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.

She’s firing fastballs up to 76 mph. She’s leading her country to international glory. She’s 13 years old. It’s time you heard about “The Baseball Princess.”

Francys Sandoval may come off as shy at first, as our own Matt Monagan detailed in his feature on the young Venezuelan hurler, but when she steps on the mound she has Major League confidence. And that’s exactly where she hopes to be one day.

Just take a look at what Sandoval has already accomplished: Her introduction to the sport came while throwing a baseball to her dad in a narrow hallway, and now she’s a U-12 Baseball World Cup bronze medalist and an Intermediate Little League World Series champion.

That latest honor came this summer, when she picked up wins in three of the team’s five games in the tournament and helped Venezuela become the first Latin American team to take the title.

If you’re wondering how Sandoval’s heater stacks up, the very best pitchers at this week’s Little League World Series are currently topping out around 75-76 mph. Mo’ne Davis, who took that tournament by storm 10 years ago, threw around 70 mph.

It’s hard not to make comparisons to Davis, who will soon be trying out for the Women’s Pro Baseball League and who just recently threw out the first pitch at a Nationals game. The player behind the plate? That would be Washington rookie Robert Hassell III, who struck out against Davis in the 2014 Little League World Series. Now he’s a big leaguer.

“I have bragging rights over him right now,” Davis said. “He can’t get his redemption back from me.”

Even at the age of 13, Sandoval has that same kind of bravado, knowing she can strike out any boy who steps to the plate. She’s “The Baseball Princess,” and she’s earned that royal treatment. 

– Scott Chiusano

• Mets @ Nationals (4:05 p.m. ET, FREE on MLB.TV): This rubber match features lefties on opposite ends of the velocity spectrum in Sean Manaea (91.6 mph) and MacKenzie Gore (95.3). After a strong season-opening run, Manaea enters with a 7.98 ERA in his last three starts for a Mets club that holds a one-game lead over Cincinnati for the final NL Wild Card spot. Gore, meanwhile, has had a puzzlingly inconsistent year but stymied the Mets when he faced them back in June.

• Red Sox @ Yankees (7:15 p.m. ET, FOX and MLB.TV): Much has changed in the 67 days since these rivals last squared off: Rafael Devers calls San Francisco home now, and both clubs are looking up at the Blue Jays in the AL East. Boston has won five of six meetings this year but, thanks to three straight losses, finds itself 1 1/2 games behind New York, winner of five in a row. Sox starter Lucas Giolito will have his work cut out against a Yankees offense that tied an MLB record with 14 homers over its last two games.

• Astros @ Orioles (7:15 p.m. ET, FOX and MLB.TV): A rookie at 26, Brandon Young hasn't received as much attention as some of his recently promoted O's teammates, but he nearly found the record books his last time out anyway. The Texas native gets a rematch with the Astros tonight, six days after flirting with perfection against them in his 11th career start. Young's gem sent Houston spiraling into a scoreless drought that spanned 31 innings and ended in yesterday's loss, the club's fourth straight.

One might think that as the No. 1 pitching prospect in all of baseball, Bubba Chandler’s path to the big leagues has been fairly straightforward.

However, when the Pirates give the right-hander his long-awaited promotion on Friday, it will be the culmination of a long, strange trip that began with a Draft party on a day that ended with him going undrafted, an offer to play quarterback for a college football powerhouse, and an experiment as a two-way player early in his pro career.

Check out Alex Stumpf’s brilliant longform feature on the pitcher the Pirates hope can follow in fellow phenom Paul Skenes’ footsteps in Pittsburgh, and see why his high school coach proclaimed that Chandler has “got that Michael Jordan in him.” 

-- Ed Eagle

Now that you’re up to speed on all things Bubba Chandler – who when he debuts for the Bucs will become the fourth Top 100 prospect to do so since exactly a week ago, joining Owen Caissie of the Cubs (No. 45), Nolan McLean of the Mets (No. 37) and Samuel Basallo of the O's (No. 8) – it’s time to consider another pressing question: Who’s next?

That question got one real-time answer this afternoon with the Rays set to call up their No. 1 prospect (No. 47 overall), shortstop Carson Williams. But he probably won't be the last. 

MLB Pipeline recently took a look at potential late-season callups, with Sam Dykstra identifying two players in particular and their respective chances.

JJ Wetherholt (STL No. 1/MLB No. 6)

Dykstra’s take: “St. Louis president of baseball operations John Mozeliak suggested last week on 101 ESPN that the 2024 seventh overall pick may not get a late-season callup because he isn’t entering Rule 5 eligibility this offseason and doesn’t need the 40-man spot just yet. But Wetherholt is certainly pushing the issue at Triple-A. … By the end of the month, the left-handed slugger could force the Cards to see what they have in him in The Show before they make other offseason decisions.”

Andrew Painter (PHI No. 1/MLB No. 10)

Dykstra’s take: “ … [Painter] seemed like [he’d] already be up in the Majors before this, but Triple-A inconsistency has kept that call from being a reality to this point. … The Phillies, currently down a starter due to Zack Wheeler’s issues with a blood clot, should have an all-hands-on-deck approach as they try to hold off the Mets in the NL East.”

-- Joe Trezza

Hello? Yes. We'd like to report two robberies. Fans of defensive thievery got a treat on Wednesday, thanks to a pair of right fielders making two of the best catches you'll see. 

The first came in a Double-A game between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a Blue Jays affiliate, and the Akron RubberDucks, a Guardians affiliate. Akron's Angel Genao hit a smash to the right-center gap that sent New Hampshire's Gabriel Martinez running toward the wall at Canal Park. (It's actually the right-center "corner," thanks to the park's asymmetrical design, adding a fun wrinkle to the play.) Martinez, sprinting with his back to the infield, leaped at the wall and made the catch before banging into that quirky corner. It was an amazing display of skill, concentration and athleticism.

Those same qualities showed up a couple of hours later in San Diego, when the Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. added to his ever-growing list of insane catches and stole a homer from Giants slugger Rafael Devers. Tatis glided toward the wall and, without ever breaking stride, leaped and in seemingly effortless fashion, brought the ball back. Ho-hum.

Despite the amazing nature of the catch, absolutely nobody was surprised. Tatis, a 2023 Platinum Glove winner, has turned these types of catches into "an art form," manager Mike Shildt said after the game. 

We saw two works of art on Wednesday. Hang 'em in the Louvre.

-- Jason Foster

Do Tigers like fish? A quick check of the interwebs suggests that, yes, the big cats won't turn down the chance to partake in various selections of seafood. But one Tiger in particular appears to have a special inkling for angling: Detroit Tiger Parker Meadows.  

In honor of the trawling Tiger’s pastime, the club is giving away a Parker Meadows-designed jersey to fans who come to their game vs. the Royals this Saturday. Check out this video to "catch" a preview. If you're in the area this weekend, you won't want to miss out on this unique giveaway.

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