UPDATED: May 13
Minor-League Bulletin
- 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)
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Top Story
- 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)
Jewish Box Score
Games played Thursday May 15, 2025| Player/Pos | Tm | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Pederson DH | TEX | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pitcher | Team | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | J Shuster | CWS | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| TOTAL | 1.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Last updated: 05-16-2025 at 2:21 pm ET
College Update
- 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)
Transactions
- Yankees send RHP Scott Effross to Double-A for rehab assignment (5/10/2025)
- Rangers place CF Kevin Pillar on injured list due to lower back inflammation (5/7/2025)
- Yankees send RHP Scott Effross to rookie league for rehab assignment (5/6/2025)
- Pirates send 1B Spencer Horwitz to Triple-A for rehab assignment (5/6/2025)
- Phillies place C Jordan Dissin (AA) on injured list (5/5/2025)
- Orioles place RHP Daniel Federman (High-A) on 60-day injured list (5/4/2025)
Season Stats
| Player/Pos | Tm | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. Bader CF | MIN | 110 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 18 | .300 | .384 | 4 |
| A. Bregman 3B | BOS | 175 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 33 | .314 | .392 | 1 |
| M. Mervis 1B | MIA | 98 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 14 | .184 | .270 | 0 |
| J. Pederson DH | TEX | 110 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .127 | .244 | 0 |
| K. Pillar CF | TEX | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .237 | .237 | 3 |
| R. Tellez 1B | SEA | 91 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 19 | .187 | .242 | 0 |
| All Jews | 622 | 33 | 1 | 29 | 89 | .235 | N/A | 8 | |
| Total MLB | .243 | N/A |
| Pitcher | Team | W | L | ERA | G | IP | SV | SO | BB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. Bird | COL | 0 | 1 | 1.78 | 17 | 25.1 | 0 | 33 | 14 | |
| M. Fried | NYY | 6 | 0 | 1.27 | 9 | 56.2 | 0 | 52 | 13 | |
| C. Gordon | HOU | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 1 | 4.1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | |
| D. Kremer | BAL | 3 | 5 | 5.36 | 9 | 50.1 | 0 | 34 | 13 | |
| J. Shuster | CWS | 0 | 0 | 7.59 | 8 | 10.2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | |
| R. Stock | BOS | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| All Jews | 9 | 6 | 3.38 | 149.1 | 0 | 131 | 46 | |||
| Total MLB | 3.96 |
MLB News
- 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)
