHP Jared Lakind, and onetime Phillies RHP Bubby Rossman (5/27/2025)
  • JBN reader Jeff Fraum points out that the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals/AAA) have 2 Jewish relievers and a Jewish catcher on their roster. Through May 25, C Andy Yerzy had twice caught for RHP Zack Weiss but had yet to work with LHP Rob Kaminsky, who only recently came off the injured list (5/27/2025)
  • OF Harrison Feinberg (Northeastern U.) was named co-Player of the Year by the Colonial Athletic Association on May 20. According to CAA, the redshirt junior “ranked among the CAA’s top 10 in nine different offensive categories, batting .372 with 14 homers, 57 runs scored, 57 RBI’s and 35 stolen bases. He was fourth in the league in batting, third in homers and RBIs, sixth in runs and second in steals. The outfielder was even better in CAA play, where he hit a league-best .412 and drove in 38,” thus playing a key role in leading the Huskies to the conference championship (5/27/2025)
  • On April 29, MLB.com ranked 2B Henry Godbout (U. of Virginia) its #67 prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. Godbout, who recently received Second Team All-American honors from Baseball America, was praised for his high baseball IQ, consistent hard contact, and low swing-and-miss rate. In fact, Baseball America recently ranked the sophomore among top collegiate hitters in terms of exit velocity and contact rate (5/27/2025)
  • RHP Dylan Banner (U. of Albany) was named America East First Team All-Conference on May 20. The junior starter’s 3.67 ERA ranked #2 in the conference, and he struck out 63 batters while walking just 13 (5/27/2025)
  • LHP Colton Gordon (Astros) demonstrated impressive control in his second career start, a 4-3 win over his hometown Rays on May 19. The six-pitch southpaw — who delivered pizzas while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery after the 2021 draft — allowed 3 earned runs but only 5 baserunners over 5.1 innings, struck out 7 batters, walked none, and threw 71% of his 83 pitches for strikes. “He competed from pitch number one,” Houston manager Joe Espada said after the game. “He doesn’t back down. He’s aggressive in the zone. And these players like playing behind him. We like how he goes about his business.” Gordon, who was called up May 14 to relieve a starting rotation that had pitched 17 straight games without a day off, threw well enough in his MLB debut that night to set up a 4-3 win over the Royals, yielding 3 earned runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts over 4.1 innings. “He had no fear whatsoever,” said teammate Jeremy Peña. “He did not look one bit nervous” (5/20/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) has cooled off a bit after a torrid April but continues to hit for power. His 11 HRs, including two last week, tie him for #6 in the A.L. (5/20/2025)
  • Platooning served slugger Joc Pederson quite well in 2024, when the Diamondbacks DH hit 23 HRs with 64 RBIs and set career-bests with a .275 average (101-for-367), .393 OBP, and .908 OPS. But 2025 has been a very different story. Once again facing right-handed pitching almost exclusively, this time for the Rangers, Pederson was hitting an anemic .130 (15-for-115) with 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, .259 OBP, and .503 OPS through May 19, all of them career lows (5/20/2025)
  • The Phillies called up RHP Max Lazar from Triple-A on May 19, making him the 14th Jewish player to hit an MLB roster this season. The 25-year-old Florida native — who has held Triple-A teams scoreless in his last 5 outings — was promoted after MLB suspended closer Jose Alvarado for illegal testosterone use. Lazar made his Major League debut with Philadelphia in August 2024 (5/20/2025)
  • RHP Jake Bird (Rockies) has really turned things around. In 2024, the UCLA alum went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA, the third-worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in the Majors, and the sixth-worst walks-per-9-innings average. But through his first 19 appearances of 2025, Bird’s 1.86 ERA was #4 among all MLB relievers with at least 25 innings pitched, he had allowed one fewer walks per 9 innings than the year before, and he was striking out a career-high 11.5 batters per 9 innings (5/20/2025)
  • Speaking of RHP Max Lazar (Phillies) and RHP Jake Bird (Rockies): might Bird replace Lazar in Philadelphia’s bullpen? According to MLB.com, Philadelphia is on the hunt for a more established reliever to replace suspended closer Jose Alvarado, and Bird is a viable candidate. There is one possible catch: as MLB.com pointed out, Bird and Phillies star Bryce Harper caused a bench-clearing brawl in 2023. But things appear to have calmed down. On May 19, Harper hit a sacrifice fly off Bird, and no fists followed (5/20/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins), who led the majors with 7 HRs in his first 57 at-bats of the season, hasn’t homered since April 23 (5/20/2025)
  • On May 19, the Boston Red Sox will be celebrating Jewish Heritage Night at Fenway Park. Also hosting Jewish celebrations in the coming week are two teams from the independent Atlantic League: the York Revolution on May 21, and the Staten Island Ferry Hawks on May 22. Click the links for tickets (5/20/2025)
  • Yankees ace Max Fried guided the team to an 8-2 win over the crosstown Mets on May 18, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts over 6 innings. Despite notching up to 1.29, Fried’s ERA remained the best in the Majors through May 19, and ESPN’s Cy Young Predictor still had him atop all A.L. contenders (5/20/2025)
  • 3B Chase Strumpf (Cubs/AAA) is enjoying a strong month. Through May 19, the 27-year-old was hitting .351 (13-for-37) with 4 HRs, a double and triple, 13 RBIs, OBP of .419, and a 1.283 OPS (5/20/2025)
  • OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AA) has homered in each of his last 3 games and 5 times overall in his last 9 games. One possible cost of the power surge? More strikeouts. The third-year pro is whiffing 25.7% of the time, versus 16.5% in 2024 (5/19/2025)
  • 3B Michael Snyder (Marlins/High-A) struggled at the plate after being drafted in 2024, hitting just .150 (9-for-60) with just one extra-base hit, a double, in rookie-league ball. Fast forward to 2025, and the U. of Oklahoma alum is thriving. Through May 19, Snyder was hitting a respectable .238 (15-for-63) with 2 HRs, had swelled his OBP from .261 to .438, notched more walks than strikeouts (22 vs. 20), and upped his RBI count from 6 to 19. In fact, among all Midwest League batters with at least 10 RBIs, Snyder’s average of .302 RBIs per at-bat ranked #1 (5/19/2025)
  • 3B Jake Gelof (Dodgers/High-A), who sat on the injured list through the end of April, is off to a good start. Through six rookie-league rehab games and five games back in High-A, the younger brother of Athletics 2B Jake Gelof has hit .313 (10-for-32) with 2 HRs, 8 RBIs, 5 doubles, a .477 OBP, and 1.133 OPS (5/20/2025)
  • RHP Josh Mallitz (Padres/High-A) is rebounding well from a tough April, in which the middle reliever went 1-1 with a 9.42 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, and .328 opponent batting average. Through the first 19 days of May, the second-year pro sported a 2.45 ERA, held opponents to a .185 batting average, and struck out 10 batters over 7.1 combined innings (5/20/2025)
  • C Ethan Swidler, a 21-year-old junior at Lafayette College, has been selected a First Team All-Patriot League for the second consecutive season. One of 56 backstops on the midseason watch list for the Buster Posey Award, given annually to the best NCAA D-1 catcher, Swidler hit .331 (59-for-178) this season, with 5 HRs, 33 RBIs, as many walks as strikeouts, and a .462 OBP (5/20/2025)
  • You heard it here first: LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA), the International League’s most dominant starting pitcher, will make his MLB debut on May 14 when he faces the Royals in Houston. Gordon’s Triple-A manager gave him the good news just before midnight on May 12. The 6’4″ southpaw is 4-0 with a league-leading 2.55 ERA and 43 strikeouts against just 8 walks (5/13/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) continued his dominant run in a 4-3, extra-inning triumph on May 7 over the team that drafted him in 2012, the Padres. Fried gave up one earned run on 5 hits and zero walks over 7 innings while fanning 8 batters but didn’t get the ‘W’. The outing left the first-year Yankee ranked #1 among MLB starters in multiple pitching and fielding stats, including a 6-0 record, 1.05 ERA, 1.7 adjusted pitching wins, 2.00 range factor, and 12 assists (5/12/2025)
  • Speaking of Max Fried: when the Yankees’ ace picked off Jose Caballero in a May 2 shutout of the Rays, it was his 30th pick since debuting with Atlanta in 2017, more than any other Major Leaguer over that 9-year span (5/12/2025)
  • RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles) delivered a 7-inning, 3-hit performance for the second consecutive start on May 8, though this one ended in a 5-2 loss to the Twins. Kremer yielded 2 earned runs, struck out 8 batters, and walked two — including fellow Team Israel alum Harrison Bader (5/12/2025)
  • Speaking of Bader: it’s early yet in the season, but the centerfielder is putting up his best hitting numbers in a 9-year MLB career. In fact, the newly-minted Twin’s average (.298), OBP (.387), and OPS (.462) all are career highs. JBN reader Jack W. took a deep look into the stats to find out why. In short, Bader is smacking the ball harder, hitting more ground balls, pulling the ball more often, and drawing walks at twice the rate he did in 2024 (5/12/)25)
  • Alex Bregman’s deal with Boston this year upgraded the team’s defensive strength at third base but upset Rafael Devers, the $313.5-million man who was told to abandon third base for DH. And things aren’t getting better. According to The Athletic, Devers recently rejected the team’s request to move from DH to first base. So who did the Red Sox task with cooling tempers down? Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. On May 9, Breslow hopped a Kansas City-bound plane with Boston’s owner and CEO to see if they could mend fences with the 28-year-old Dominican (5/12/2025)
  • 2B Zack Gelof (Athletics), who underwent hand surgery in March after being struck by a pitch during Spring Training, was three games into a rehab assignment earlier this month when he “sustained a stress reaction in his ribs and [was] shut down from swinging a bat,” according to MLB Trade Rumors. No word yet on when Gelof will return to action (5/12/2025)
  • Two major leaguers who went on the injured list during Spring Training are on minor-league rehab assignments. The Yankees sent RHP Scott Effross (left hamstring strain) to Double-A on May 10, while the Pirates sent 1B Spencer Horwitz (right wrist surgery) to Triple-A on May 6 (5/12/2025)
  • Four teams will host Jewish Heritage Nights this week, according to JBN reader Zack Raab. The Reds are scheduled for May 13, Padres for May 14, and two clubs — the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros)/AAA) and Gwinnett Stripers (Braves/AAA) — both scheduled for May 18. For tickets, click a team name above (5/12/2025)
  • Talk about a turnaround. In April, RJ Schreck (Mariners/AA) hit just .135 (5-for-37) with no HRs, one RBI, a .319 OBP, and .481 OPS. The first 11 days of May have been a different story. The third-year prospect is hitting .387 (12-for-31) this month, with 4 HRs, 8 RBIs, a .457 OBP, and 1.392 OPS (5/12/2025)
  • The Phillies sent C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies/AAA) to the minors in March to make way for a younger backup catcher. The fan favorite and clubhouse character has made the most of his time in Triple-A, hitting .313 (26-for-83) with 3 HRs, 22 RBIs, a .418 OBP, and .888 OPS through May 11. According to JBN reader and longtime Phillies follower Art L., however, Stubbs is unlikely to be called-up anytime soon, even though replacement Rafael Marchan is hitting just .087 (2-for-23). Marchan is 5 years younger than Stubbs and out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minors again without first being exposed to waivers (5/12/2025)
  • Two Jewish minor-leaguers each hit 2 HRs on May 10. RJ Schreck (Mariners/AA) hit a pair in a doubleheader against the Rockies affiliate, starting with a solo shot in a 7-1 loss and a 2-run, 1st-inning blast in the nightcap en route to a 5-1 victory. The shots by 3B Chase Strumpf (Cubs/AAA) were dramatic and game-changing: a 3-run shot in the 7th inning gave his team the league, while his solo jack in the 9th inning tied the game at 6-6 en route to a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Tigers affiliate. Strumpf’s power comes despite his unusually slim frame — he stands 6’0″ tall and weighs in at 170 pounds. In the Major Leagues, only one position player, Rockies SS Ezequiel Tovar, stands at least 6’0″ tall at 170 or fewer pounds, and he has yet to homer this season (5/12/2025)
  • RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/High-A), a 2024 draftee out of Duke U., has been starching batters. Through May 11, the reliever had struck out 40.3% of the batters he faced while walking just 6.9%, leaving him with the 4th-best strikeout-to-watch ratio in the Northwest League (5/12/2025)
  • RHP Levi Sterling (Pirates/rookie) earned a win and picked off a runner in his first start and second pro appearance overall, a 7-3 win over the Orioles affiliate on May 10. The 2024 draftee yielded 3 earned runs on 6 hits and one walk over 5 innings while striking out 5 batters (5/12/2025)
  • RHP Dylan Banner (U. of Albany) was named America East Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 28-May 4 after a complete-game win over the U. of Massachusetts on May 2. The junior scattered one earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8 batters. It was Banner’s second Pitcher of the Week award this season (5/12/2025)
  • C Gavin Taylor, a sophomore at Los Angeles Valley College, says he will play next year at the U. of Nevada-Las Vegas, a D-1 school. Taylor recently was named All Western State Conference South (First Team) after hitting .414 with 5 HRs, 24 RBIs, a .551 OBP, and 1.322 OPS against Conference opponents (5/15/2025)
  • Jews have been pitching in the majors since May 3, 1899, when the New York Giants gave 21-year-old Columbia University pitcher Leo Fishel a trial run against the Philadelphia Phillies in front of 800 fans at the Polo Grounds. Last week, nearly 126 years to the day after Fishel’s historic start, Yankees LHP Max Fried and Orioles RHP Dean Kremer combined for one of the greatest Jewish pitching feats in MLB history. In a Yankee Stadium start against the Rays, Fried threw a one-hitter over 7 shutout innings and picked off a baserunner en route to a 3-0 win over the Rays. Meanwhile, 200 miles away in Baltimore, Kremer also tossed 7 shutout innings, albeit on 3 hits. and made a gutsy play in the infield in a 3-0 win over the Royals. Fried’s win left him with an MLB-best 6-0 record and a 1.01 ERA, and it’s no wonder ESPN.com predicts he will win the 2025 Cy Young Award. (He already was named A.L. Pitcher of the Month in April.) For Kremer, his triumphant 7th start of the season could mark a fresh beginning. In his first 6 starts of 2025, the Israeli-American went 2-4 with a 7.04 ERA (5/5/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) continues to pound the ball in his first season with Boston. The 10-year veteran is tied for #1 among A.L. batters in doubles (13), ranks #2 both in RBIs (27) and OPS (.927), comes in 6th in batting average (.317) and OBP (.396), and is tied for #9 with 8 HRs (5/5/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins) is carrying an eight-game hitting streak. During that time, the first-year Minnesotan has raised his batting average from .215 to .280 and made several slick plays in the field, including this one. Click here to see Bader answer fan questions (5/5/2025)
  • 2B Zack Gelof (Athletics), who opened 2025 on the injured list, is inching his way back to Oakland. Three games into a Triple-A rehab stint, Gelof is 1-for-7 hitting with an RBI and a walk (5/5/2025)
  • Who are the Top 10 Jewish home-run hitters of all time? Watch 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins) take a guess (5/5/2025)
  • According to Climbing Tals Hill, LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA) strengthened his case for a call-up in a May 3 start, yielding one earned run and striking out 5 batters over 5 innings en route to a 6-1 win over the Rangers affiliate. “This Astros prospect is forcing a decision the front office can’t put off much longer,” said the website’s headline. Gordon’s 3-0 record is tied for #1 in the hitter-happy Pacific Coast League, and he ranks #4 in ERA at 2.48, #3 in walks-per-9-innings at 1.98, #3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.25, and #1 in baserunners stranded at 92.3%. Click here to watch a recent interview with the top prospect on the Astros Future podcast (5/5/2025)
  • RHP Aaron Davenport (Guardians/AA) turned in his second one-hit start of the season April 30, tossing 6 scoreless innings on the way to a 6-0 win over the Pirates affiliate. On April 12, Davenport gave up just one hit and no walks over 5 scoreless innings, struck out 5 batters, and accomplished all of it in just 59 pitches (5/5/2025)
  • RHP Zack Weiss (Cardinals/AAA), who made his MLB debut in 2018 and appeared again in 2022 and 2023, is making a solid case for a return engagement. In nine relief appearances this season, the 32-year-old is 1-0 with one save, a 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 21 strikeouts over 15 innings, and a .118 opponent batting average (5/5/2025)
  • You can’t get much streakier than Padres prospect Josh Mallitz (High-A) has been this season. If you combine the righthander’s first three appearances of 2025 with his most recent one (April 30), you’ll see a second-year pro who tossed a total of 8.2 scoreless innings on just 3 hits and 10 strikeouts. But isolate the 3 consecutive games sandwiched between those other four and you’ll discover an undrafted free agent who gave up 15 earned runs over a mere 5.2 innings, including 3 HRs (5/5/2025)
  • Finally! Nearly a year after the Pirates tapped high-school pitcher Levi Sterling in the first round of the MLB draft, the 6’5″ righthander made his pro debut. Sure, it could have gone better. Sterling, the starting pitcher on May 3, also known as Opening Day of MLB’s rookie leagues, lasted just 7 batters before being pulled, having surrendered 3 hits, 2 walks, and a double-steal that produced one of 2 runs against him en route to a 4-2 loss to the Orioles affiliate. But Sterling did strike out 2 batters, one of whom went on to homer and stroke 2 singles later in the game (5/5/2025)
  • C/DH Will King, a last-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft, hit .310 (9-for-29) in rookie-league ball that year but sat out all of 2024 due to injury. On May 3, the Eastern Kentucky U. alum returned to action, going 0-for-2 with a walk in an 11-2 loss to the Rays affiliate. Two days later, King went 2-for-2 with a walk, stolen base, and RBI en route to a 6-2 win over the Red Sox affiliate (5/5/2025)
  • RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/High-A) threw his best game of the season on May 2, striking out 7 of 10 batters he faced over 3 scoreless innings and yielding just one baserunner in a 7-3 win over the Giants affiliate (5/5/2025)
  • The Buster Posey Award, given annually to the best NCAA catcher in Division 1, has revealed its midseason watch list, and two of the 56 backstops under consideration are Jewish. Ethan Swidler, a 21-year-old junior at Lafayette College, is hitting .331 (59-for-178) with 5 HRs, 33 RBIs, 14 doubles, OBP of .462, OPS of .956, and is fielding at a .981% clip. Adam Agresti, a 20-year-old sophomore at St. John’s University, is hitting .217 (26-for-120) with a team-leading 8 HRs, 23 RBIs, OBP of .358, and .833 OPS, while fielding at .986% (5/5/2025)
  • LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA), Houston’s top-ranked southpaw prospect, improved his case for a 2025 call-up with a 2-0 win on April 26. The 6’5″ Floridian held the Mariners’ affiliate scoreless over a career-high 7 innings, yielding just 7 hits and no walks while striking out 8 batters for his second win against 0 losses. Gordon ranks #2 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 2.59 ERA, #2 with 29 strikeouts, and #6 with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.14 (4/27/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) has been a notoriously slow starter. From his rookie season in 2017 through 2024, Bregman hit an average of .249 through his first 28 games, with 3 HRs, 3 doubles, and 13 RBIs. Not this season. Through April 26, he ranked #7 in the A.L. with a .324 batting average, had hit 5 HRs, tied for the the league lead with 11 doubles and 16 extra-base hits, hit 22 RBIs (#3), and ranked in the top eight with a .402 OBP, .559 slugging percentage, and .960 OPS (4/27/2025)
  • DH Matt Mervis (Marlins) hit a 2-run, go-ahead HR in a 5-2 loss to the Reds on April 23, ending the day 1-for-4. Through April 26, Mervis ranked #8 in the Majors in home-run frequency with one every 9.57 ABs, and his 7 round-trippers were tied for #11 (4/27/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins) announced on a podcast this week that he will play for Team Israel in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, his first time wearing the blue and white, and he also talked about the plan with reporters at Target Field. “Just getting an opportunity to represent Israel on the baseball side and wearing that uniform, I think, is special for me and my friends and family,” he said. Bader had planned to play for Israel in the 2023 WBC but suffered an injury. On the podcast, Bader also shared why he chose to wear a Star of David on his belt while with the Mets. “October 7th, I think, it presented me with an opportunity to in many ways thank all of my Jewish friends who I grew up with and love dearly” (4/27/2025)
  • The Pirates activated 1B Spencer Horwitz from the injured list on April 27 and sent him to Double-A for a rehab assignment. Horwitz underwent surgery on his right wrist since mid-February 2025 and has been recovering since (4/27/2025)
  • Max Fried isn’t the only Jewish pitcher performing well in the Yankee ecosystem, as demonstrated again on April 23. RHP Eric Reyzelman (AAA), ranked New York’s #22 prospect, tossed 2 scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the White Sox affiliate, yielding one hit and one walk while striking out one batter. The same day, RHP Harrison Cohen (AA) threw 1.2 scoreless innings in a 4-2 loss to the Rockies affiliate, surrendering one hit and no walks while striking out 3 batters. Through April 26, Reyzelman was 1-1 across 8 appearances with a 3.38 ERA, one blown save, a 1.31 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Meanwhile, Cohen was 0-1 across 7 games with a 2.25 ERA, one save in one chance, a hold, 10 strikeouts over 8 combined innings, and a slim 0.88 WHIP (4/27/2025)
  • C Andy Yerzy (Cardinals/AAA), playing his first game in the St. Louis farm system, hit a solo HR, stole a base, walked twice, and ended the day 2-for-2 in a 7-6 win over the Orioles affiliate on April 23. The Canadian, a 2nd-round pick out of high school in the 2016 draft, was released by the Reds earlier this month (4/27/2025)
  • RHP Tanner Jacobson (Cardinals/High-A) has thrown 9 no-hit innings since the start of the 2025 season, thanks to his latest outing, a 5-0 defeat by the Royals affiliate on April 24, during which the Pittsburgh native tossed 1.2 perfect innings and struck out 3. RF Zach Levenson backed Jacobson with a hit and a walk in the losing effort (4/27/2025)
  • We want to correct last week’s summary of a pitching appearance by OF/3B Shawn Goosenberg (White Sox/AA). Goosenberg, who never pitched in college, took the mound for the second time as a minor leaguer on April 20, entering the game with 2 outs in the top of the 11th inning, his team down 2 runs, and a man on first base. The right-hander’s first pitch plunked 3B Brock Wilken (Brewers/AA). But Goosenberg recovered from a 3-0 count against the next batter by tossing 2 called strikes and inducing a dribble fielded by the catcher to retire the side. Alas, his team went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to finish with a 5-3 loss (4/27/2025)
  • Yankees ace Max Fried carried a no-hitter through 7 innings in an April 20 start…or so everyone was led to believe. After declaring a 6th-inning infield play an error, official scorer Bill Mathews began having second thoughts, and between the 7th and 8th innings he relabeled the miscue a Tampa Bay single. Fried responded humbly. “It is what it is,” he said after the 4-0 shutout. “I’m just happy we got the win.” Even Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Mathews ultimately made the correct call. But Boone added that it was a “little dicey” to make the change two innings after the play ended, and Yankees fans as well as announcer Michael Kay were livid. Fried left the game with 2 outs in the 8th inning, having given up just 2 hits, 2 walks, and a hit batter while striking out 2 and picking a runner off second base. The $218-Million Man leads the Majors with a 4-0 record and ranks #7 in ERA, at 1.42 (4/22/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) became the 15th MLB hitter this season to homer in at least 3 consecutive games when he smacked a solo, go-ahead dinger on April 18, pounded a 430-foot grand slam on April 19, and delivered a 2-run, pinch-hit shot on April 20. Tellez’s granny left his bat at 113.1-mph, tying him with Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani for the 30th hardest-hit ball of 2025 (4/22/2025)
  • RHP Jake Bird (Rockies) is off to a great start, with a 1.42 ERA, 2 holds, 17 strikeouts, and a 1.18 WHIP in 12.2 innings spread out over 9 appearances (4/22/2025)
  • The White Sox called up LHP Jared Shuster on April 19 and put him on the mound the same day. The 3-year veteran tossed 1.1 no-hit innings, but Chicago ended up losing 4-3 to the Red Sox in extras. Shuster did not face Boston 3B Alex Bregman (4/22/2025)
  • Cardinals prospect Tanner Jacobson (High-A) didn’t pitch a no-hitter, but the right-handed reliever has tossed a total of 7.1 no-hit innings over 5 appearances this season, earning 2 saves and striking out 6 batters while walking three (4/22/2025)
  • 3B/2B Chase Strumpf (Cubs/AAA), batting 9th, smacked back-to-back HRs in a 20-6 slaughter of the Twins affiliate on April 16 and crushed a grand slam to dead center the next day for a 6-2 win. He ended the 2-day power trip a combined 3-for-8 with 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, and a walk (4/22/2025)
  • OF/3B Shawn Goosenberg (White Sox/AA), who didn’t pitch even once in college, took the mound for the second time as a minor leaguer on April 20. He didn’t last long: the right-hander plunked 3B Brock Wilken (Brewers/AA) with the first pitch and immediately was pulled, en route to a 5-3 loss (4/22/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) did something April 15 that has only been accomplished 119 other times since 1901: go 5-for-5 with at least 2 HRs in a single game. The All Star’s four RBIs proved the difference in Boston’s 7-4 win over the Rays, a game in which he hit an RBI single in the 1st inning, solo HR in the 3rd, RBI double in the 4th, solo HR in the 7th, and single in the 9th. Bregman is the third Jewish player to join the elite club, following Hank Greenberg (Tigers) in 1937 and Ryan Braun (Brewers) in 2009. Others on the list include luminaries such as Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, and Mike Trout. Bregman’s 16 RBIs rank #4 in the A.L. (4/16/2025)
  • Speaking of Alex Bregman, MLB Trade Rumors pointed out April 14 that despite signing a 3-year contract with the Red Sox just 2 months ago, both he and the team can opt-out after the 2025 and 2026 seasons. In other words, it’s possible Bregman could become a free agent again after just one year in Boston (4/16/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) earned his third straight win on April 15, a 6.2-inning start in which he limited the Royals to 2 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 batters en route to a 4-2 victory. Fried’s 1.88 ERA ranks #3 among A.L. hurlers with at least 20 innings pitched (4/16/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins) generated 2 runs in a 6-3 triumph over the Mets on April 15. With Minnesota down 1-0 in the 3rd inning, Bader singled, stole second base, and scored on an error, and his RBI single in the 4th inning put Minnesota up for good. He ended the day 3-for-3 (4/16/2025)
  • For the second straight day, Cardinals farmhands Zach Levenson and Tanner Jacobson (High-A) teamed up to help drive a victory, this time a 7-2 win over a Twins affiliate on April 15. CF Levenson went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI single, and hit-by-pitch. Meanwhile, RHP Jacobson tossed a perfect 9th inning to earn his second consecutive save (4/16/2025)
  • 1B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A), batting cleanup, went 3-for-3 with an RBI triple, double, and stolen base in a 6-2 win over a Royals affiliate on April 15. The 6’5″ native of Siberia is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with one HR, 2 triples, 4 doubles, 4 RBIs, a .368 OBP, and 4 stolen bases in 4 attempts (4/16/2025)
  • Israel Baseball honored the late Ken Holtzman on his first yarhzeit with an April 10 article about the observant Jew’s legacy. The winningest Jewish pitcher of all time (174-150), Holtzman went 4-1 during Oakland’s 3-year run as World Series champs (1972-74), won a pitcher’s duel against Sandy Koufax in 1966 — carrying a no-hitter into the 9th inning, no less — and hit a home run in Game 4 of the 1972 Series, a feat not matched again for 34 years. Holtzman also was influential off the field. “As the Cubs’ player rep, he was an early activist in the Major League Baseball Players Association and contributed to Marvin Miller’s successful campaign to obtain better terms and conditions for players,” the article said. His younger brother, RHP Bob Holtzman, spent 2 years in the Cardinals’ farm system, where he went 9-2 with a .336 ERA and hit .300 (4/16/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins), one of the hottest hitters in baseball, homered for the fifth time in 6 games on April 13, a 3-run, pinch-hit shot to dead center field that helped Miami tame the Nationals 11-4. The 26-year-old is averaging one HR every 6.8 at-bats, the best rate of any Major Leaguer hitter with at least 5 home runs (4/14/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) was named A.L. Player of the Week after hitting .407 (11-for-27) with 2 HRs, 5 doubles, 10 RBIs, and a 1.263 OPS from March 31 to April 6. “Just trying to get it started early and fast,” Bregman told MLB Tonight. “Last few years started pretty slow” (4/14/2025)
  • RHP Aaron Davenport (Guardians/AA) was “flat out sensational” in his second start of the season, a 4-3 win over the Pirates affiliate on April 12. Davenport gave up just one hit and no walks over 5 scoreless innings, struck out 5 batters, and accomplished all of it in just 59 pitches (4/14/2025)
  • RF Zach Levenson and RHP Tanner Jacobson teamed up to help the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals/High-A) defeat the South Bend Cubs on April 13. Levenson reached based 5 times in the 11-9 win, going 3-for-4 with a double, 2 walks, and 2 RBIs. Jacobson sealed the victory with a perfect 9th inning, retiring the side on just 10 pitches to earn a save (4/14/2025)
  • Yeshiva University’s baseball team broke its 100-game losing streak with a 9-5 win in Game 2 of a doubleheader on April 8. The team’s victory came at the expense of Lehman College, whose Game 1 victory over the Maccabees had ended its own losing streak at 42 games (4/14/2025)
  • Newly-minted Bostonian Alex Bregman (Red Sox) made quite a splash in a Fenway Park doubleheader on April 6. The third baseman began the day by showing off his trademark plate discipline: after facing a 1-and-2 count against RHP Andre Pallante (Cardinals), he stretched the at-bat to 10 pitches and ended up drawing a walk. Boston ended up winning 5-4 in 10 innings, with Bregman going 0-for-4 at the plate. But he more than made up for that disappointment with a career day in Game 2, going 4-for-5 with a 3-run home run that traveled 411 feet over the center-field wall, 2 doubles, and 6 RBIs in an 18-7 thrashing of St. Louis. It marked the seventh 4-hit game of Bregman’s career and the second time he has driven in 6 runs (4/7/2025)
  • RHP Jake Bird (Rockies) was stellar in a 12-5 win over Oakland on April 6, striking out 5 of his batters he faced over 2 perfect innings to earn a hold, and needing just 25 pitches to do so. In 4 appearances this season, Bird has allowed just one hit and one walk over 5 scoreless innings while striking out 7 batters (4/7/2025)
  • Jordan Jaffe, a junior 1B/3B at the U. of Richmond, is blistering opposing pitchers this season. The California native is hitting .408 (53-for-130) with 8 HRs, 15 doubles, 42 RBIs, OBP of .470, and 1.193 OPS. Those stats ranking him in the Top 50 of all D-1 hitters in both batting average and RBIs per game, and tie him for #9 with 0.50 doubles per game (4/7/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins) broke out in a big way in a 4-0 shutout of the Braves on April 5, going 3-for-5 with 2 dingers and 3 RBIs. The homers, his first in a Miami uniform, made Mervis the 18th MLB hitter this season to record a multi-HR game. “I was never discouraged,” said Mervis, who entered the day 2-for-15 with 7 strikeouts, in an post-game interview. “The confidence is always there. I’ve been doing really good work with the hitting coaches, just really waiting for it to click. And then today, it finally did.” Mervis’s second HR traveled 421 feet (4/6/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) tossed 5.2 innings of one-run ball to earn his first win as a Yankee, a 9-4 triumph over the Pirates on April 4. Fried, who signed an 8-year, $218-million deal with New York during the offseason, gave up 6 hits and one walk while striking out 6 batters. He also picked off a runner at first base (4/6/2025)
  • CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) hit a pinch single, stole second base, and scored what proved to be the winning run in a 6-4 victory over the Rays. Teammate Joc Pederson went 0-for-3 (4/5/2025)
  • C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies/AAA), who failed to make Philadelphia’s Opening Day roster for the first time since 2021, went 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs in a 10-1 win over the Cardinals affiliate on April 5 (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AAA) tossed 2 scoreless innings of relief in a 7-4 loss to the Mets affiliate on April 5, giving up one hit and no walks while fanning three batters (4/6/2025)
  • RF Hunter Bishop (Giants/AAA) hit his first home run of the season on April 4, a 416-foot bomb off an 84.5-mph changeup, but his team went on to lose 6-4 to the Athletics affiliate (4/6/2025)
  • 1B Lyle Miller-Green (White Sox/Single-A) went 2-for-5 with a double and a solo HR for a 3-1 lead in his 2025 debut, but his team ended up losing 7-4 to the Rangers affiliate on April 4 (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Daniel Federman (Orioles/High-A) tossed 2 innings of scoreless relief and earned a hold in a 12-inning, 4-3 loss to the Rangers affiliate on April 4, yielding one hit and no walks while striking out one batter in his 2025 debut (4/6/2025)
  • RHP Ben Simon (Mets/High-A) and RHP Tanner Jacobson (Cardinals/High-A) were perfect in their 2025 debuts on April 5. Simon struck out 3 batters over 1.1 innings in a 15-1 crushing of the Nationals affiliate, while Jacobson struck out one batter over 1.1 innings in an 8-6 defeat to the Royals affiliate (4/6/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman clubbed his first Red Sox home run, a 2-run, 1st-inning shot that gave Boston a 2-0 lead en route to an 8-4 victory in Baltimore on April 3. Bregman later doubled twice and drove in a third run; check out his post-game interview. Today at 2:00pm ET, Bregman will play his very first Fenway Park game in a Red Sox uniform (4/4/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins) smacked a 3-run HR in a 6-1 win over the White Sox on April 2, giving him 3 HRs and 8 RBIs in his first 19 ABs of the season. Bader is tied for #3 in the MLB in both home runs and RBIs (4/4/2025)
  • LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA), who came thisclose to making Houston’s starting rotation on Opening Day, followed up on a strong 2025 debut with an even better second start, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts in a 7-1 triumph over the Rays’ affiliate on April 3. Gordon is 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA and 0.68 WHIP over 10.1 innings (4/4/2025)
  • Former MLB southpaw Kenny Rosenberg, who signed a $700,000, one-year contract with the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization during the offseason, was dominant in a 9-3 win over the SSG Landers on March 28. The only foreign pitcher on the team, Rosenberg — backed by a HR and 2 RBIs from teammate and former MLB RF Yasiel Puig — yielded 2 earned runs over 7 innings on 4 hits, 9 strikeouts, and one walk. Rosenberg’s second start of the season was a vast improvement over his first, when he was given the honor of being his team’s Opening Day starter but got badly rocked (4/4/2025)
  • RHP Robert Stock (Red Sox), a former MLB’er who spent 2024 in the Mexican Baseball League, tossed 4.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in a 2-0 victory over the Marlins affiliate on April 2. Stock gave up just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out six (4/4/2025)
  • LF Harrison Bader (Twins), who entered the game as a defensive substitute in the 7th inning, hit a 3-run HR in his only at-bat on April 1, a 9th-inning shot that put the finishing touches on an 8-3 win over the White Sox. Bader is hitting .250 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs in just 12 ABs (4/2/2025)
  • Three Jewish relievers earned Triple-A wins on April 1. RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AAA), appearing for the second time since being promoted, tossed 1.2 no-hit innings in a 6-2 victory over the Mets’ affiliate, yielding one walk while striking out 3 batters. LHP Jared Shuster (White Sox/AAA) earned his second win in a 4-3 triumph over the Orioles’ affiliate, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up 3 hits and a walk. Meanwhile, RHP Zack Weiss (Cardinals/AAA) was on the winning end of a 13-6 trouncing of the Blue Jays’ affiliate, giving up one earned run on 2 hits over 2.1 innings while striking out 3 batters (4/1/2025)
  • DH Joc Pederson (Rangers) reached base in 3 of 4 plate appearances in a 1–0 squeaker over the Reds on April 1, stroking a 1st-inning double and later drawing a walk and HBP (4/2/2025)
  • The Phillies might have demoted fan favorite Garrett Stubbs to Triple-A, but the catcher — known in the Philadelphia clubhouse as the Chief Vibes Officer and go=to D.J. — remains beloved everywhere. On March 28, he appeared on the cover of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ digital game program, Pork Illustrated. “Chief Bacon Officer: Stubbs arrives in Piggyland,” the headline read (4/2/2025)
  • Jewish Baseball News reader Scott Sherman recently wrote on Substack about the Jewish obsession with baseball — and with Jewish baseball players. Key evidence, he argues, includes the proliferation of books on Jewish ballplayers. Jane Leavy, author of a well-respected Sandy Koufax biography, told Sherman that “baseball is the most writerly sport” (4/2/2025)
  • Six Jewish hitters took swings on March 27, MLB’s Opening Day. Remarkably, all six were playing their first game for a new franchise, having signed free-agent contracts during the offseason. LF Harrison Bader, batting 9th for the Twins, stood out by going 2-for-4 with a 394-foot solo HR and a double, although Minnesota ended up losing 5-3 to St. Louis, his former team. CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) also made an impression in a game that featured a total of 3 Jews, including Texas teammate Joc Pederson, who lined out to center in a pinch-hit at-bat, and Red Sox 3B Alex Bregman, who went 0-for-4. Pillar drove in the first run of the game — and of the Rangers’ season — with an RBI single in the 2nd inning, and he singled again in the 4th inning, ending the day 2-for-3 with one RBI, but Boston ultimately prevailed 5-2. Pillar also made a crowd-pleasing catch in center (3/28/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried will make his Yankees debut March 29 in a 1:00pm ET game against the Brewers. He will face off against LHP Nestor Cortes, who was drafted by the Yankees back in 2013 (3/28/2025)
  • JBN reader Henry Schipper recently published The Ball Dreams of the Sky, a book of autobiographical poems that touch on his parents’ experience as Holocaust survivors. The collection’s back cover includes favorable reviews from three notable Jews: Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, an author of many books on athletes; MLB official historian John Thorn, who was born in a displaced-persons camp to Holocaust survivors; and retired MLB great Shawn Green (3/28/2025)
  • It’s Opening Day of the 2025 season, and yesterday two MLB teams made last-minute Jewish additions to their rosters. Both players were free agents who signed minor-league deals in February 2025. CF Kevin Pillar, who hit .273 (12-for-44) with a HR, 9 RBIs, and .706 OPS during Spring Training, will join the Rangers. 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners), who hit .298 (14-for-47) with 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, and a .894 OPS, will play for the Mariners (3/27/2025)
  • 2B Zack Gelof (Athletics) will miss the start of the 2025 regular season due to an injury suffered when he was hit by a pitch on March 19. Gelof, who hit .297 (11-for-37) this spring with 2 HRs, 8 RBIs and an .881 OPS, underwent surgery on his right wrist March 24 to repair a hamate fracture. He could be out several months (3/27/2025)
  • Until yesterday (March 26), the Red Sox had not revealed where 3B Alex Bregman — who won a Gold Glove last year with Houston — would play on the field. But Red Sox manager Alex Cora has now confirmed that Bregman will be the team’s everyday third baseman, while Rafael Devers, who had been fighting for the slot, will serve as designated hitter (3/27/2025)
  • We missed it: on March 10, two Jewish farmhands homered for the same MLB team in the same game. 1B Matt Mervis (AAA) put the Marlins ahead 1-0 in the 1st inning with a solo shot. Later, teammate Michael Snyder (Single-A), a 2024 draftee out of the U. of Oklahoma, played hero: the third baseman’s solo HR in the bottom of the 9th inning tied the Nationals at 9-9, which is how the game ended. Snyder’s dinger came on a 78.6-mph slider from RHP Chase Solesky. Click here to watch a December 2024 interview with Snyder (3/27/2025)
  • Team Israel announced on March 20 that retired MLB All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler will return as manager at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Kinsler — who was on the 2025 MLB Hall of Fame ballot — managed Israel at the 2023 WBC and played for the team in the 2021 Olympics (3/27/2025)
  • RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles) looked strong in 5.1 innings of relief on March 24. Coming on in the 3rd inning to clean up a 3-run mess left by starter Charlie Morton, Kremer yielded 2 earned runs on 4 hits and struck out 10 Braves batters while walking just one. The outing, which ended in a 5-5 tie, trimmed the veteran’s ERA this spring from 9.00 to 7.27 (3/24/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) went 3-for-4 with 2 doubles and a spectacular unassisted double play in a 10-6 win over the Brewers on March 23 (3/24/2025)
  • C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies), who was sent to Triple-A on March 20, has lost his backup catching job to Rafael Marchan to start the season. Stubbs, who hit .286 (6-for-21) this Spring with 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, and an enviable .423 OBP, had held the job the past 3 seasons (3/24/2025)
  • RF Hunter Bishop (Giants/AAA), playing for the Sacramento River Cats (AAA), went 2-for-4 with a double and a walk in a 4-3 loss to the Giants on March 23 (3/24/2025)
  • The Yankees deployed 3 Jewish pitchers over a 2-game stretch this week, and the trio excelled. In a March 17 game against Toronto, RHP Harrison Cohen (High-A) came on in the 7th inning with 2 outs, men on first and second, and the score tied 4-4. He struck out SS Josh Rivera on 4 pitches to end the threat. On March 18, starter Max Fried held Boston scoreless over 4.1 innings, yielding 2 hits and no walks while striking out three. Then, in the 9th inning, RHP Eric Reyzelman (AA) struck out all 3 batters he faced, including retiring LF Roman Anthony with a 98.5-mph four-seam fastball and CF Nate Eaton with a 78.9-mph sweeper (3/20/2025)
  • Things were looking good for 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) on March 15, when he was sporting a .313 batting average with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs. Then came an unpleasantly historic two-game stretch. On March 16, the former Cub went 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts against the Cardinals. A day later, he went 0-for-5 with 4 strikeouts against the Mets. How unusual a feat was it? We can’t speak to Spring Training. But since 1905, only 14 players in regular-season MLB history have had two consecutive hitless games in which they struck out 4 or more times in 5 or fewer plate appearances (3/20/2025)
  • The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is offering an intriguing two-fer: an opportunity to stream Israel Swings for Gold, a documentary about Team Israel’s run at the 2021 Olympics, and then participate in an April 10 Q&A via Zoom with MLB All-Star Shawn Green and Israel Baseball Americas CEO Nate Fish. Click here to buy a ticket, which costs $21 (3/20/2025)
  • MLB.com recently asked more than 100 Major League players to identify the game’s best pitcher. LHP Max Fried (Yankees) was one of 21 hurlers to get at least one vote (3/17/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez (Mariners) celebrated his 30th birthday on March 16 by going 3-for-5 with a 406-foot solo HR in an 8-3 win over the Reds. In so doing, Tellez may have improved his shot at an Opening Day roster spot. “He’s got the threat of going deep every time…and continues to see the ball and swing the bat well,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the game. So far this Spring, Tellez — playing for his fourth franchise in eight MLB seasons — is hitting .294 (10-for-34) with 3 HRs, 4 RBIs, and a .951 OPS (3/17/2025)
  • Rowdy Tellez wasn’t the only Jewish Mariner to play March 16. RHP Charlie Beilenson, who pitched in just 4 minor-league games after Seattle drafted him out of Duke U. in 2024, had a rough time in his third Spring appearance, giving up home runs to the first 2 batters he faced in the 9th inning. Beilenson recovered well, though, striking out 2 of the next 3 batters and forcing a third to pop-out to shortstop (3/17/2025)
  • CF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) was hitting just .143 (2-for-14) with one RBI when Texas officially reassigned him from MLB Spring Training to Triple-A on March 5. Oddly, Pillar has remained with the team ever since, and it’s worked out for him as well as the Rangers. Since March 5, Pillar has hit .375 (6-for-16) with 5 RBIs and a .429 OBP (3/17/2025)
  • 1B Joc Pederson (Rangers) opened scoring with a 3-run, 1st-inning HR en route to a 4-3 win over the Reds on Wednesday, ending the day 1-for-2 with an HBP. Pederson, who is hitting .208 (5-for-24) this Spring, is tied for the team lead with 3 HRs and ranks #2 with 9 RBIs (3/12/2025)
  • Jewish Baseball News welcomes OF Harrison Feinberg (Northeastern U.) to its roster of D-1 players. The redshirt junior is hitting .311 (14-for-45) with 5 HRs, 8 RBIs, a .404 OBP, and 1.115 OPS. In 2021, Prep Baseball ranked Feinberg the #16 prospect among all high-school seniors in Connecticut, and the #6 outfielder (3/13/2025)
  • University of Richmond’s baseball team is 14-2 so far this season, and two Jewish players deserve a chunk of the credit. OF Phil Bernstein (bio), a graduate student from Brooklyn, NY, who transferred from a D-3 school in 2024, ranks #16 among all Division 1 batters with a remarkable .594 OBP, is tied for #30 with a .462 batting average, and is the #11 (tied) hardest hitter to strike out, with 14 walks and only 2 strikeouts in 52 at-bats. 1B/3B Jordan Jaffe (bio), a junior from Thousand Oaks, CA, who was named Atlantic Rookie of the Year in 2023, is hitting .415 (27-for-65) with 5 HRs and ranks #28 (tied) among D-1 hitters with 24 RBIs through March 10. His 1.272 OPS is just a notch below Bernstein’s 1.286 OPS (3/11/2025)
  • Four Jewish prospects have been chosen by their respective MLB teams to participate in MLB Spring Breakout, a “four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball.” RHP Charlie Beilenson (Mariners/A), OF Zach Levenson (Cardinals/High-A), RHP Eric Reyzelman (Yankees/AA), and OF RJ Schreck (Blue Jays/AA) will play in the March 13-16 exhibition. MLB.com ranks Levenson, Reyzelman and Schreck as Top 30 prospects within their franchises (3/11/2025)
  • 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) went a combined 3-for-8 on March 8 and 10, with a HR, 2 doubles, and 2 RBIs. According to the Miami Herald, Mervis is likely to be on Miami’s Opening Day roster and share first-base duties with Jonah Bride. “I love my time with the Cubs. They treated me great,” he said. “But some guys just need a fresh start and change of scenery: (3/11/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox) is one of only six Major Leaguers to stroke at least 50 doubles in a single season since 2017. The former Astro hit 51 two-baggers in 2018 (3/11/2025)
  • College ace Ryan Prager (Texas A&M), chosen by the Angels in the third round of the 2024 MLB draft, took a huge risk when he refused to sign with the team after it rejected his $1.5-million bonus demand. In the prior 5 draft years, only 4 of 516 players selected in the first three rounds of the MLB draft matched Prager’s chutzpah, according to The Athletic. Could Prager repeat his 2024 magic in his final year of college? So far, he’s been even better. After earning a complete-game shutout of New Mexico State on Friday, Prager is 2-0, having given up just one earned run over a combined 23.1 innings, struck out 27, and maintained a microscopic 0.39 ERA (3/7/2025)
  • Newly-minted Bostonian Alex Bregman (Red Sox) continued his dominant Spring in a 20-5 thrashing of Miami on Friday, going 2-for-2 with 2-run HR and a walk before being lifted for a pinch-runner in the 5th inning. The two-time All Star third baseman ranks #1 in the Majors with a .471 batting average (8-for-17), OBP of .542, and 1.542 OPS (3/7/2025)
  • Baseball America recently published a list of the Top 200 Draft Prospects from the high-school Class of 2026, and three of the players are Jewish. California’s CJ Weinstein, listed at #14, has committed to play at LSU and is Prep Baseball Report‘s #1-ranked second baseman nationwide in his class. Ethan Bass, at #41, is a Wake Forest commit, Prep Baseball Report‘s #1-ranked Illinois prospect at any position, and the publication’s #7 shortstop nationwide. Spencer Krasner, at #157, is a South Carolina commit, Prep Baseball Report‘s #4-ranked LHP in Florida and #13 nationwide. Weinstein and Krasner both have participated in an Israel Baseball Academy showcase event (3/7/2025)
  • OF Kevin Pillar (Rangers) went 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI in an 8-2 win over the Padres on March 6, but that didn’t stop Texas from reassigning him from MLB Spring Training to Double-A (3/6/2025)
  • After pitching well for Dos Laredos Tecolotes of the Mexican League in 2024, former major-league RHP Robert Stock signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in January 2025 and invited him to MLB Spring Training. But he won’t make Boston’s Opening Day roster. Stock went 0-0 this Spring with a 12.00 ERA, 4 strikeouts, and 3 walks over a combined 3 innings of relief, leading the Red Sox to reassign him to Triple-A (3/6/2025)
  • According to Sports Illustrated, LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA) is competing for the final spot in Houston’s starting rotation. The 26-year-old made a strong case for himself in a 5-0 Spring Training loss to the Mets on February 27, striking out 3 batters over 2 scoreless innings while yielding no walks and a single hit. “He isn’t going to blow opponents away with high octane stuff, but keeps opponents off balance with a good mix of off-speed pitches and really solid control,” SI wrote. “His slider is truly devastating, which the New York Mets found out.” Click here for Gordon’s February 27 interview (3/4/2025)
  • LHP Max Fried (Yankees) had his franchise debut in a 12-3 win over the Pirates on Monday, but it wasn’t the dominant start he might have hoped for. Fried, who signed an 8-year, $218-million contract with New York in December, lasted just 2.1 innings, yielding 2 earned runs on 2 hits, a walk, and 2 strikeouts on 49 pitches (3/3/2025)
  • Our tally of Jews assigned to MLB Spring Training is up to 31, thanks to the addition of 1B Matt Mervis (Marlins/AAA) and LHP Colton Gordon (Astros/AAA). Through 3/3/2025, Mervis was hitting .286 (4-for-14) with a HR and 3 RBIs for his new franchise (3/4/2025)
  • Want to know how Jewish players are performing in MLB Spring Training? Click here for stats thru games played March 1 (3/3/2025)
  • RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles) tosses 3 scoreless innings in 5-4 loss to Phillies, yielding one hit and one walk while striking out 2 batters (3/2/2025)
  • 3B Alex Bregman (Red Sox), playing for new franchise, goes 2-for-3 in 6-4 win over Mets but gets tossed out trying to stretch RBI single into double (3/2/2025)
  • Free-agent 3B Alex Bregman finally signed a contract, reaching a 3-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on February 12 that will pay him a total of $120-million, including a $5-million signing bonus, $35-million in 2025, and $40-million both in 2026 and 2027. The deal, which came just 6 weeks before Opening Day, ended a months-loss process that led to at least 4 teams make contract offers and saw observers cast aspersions on Bregman agent Scott Boras for rejecting arguably good deals. Still just 30 years old, Bregman has played his entire 9-year career with the Houston Astros, the same team that made him the #2 overall pick in the 2015 draft. Reports speculate that Boston will move Gold Glove-winner Bregman, still just 30 years old, from third base to second base (2/12/2025)
  • LHP Richard Bleier announced his retirement from baseball on February 11. Selected by the Texas Rangers in the 6th round of the 2008 draft, the Florida native spent 8 years in the minors before making his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2016. In each of his first 3 MLB seasons, one with the Yankees and two with the Baltimore Orioles, Bleier turned in a sub-2.00 ERA. In three postseason games with the Miami Marlins in 2020, he delivered a total of 2 perfect innings and earned a hold. Bleier ended up playing for a total of 4 franchises over a Major League career that lasted through 2023, when he pitched for the Boston Red Sox. According to MLB Trade Rumors, his “success was powered by outstanding control (3.9% career walk rate) and a knack for keeping the ball on the ground, as Bleier had a 60.9% grounder rate.  Among all pitchers with at least 300 innings pitched between the 2016-23 seasons, only T.J. McFarland and Framber Valdez had a better grounder rate.” Bleier represented Team Israel in the qualifying round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic and in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Jewish Baseball News wishes Richard the best in post-pitching career (2/11/2025)
  • The Minnesota Twins signed free-agent CF Harrison Bader to a one-year, $6.25-million contract on February 6, with a mutual option to extend the contract to 2026. A Gold Glove winner, the 30-year-old New York native was a 3rd-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 and made it to the Majors just 2 years later. Playing for the New York Yankees in the 2022 postseason, Bader hit .333 (10-for-30) with 5 HRs, 6 RBIs, and 4 walks. He played for the New York Mets in 2024, and Minnesota will be his fifth MLB franchise. Although Bader has played centerfield exclusively since 2019, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he thinks “putting one of the best outfielders in the game in left field…makes some sense” (2/7/2025)
  • 1B Rowdy Tellez, who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the 2024 regular season, remained an unsigned free agent as of 2/17/2025.
  • OF Kevin Pillar, who spent his first six-plus MLB seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and has played for eight more franchises since then, was granted free agency by the Los Angeles Angels after the 2024 season and remained unsigned as of 2/17/2025. The website Spotrac.com estimates that if Pillar does get a contract, it’ll likely be a one-year deal worth around $1-million.
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