Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. It's often said that good things come in pairs. The 2025 MLB Draft will be no exception.
In a fun twist, this year's Draft promises a double dose of twin talent, with not one but two pairs of twin brothers expected to hear their names called, potentially putting them on a course to join the small fraternity of twins to appear in the Majors.
There's even a chance all four will come off the board on Day 1 (encompassing Rounds 1-3) this Sunday, given where each ranks on MLB Pipeline's list of the top Draft prospects. (Hey, they already share a birthday -- why not a Draft day, too?)
The Parker twins are both position players hailing from Purvis High School in Mississippi. JoJo Parker, a shortstop, is MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall Draft prospect, while his brother Jacob, an outfielder, ranks 109th.
Then there are the Witherspoon twins, both of whom are right-handed pitchers from the University of Oklahoma. Kyson Witherspoon, like JoJo Parker, is a candidate to be selected early in the first round. He's MLB Pipeline's No. 10 Draft prospect. His brother Malachi is 121st. |
Meanwhile, this year's No. 1 overall Draft prospect is Ethan Holliday, son to former MLB outfielder Matt Holliday and brother to Jackson Holliday, who went first overall to the Orioles three years ago. The No. 5 Draft prospect, Eli Willits, is also the son of a former big leaguer -- his father Reggie played six seasons for the Angels. (Coincidentally, Reggie is currently the associate head coach for Oklahoma.) Add it all up, and the 2025 MLB Draft is shaping up to be a real family affair.
-- Thomas Harrigan |
- Marlins @ Reds (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): They're not quite as hot as the Blue Jays -- going for a franchise-best 11th straight win right now -- but the Marlins have reeled off 11 consecutive road wins thanks to a remarkably efficient offense and ... Mario Kart? Whatever's behind their run, the Marlins face a challenge tonight in lefty Andrew Abbott, named to the NL All-Star team last night as a replacement.
- D-backs @ Padres (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Defense was front and center in last night's series opener at San Diego, with the Padres' one run enough thanks to their two homer-robbing catches. Jackson Merrill made one of those grabs, but last year's runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year has struggled to find a rhythm at the plate since returning from a concussion, hitting just .155 in 15 games.
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In our latest polling of MLB.com experts, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler leapfrogged Pirates sensation Paul Skenes as the NL Cy Young Award favorite, grabbing 27 first-place votes to Skenes' 19.
Combining his second-place finishes in the 2024 and '21 Cy Young races with his 12th-place ranking in 2020 and sixth-place finish two years ago, Wheeler has a 1.42 career Cy Young Award Share. The metric, which essentially measures a player's proportion of the highest vote possible, shows that Wheeler has the best such career total for any current pitcher who has not yet won a Cy Young Award. In fact, the only pitchers in history with a greater career Cy Young Award Share without taking home the hardware were Adam Wainwright, Curt Schilling, Dan Quisenberry and Nolan Ryan.
As our Brent Maguire broke down last month, Wheeler is making a very compelling argument that this is his year; he leads all big league pitchers with 4.8 WAR and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings while pacing the NL with a 0.845 WHIP and 148 strikeouts.
Now that we've given you a couple hints, check out this Sporcle quiz on the best pitchers never to win a Cy Young Award. Wheeler is hoping we'll need to update this one in November. -- Ed Eagle |
INSIDE-THE-PARKERS ON REPEAT |
You already know Patrick Bailey's walk-off, three-run, inside-the-park homer from last night's Giants win over the Phillies was the first of its kind in 36 years, since a game between the same two teams.
But if you're looking for replication more in style than in substance, remember when Ichiro Suzuki crushed a ball to almost the same spot to Triples Alley at Oracle Park (of course it wasn't called that then) in the 2007 All-Star Game? Remarkably similar, only that time the ball bounced the other direction, sending Ken Griffey Jr. scrambling back toward the right-field line while Ichiro came around for a stand-up inside-the-parker.
One more thing: Thanks to the A's Lawrence Butler, yesterday was the first day in MLB history to feature both a leadoff and a walk-off inside-the-park homer. That's a lot of running. -- Andy Werle |
HR DERBY FIELD REACHES SIX |
If you're the kind of hitter who puts on such a show at batting practice that opposing fans give you an ovation, maybe you should be in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Luckily for us all, Rays phenom Junior Caminero fits the bill, and the 22-year-old first-time All-Star announced his participation in the event earlier today. Only fellow Derby contestant Oneil Cruz has a faster bat speed than Caminero, so prepare to see some balls reach orbit on Monday. See the full list of announced participants here. |
Do you remember those three games Jason Bay played for the Padres? Then this game is for you! Put your intricate baseball player knowledge to the test with Immaculate Grid. Play FREE >> |
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