Latest news with #NationalLeagueRookieoftheYear
Newsweek
7 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Braves' Big Reason To Trade Slugging Bat Amid Tumultuous Season
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Atlanta Braves' season hasn't gone as they had hoped after just narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year. The Braves are entering the second half of the season in fourth place in the National League East and with little hope of clawing back into the playoff race, are presumably preparing to sell at the deadline. ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 12: Marcell Ozuna #20 of the Atlanta Braves bats against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on July 12, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 12: Marcell Ozuna #20 of the Atlanta Braves bats against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on July 12, 2025 in St Louis, Missouri. Photo byThe Braves have said that they want to be competitive again next season, and therefore many of their club-controlled players will be staying put. That, however, does not include the expiring contract of Marcell Ozuna, who has declined slightly this season but is still a daunting bat in the heart of any lineup. Mark Powell of FanSided provides an intriguing proposition as to why the Braves should move Ozuna as soon as they can; that reason is Drake Baldwin. The Braves have plenty to gain by opening the door for their rookie catcher to garner more playing time in the second half. Not only would the experience allow for the youngster to grow, but the Braves can earn a first-round comp pick in next year's draft if Baldwin were to beat out Jacob Misiorowski for the National League Rookie of the Year. Baldwin has hit .279 during his rookie campaign with 11 home runs in just 65 games played. Baldwin has a long way to go, along with needing Misiorowski to struggle in the second half to win the award, but it isn't impossible. While not at his peak anymore, Ozuna will still require a healthy return for the Braves to part with him, along with allowing Baldwin to see more at-bats in the designated hitter role. Moving Ozuna looks like a no-brainer for the Braves. More MLB: Cubs Offseason Addition Doesn't Advance Extension Talks In Recent Comments
Express Tribune
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Paul Skenes shows boyfriend goals with chivalrous red carpet move in viral moment
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes stole more than just headlines during the 2025 MLB All-Star Game red carpet—he melted hearts with a chivalrous act that instantly went viral. The rising MLB star stopped mid-stride to kneel down and tie girlfriend Olivia "Livvy" Dunne's shoe, delivering a real-life Prince Charming moment fans won't forget. Surrounded by flashing cameras and shouting fans, Skenes didn't hesitate when Livvy's high heel came undone. His thoughtful gesture was captured instantly, fueling the internet's obsession with the beloved sports power couple. Dunne, a former LSU gymnast and social media sensation, beamed with pride as the two continued down the red carpet, later joking about Skenes' style glow-up during a live MLB Network interview. Gentleman Paul Skenes on the Red Carpet with Livvy Dunne 🤵♂️ — MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025 "I think your style has progressively gotten better and drippier,' Dunne said playfully. Skenes laughed in response, 'Well, the bar was pretty low before.' Skenes has been in the MLB for just over a year but has already racked up accolades, including National League Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star nod. Dunne has been by his side through his meteoric rise, sharing with reporters, 'He's doing everything right. People see the results. I see the grind.' The couple's moment added a dose of romance to the MLB All-Star festivities, proving that Skenes' star power extends far beyond the pitching mound. From throwing 102 mph fastballs to tying his girlfriend's shoe on live TV, Paul Skenes is quickly becoming a fan favorite both on and off the field.
USA Today
13-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Every Clemson baseball player to be taken in the first round of an MLB draft, year by year
Clemson baseball has held a fairly common place in the first round of the MLB draft through the years, and the program could see another player added to that list in 2025. The 2025 MLB draft begins at 6 p.m. ET Sunday in Atlanta to kick off All-Star Week festivities. The first three rounds of the draft will be televised on ESPN and MLB Network, with subsequent rounds (4-20) broadcast on MLB Network. Cam Cannarella is hoping to become the first Clemson player selected in the first round since infielder Logan Davidson went No. 29 overall to the Oakland Athletics in 2019. RELATED: Where Cam Cannarella lands in final 2025 MLB draft projections The Tigers' MLB draft history is extensive, with first-round selections dating back to the late 1970s. The only No. 1 overall selection in school history remains right-hander Kris Benson, who went to the Pittsburgh Pirates with the top pick in 1996. Another Clemson pitcher followed Benson three picks later in that draft. Here's a look at every former Clemson baseball player to be selected in the first round of an MLB draft through the years. MLB draft 1979: Mike Sullivan, right-handed pitcher Sullivan spent parts of four seasons in the minor leagues, working his way up to Double-A in the Eastern League in the Reds' organization. MLB draft 1987: Bill Spiers, infielder Spiers spent 13 seasons in the major leagues, primarily between the team that drafted him (Milwaukee) and the Houston Astros. He reached the postseason three times during the Astros' back-to-back-to-back National League Central division champion teams, batting .194 (7-for-36) in 11 playoff games. Spiers also played for the Clemson football team as a punter in 1986, starting 11 games during the Tigers' ACC championship season under coach Danny Ford. His nephew, Carson Spiers, is currently a pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds' organization. MLB draft 1995: David Miller, first baseman Miller played six seasons in the minor leagues and advanced to Triple-A in his third professional season in 1998. After three seasons at Triple-A, he spent the following two years in Double-A before closing his career in the Atlantic League (independent) in 2003. MLB draft 1996: Kris Benson, right-handed pitcher As noted above, Benson is the only Clemson player in program history to be drafted with the top overall pick. He finished fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 1999 after his debut season with the Pirates and was dealt to the New York Mets at the trade deadline in 2004 before re-signing with the club that offseason. His days as a promising young prospect behind him, Benson would go on to pitch for three other clubs, making 30 starts for the Baltimore Orioles in 2006 and in brief appearances with the Texas Rangers (2009) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2010). He had only one season with an ERA under 4.00, his sophomore year in the big leagues with the Pirates in 2000. MLB draft 1996: Billy Koch, right-handed pitcher Clemson had two players taken in the first four picks of the 1996 draft, with Koch making his major league debut in 1999 with the Blue Jays. He went on to save 31 games that year as the team's closer. Koch helped the Oakland A's advance to the ALCS in 2002 after posting a career-high 44 saves in the regular season while leading the American League with 84 relief appearances. He finished 11-4 with a 3.27 ERA in 93 2/3 innings that year. MLB draft 1999: Mike Paradis, right-handed pitcher Paradis spent parts of six seasons in the minor leagues but advanced past Double-A only briefly in 2004 with the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx. MLB draft 2002: Khalil Greene, shortstop After winning both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy in his final season at Clemson, Greene quickly became the top prospect in the Padres' farm system prior to his first full major league season in 2004. That year, he finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Pirates outfielder Jason Bay. Greene totaled double-digit home runs in five straight years between 2004-08, including his best season in the big leagues in 2008 when he had career-highs in homers (27), doubles (44) and RBIs (97). Greene is the last Clemson player to win the Golden Spikes Award. MLB draft 2006: Tyler Colvin, outfielder Another Clemson player taken with the 13th overall pick, Colvin went much higher than expected when Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken drafted him with their first pick in 2006. In his first full season with the Cubs in 2010, Colvin hit a career-high 20 home runs. His best all-around season came with another big league club: the Colorado Rockies in 2012. That year, Colvin hit 18 homers and had career-highs in batting average (.290) and doubles (27). MLB draft 2007: Daniel Moskos, left-handed pitcher Moskos spent only one season in the major leagues with the Pirates in 2011, appearing in 31 games in relief and posting a 2.96 ERA in 24 1/3 innings. Moskos is now in his first season as the Miami Marlins' pitching coach. MLB draft 2010: Kyle Parker, outfielder Parker is one of a small handful of players to play for two legendary Clemson coaches: Dabo Swinney and Jack Leggett. He was the Tigers' starting quarterback in 2009 and threw 20 touchdown passes and 2,526 yards. That same academic year, he smashed 20 home runs and batted .344 for a Tigers team that reached the College World Series in Omaha. Parker was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2023. MLB draft 2012: Richie Shaffer, third baseman Shaffer spent parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues with two stints at the big league level in 2015 and '16. He made the Florida State League (Class High-A) All-Star team in 2013, and the Triple-A All-Star team in 2017 after hitting a career-high 30 home runs in 131 games for the Columbus Clippers. While at Clemson, Shaffer batted .324 and slugged 27 home runs to go with 46 doubles in three seasons. MLB draft 2018: Seth Beer, first baseman As a freshman, Beer took home the 2016 Dick Howser Trophy as the national college baseball player of the year -- the first freshman to do so after hitting .369 with 18 home runs, 13 doubles and 70 RBIs. Two years later, he was a late-first round pick by the Astros. In three years at Clemson, Beer totaled 56 home runs, 41 doubles, and drove in 177 runs while batting .321 in 188 games. Beer spent 2024 in the Pirates' organization, playing in 99 games between Triple-A Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona. He is currently in the Phillies' organization at Double-A Reading in the Eastern League. In 30 games this season, he's hit .190 with three home runs and four doubles at Reading. MLB draft 2019: Logan Davidson, shortstop In three seasons with the Tigers, Davidson totaled 42 home runs and 45 doubles while batting .290 with a .403 on-base percentage. Davidson made his big league debut with the Athletics on May 24 and collected his first major league hit the following night in a 2-for-3 performance that included a double and two RBIs. Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
Indianapolis Star
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Kyle Schwarber was Indiana baseball's last first-round MLB draft pick. That may change Sunday
BLOOMINGTON — Devin Taylor on Sunday could become the first IU baseball player in more than a decade picked in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. Taylor, who holds a slate of program records including the Hoosiers' all-time home run mark (54), won't wait long to hear his name called this weekend. He could be taken as early as the opening round. Not since the Cubs took Kyle Schwarber No. 4 overall in 2014 has a Hoosier heard his name called in the draft's first round, proper or compensatory. But Schwarber is not alone among program alumni to enter the professional game a first-rounder. Here's the company Taylor — widely considered among the best college hitters in the draft — might join Sunday. (draft picks listed chronologically) Round 1, Pick 1, Oakland Athletics, 1966 secondary draft Don Lohse is the answer to one of the MLB draft's great trivia questions: He was the first pick in the sport's first January draft. Beginning in 1966, baseball held a secondary draft for players not taken in the regular draft the previous June. The Athletics took Lohse with the first overall pick, and he spent five years playing in the minors. Lohse's Baseball Reference page suggests his playing career ended after the 1970 season, which he spent with Double-A Birmingham. A right-handed pitcher, Lohse finished his professional career with a 15-30 record, and a 4.56 ERA. Baseball discontinued the January draft in 1986. But Lohse's name is forever attached to another famous draft story because of it. It was in that 1966 secondary draft the Atlanta Braves selected Tom Seaver, No. 20 overall, last pick of the first round, before commissioner William Eckert voided his contract citing exhibition games Seaver's USC team had played the previous season. Because Seaver had already signed a professional contract, the NCAA ruled him ineligible to return and pitch in college, but Major League Baseball denied him entry via the draft until Seaver's father threatened legal action in the matter. Eckert eventually ruled that other teams could match the Braves' offer, and via a lottery the New York Mets won the rights to sign Seaver, who went on to win National League Rookie of the Year in 1967. He eventually became one of the most decorated pitchers of his era, winning three Cy Young Awards on the way to first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. From 2023: IU's Devin Taylor a program changer. 'It's like God made him to be a professional hitter.' Round 1, Pick 8, California Angels, 1966 draft Selected six spots after Reggie Jackson, Jim DeNeff went to the Angels listed as a shortstop, though he could play the field with more utility than that. His BBRef page also suggests he played third base, and in the outfield. Like Lohse, DeNeff never made it to the majors, though he did come closer. Across six minor-league seasons, he played for six different teams, including the 1970 Hawaii Islanders, managed by eventual World Series-winning Pittsburgh Pirates skipper Chuck Tanner. DeNeff spent his last two professional seasons in AAA, across stints with Toledo, Hawaii and Salt Lake City. According to BBRef his career ended following the 1971 season. Round 1, Pick 29, Chicago Cubs, 1993 draft Indiana went 27 years between first-round picks, before the Cubs used a compensatory slot to grab Kevin Orie in 1993. The West Chester, Pennsylvania, native rose quickly through Chicago's system, making his debut in 1997. That season, Orie finished as a finalist for rookie of the year, in a race that also included Livan Hernandez, Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero. Southern Indiana native Scott Rolen won it. Orie would eventually spend parts of four seasons in the majors, splitting his time between Chicago and Florida (now Miami). He also spent time in the high minors with several teams including the Phillies, Yankees and Brewers, before formally retiring in 2006. Insider: IU baseball product set record as best pitcher in Korea, now seeks MLB World Series Round 1, Pick 26, Milwaukee Brewers, 2009 draft The first selection in one of the best drafts in program history, Eric Arnett at the time owned IU's single-season strikeout record when he was taken by Milwaukee in 2009. A long, hard-throwing right-hander from Ohio, the Brewers hoped Arnett might develop into a major league-caliber started. But a raft of injuries plagued his professional career, including rotator cuff problems and a torn ACL. Only once in five minor-league seasons did Arnett manage to throw more than 85 total innings, and he never advanced further than high Single-A ball. According to BBRef his career, spent entirely in Milwaukee's system, ended in 2013. Round 1, Pick 38, Chicago White Sox, 2009 draft The second of three first-rounders for IU that year, Josh Phegley was a compensatory pick to the White Sox. One of the most prolific hitters in program history, he'd helped lead IU to a Big Ten tournament title and its first NCAA regional appearance in more than a decade that spring, leading Chicago to grab him with a comp pick. Phegley reached the majors with Chicago four years later, eventually spending time with both the White Sox and Cubs, as well as Oakland. Across eight major-league seasons, Phegley appeared in 387 games with more than 1,200 plate appearances, 35 home runs, 162 runs batted in and a career .649 OPS. He retired after the 2020 season, and later spent time on former IU coach Tracy Smith's staff at Michigan. Round 1, Pick 46, Minnesota Twins, 2009 draft The last of those three first-round picks in 2009, Matt Bashore closely followed his battery mate off the board to the Twins. A left-handed Ohio native with a wicked curveball, Bashore served as the morning Saturday starter on that '09 regional team that eventually faced Sonny Gray in the NCAA tournament. Bashore's career would also be affected by injuries, namely a second Tommy John surgery required after suffering UCL damage in the minor leagues (he had also required Tommy John once in high school). In total, Bashore made just 29 total appearances in the minors, across stints in the Twins' and Yankees' farm systems. He has since retired from baseball and now works in physical therapy with an emphasis on orthopedic injuries, in Carmel. Round 1, Pick 4, Chicago Cubs, 2014 draft One of the best IU baseball players ever, Kyle Schwarber remains a program legend both for his exploits in college and his career since. A left-handed power hitter, Schwarber anchored the lineup that propelled Indiana to its only College World Series appearance, in 2013. He clubbed 40 home runs across three seasons in Bloomington, also leading the Hoosiers to their first national seed in the NCAA tournament, in 2014. Chasing Devin: More than Kyle Schwarber and the sleeveless slugger, Devin Taylor sets IU baseball HR record Schwarber moved rapidly through the Cubs' system before suffering a serious knee injury early in the 2016 season. He still managed to return in time to contribute to Chicago's historic World Series win that fall. He's since gone on to play for Washington, Boston and Philadelphia, where he's already hit 29 home runs this season. Schwarber's 313 career home runs are the most by any former IU player in major league history. Schwarber — a fan favorite in Bloomington who served as guest picker during ESPN's "College GameDay" visit in 2024 — stands alongside Ted Kluszewski as one of the two best players in program history.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB insider: This AL playoff team best positioned to land Paul Skenes in blockbuster trade
It seems it's a matter of when — not if — the Pittsburgh Pirates trade superstar pitcher Paul Skenes. While it won't be this year, teams will be checking in with the struggling Pirates since they are failing to build around the reigning National League Rookie of the Year. But what would it take to pry Skenes away and what team has the best prospects to do so? ESPN MLB insider David Schoenfield believes the Detroit Tigers have the best farm system to get a blockbuster deal done for the two-time All-Star. Advertisement Schoenfield proposes the Tigers trade No. 8 overall prospect Max Clark, 11th-ranked prospect Kevin McGonigle, pitchers Jackson Jobe and Sawyer Gipson-Long and infielder Colt Keith to pair Skenes with 2024 American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. 'It will take one of the best farm systems in the sport to acquire Skenes, and Detroit is incredibly well positioned to make this kind of deal, with depth at both the major league and minor league levels, not to mention a payroll with only one expensive long-term commitment in Javier Baez,' writes Schoenfield. 'Two of the top prospects in the sport in Clark and McGonigle headline this trade, with both currently excelling in High-A ball. Clark, a speedy center fielder, has a .429 OBP with more walks than strikeouts, and McGonigle is hitting .373 with a high contact rate and OPS over 1.100. Former top pitching prospect Jobe underwent Tommy John surgery in June and would be a nice inclusion for the Pirates to gamble on.' Even though the Tigers would have to give up a significant haul, it wouldn't leave their minor league system barren as they still have No. 22 prospect Bryce Rainer, as well as infielders Josue Briceño and Thayron Liranzo and pitchers Jaden Hamm, Owen Hall and Troy Melton. Skenes is controllable through 2029 and becomes arbitration eligible for the first time in 2027. If the Pirates were willing to move Skenes, the Tigers would have Skenes and Skubal as their dynamic duo through at least the 2027 season. Advertisement Even though Skenes' strikeout numbers are down compared to 2024, he remains elite. He tops the NL in ERA (1.94), ERA+ (220) and home runs allowed per nine (0.4), while leading baseball in pitcher bWAR at 4.8. Related Headlines
