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. Today's edition is brought to you by David Adler and Brian Murphy.
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Today, we head to Kansas, where Mickey Mantle hit his first professional home run, which has since acquired a near-mythical status.
As a Yankee, Mickey Mantle's home run distances were the stuff of legend. But even before he ever put on the pinstripes, Mantle was crushing legendary homers.
In fact, the story of his very first professional home run, in Independence, Kan., in 1949, might top them all.
Mantle had just signed with the Yankees at 17 years old and had been sent to play for their Class D Minor League team, the Independence Yankees. They played at Shulthis Stadium, the ballpark where the very first night game in organized baseball history took place in 1930.
It was there that, on June 30, 1949, The Mick crushed a tape-measure shot over dead center field for his first homer as a pro.
The center-field fence at Shulthis Stadium was about 460 feet away. Mantle's blast cleared it easily. But how far did it go? Well, according to legend, as Mantle's home run sailed over the wall, the fans yelled: "That ball is headed to Monkey Island!"
Wait … Monkey Island? What's Monkey Island?
It's a monkey exhibit at the Independence Zoo -- an exhibit that's still there! -- and it's located more than 100 feet beyond the spot in center field where Mantle hit his homer. Oh, and fun fact: 10 years later, a rhesus monkey named Miss Able from Monkey Island became the first primate to survive space travel.
So yes, Mickey Mantle may have hit a 600-foot home run into a zoo of screeching monkeys, one of which eventually traveled into space. That's how baseball legends are born.
Read the whole story here >>
-- David Adler
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Pete Crow-Armstrong continued his hot hitting Monday night by recording MLB’s first cycle of the season and the 13th cycle in Cubs franchise history. He did it backwards, too!
No, he didn’t run the bases clockwise; he went homer, triple, double, single, in that order. No Cub had achieved a “reverse” cycle before.
Now, if you’re just awakening from a 12-month coma, you probably aren’t too surprised by this news. Sure, the cycle is extremely cool, but Crow-Armstrong was one of the Majors’ very best players for the bulk of last season. He was the National League leader in FanGraphs WAR (5.4) entering August.
Then his numbers at the plate sank over the final two months of the year, and his offensive struggles continued into 2026. From Aug. 1, 2025, through May 29, 2026 -- a span of 109 games and 440 plate appearances -- PCA recorded a .207/.279/.332 slash line. His defense in center field remained golden, but with a 71 wRC+, he was one of the worst qualified hitters in the game.
However, over the past couple of weeks, he’s become a five-tool dynamo once again. Besides being the most valuable fielder in the sport, Crow-Armstrong has put up offensive numbers that are out of this world over his past 15 games:
A .453 average (29-for-64), seven home runs, four stolen bases and an MLB-best 1.400 OPS.
Suddenly, Crow-Armstrong is up to No. 2 in FanGraphs WAR among position players this season (3.9), just a tick behind Bobby Witt Jr (4.0).
He may not ultimately beat out two-way Shohei for MVP honors; Ohtani already has 5.0 fWAR when you combine his work as a hitter and a pitcher. But when he’s right, the uber-talented PCA is an absolute joy to watch. And right now, he is doing everything right.
-- Brian Murphy
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There is a starting pitcher who currently ranks 11th in the Majors with a 2.71 ERA. And there is a starting pitcher who ranks second in the Majors -- trailing only Ohtani among pitchers with at least 500 innings -- with a 2.78 ERA since the start of 2021.
They are the same pitcher. And that right-hander, the Rays’ Drew Rasmussen, will face Ohtani and the Dodgers in Los Angeles tonight (10:10 ET, MLB.TV). Hopefully you know his name already, but if you don’t, tonight’s matchup gives you a great reason to see why the 30-year-old Rasmussen has been one of the top hurlers in baseball.
Last season, Rasmussen was an All-Star, finished ninth in the AL Cy Young voting and posted a 2.76 ERA across 150 innings. Now in his sixth season with Tampa Bay after being dealt by the Brewers in a trade headlined by Willy Adames, Rasmussen has ended every season with the Rays with a sub-3.00 ERA.
His success story is a rare one; Rasmussen has undergone three major, season-ending elbow surgeries, the most recent of which occurred in 2023. Not only has he bounced back, but he also seems more dominant than ever. In his previous two starts, he allowed a total of three hits and one walk over 14 scoreless innings with 22 strikeouts. He leads the AL in WHIP (0.88) and sits sixth in the big leagues in strikeout-minus-walk rate (22.7%).
What has been the key? Here’s a hint: Fastball, fastball, fastball. But check out this story from Brent Maguire for the full scoop on how Rasmussen has ascended to the elite level of starting pitchers.
-- Brian Murphy
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Before Rasmussen takes the mound in L.A., here are a couple of other games worth watching tonight.
White Sox at Yankees (7:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
The White Sox won both of their games last week against the Braves, the team with MLB’s best record. Then they took two of three games over the weekend against the Dodgers, the defending two-time World Series champs. The club’s extremely tough road takes it to the Bronx next to open a three-game series against the Yankees, who own the best record in the American League.
The White Sox, in a virtual tie for first place in the AL Central, will have breakout ace Davis Martin on the mound against Gerrit Cole, who is making his fifth start of the year. Even without the injured Aaron Judge, the Yankees have continued their winning ways of late, thanks in part to contributions from players such as outfielder Cody Bellinger, who is looking like the best free-agent signing of the offseason.
Tigers at Astros (8:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV)
We’ll have dual homecomings in this one. Right-hander Hunter Brown will return to the Astros’ rotation for his first start since March 31. The 2025 AL Cy Young finalist has been sidelined for more than two months by a right shoulder strain. Also making his return to Houston? Framber Valdez. The left-hander, who inked a three-year deal with the Tigers in February, spent his first eight seasons with the Astros, represented them as a two-time All-Star and won the clinching game of the 2022 World Series.
“I’m very grateful and thankful for them to give me the chance to become the player I am,” Valdez said prior to Monday’s game.
-- Brian Murphy
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A MAN OF MANY HATS (BUT MOSTLY BRAVES) |
Atlanta re-signed veteran pitcher Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco to a Minor League deal on Sunday. Actually, the Braves re-re-re-re-signed him.
Yes, this is the fourth time that the Braves have signed Carrasco to a Minor League deal in 2026. His transaction log is stuck in a loop. Here’s what it looked like before this latest reunion:
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Find yourself someone who loves you as much as the Braves love Carrasco.
The right-hander from Venezuela is now in his 17th big league season. He was a legit ace for the Guardians about a decade ago, he’s a Clemente Award winner, and he freaking beat cancer. So, although we joke about his on-again, off-again relationship with the Braves, the fact that he is still a viable Major Leaguer at age 39 is quite the accomplishment.
-- Brian Murphy
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VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME |
Phase 1 of All-Star voting is open until Thursday, June 25, at noon ET.
Vote now to help send your favorite players to this year's All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Fans can vote up to five times per day.
Fill out your 2026 All-Star Ballot here >>
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