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. Adam Hall has already made history. Now he’s trying to do something that’s never been done before in Major League Baseball. The speedy right-handed hitter is playing at Double-A Biloxi in the Brewers’ system. He is not ranked among the club’s Top 30 Prospects. His stats won’t knock your socks off: He’s a .273 hitter with a .719 OPS through 440 Minor League games. But the moment Hall was selected by the Orioles in the second round of the 2017 MLB Draft, he was one of a kind: The first pro ballplayer from Bermuda. |
And although Hall and his family moved from Bermuda to Canada when he was a teenager, his homeland still keeps tabs on its favorite baseball son. “The Bernews reports on nearly every game -- whether Hall did something notable or not,” MLB.com’s Matt Monagan wrote. “The main newspaper, the Royal Gazette, has countless updates on the 26-year-old's odyssey.” If Hall reaches the Majors, he would be the first Bermudian in the big leagues. That would make the island the 18th country or territory to lay claim to exactly one Major Leaguer. Here are some of the more notable players who have been their nation’s lone MLB representative. Jesús Luzardo, Peru The Phillies left-hander is the only active player who fits this list. He struck out 208 batters over 178 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2023 and posted a 2.15 ERA through his first 11 starts with Philadelphia this season before struggling in his past few starts. Danny Graves, Vietnam
An 11-year Major League veteran, Graves is the Reds' all-time leader with 182 saves. He was inducted into the franchise's Hall of Fame in 2023. Austin Brice, Hong Kong From 2016-22, Brice pitched in 144 games split between the Reds, Marlins, Red Sox and Pirates. Tony Solaita, American Samoa Solaita hit 50 home runs from 1974-79 while with the Royals, Angels, Expos and Blue Jays. Olaf Henriksen, Switzerland A three-time World Series champion with the Red Sox, Henriksen batted .354 with a .455 on-base percentage through his first three MLB seasons (1911-13). – Brian Murphy |
- Orioles @ Rays (7:35 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): “I think right now we are the best team in MLB,” Yandy Díaz said. It's hard to argue with him after the Rays rallied from an eight-run deficit for a 12-8 win against the O's to inch closer to the top in the division.
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- Padres @ Dodgers (10:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Will Smith had a planned day off yesterday and still played walk-off hero. He should be back in the starting lineup and behind the dish tonight to catch Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers can cap a gauntlet of games vs. the Giants and Padres with a statement 4-game sweep.
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If you are a youngster with less-than-perfect vision, you probably feel a kinship with athletes who eschew contacts in favor of physical eyewear. (Take our quiz here!) I’ve worn glasses since first grade, so I had a particular affinity for Reds third baseman Chis Sabo, a three-time All-Star who perpetually wore Rec Specs. Somewhere I have a collection dedicated to Sabo cards that don’t hold any conventional value, but are priceless to me. Kids today may similarly find their muse in Volts ace Sam Landry, the first pick in the AUSL's inaugural college draft. As Matt Monagan wrote, Landry’s lenses serve two purposes: corrective vision and superstition. "I never wore them for games until my junior year of high school," Landry told Monagan. "I randomly decided to put them on one day and then I threw a perfect game. So, I've been wearing them ever since." Hey, whatever works! Much like Landry herself, the glasses have become a sensation among softball fans. And as the Volts star hurler’s profile grows along with the league's, don’t be surprised if plenty of kids start some collections of their own. -- Bryan Horowitz |
Since its debut in 2021, the annual MLB Draft Combine has given teams the opportunity to gather critical information on many of the top prospects available just a few weeks before clubs begin to assemble the future pillars of their organizations. It’s a big deal.
On the flip side, the Combine also gives prospects a late chance to impress MLB front offices and move up Draft boards. At the inaugural event in 2021, Mason Miller -- whose incredible journey from DIII unknown to MLB All-Star has been well documented -- took advantage of his opportunity to wow scouts by throwing seven of the eight fastest pitches clocked, and he was soon after scooped up by the A’s in the third round. A year later, junior college righty Jacob Misiorowski hit 100.7 mph on the radar gun and was ultimately signed for $2.35 million as a Brewers second-rounder.
This year, perhaps no one has separated themselves from the pack more than Georgia high school right-hander Reid Worley. While the spin rates on his breaking balls were impressive -- they were elite even by Major League standards -- it’s how he gets that spin that has turned heads.
Here’s how MLB.com reporter David Adler described the grip: “Worley spikes his right index finger inside the "horseshoe" on the baseball, and then he wraps his middle finger from the right seam, around the top of his spiked index finger and all the way across to the left seam.” As Adler mentions, you kind of have to see the grip to fully understand how bizarre and uncomfortable it looks. Fortunately, we have video of him showing it to pitching legend CC Sabathia and the MLB Network crew here.
There’s no denying the grip works, but how does one even think to hold a baseball like that? According to Worley, he’s been doing it since he was a little kid.
“Just found something comfortable about 8-9 years old,” said Worley, who is committed to Kennesaw State and projected by MLB Pipeline to be drafted between the fourth and seventh rounds. But don’t be surprised if he follows in the steps of Miller and Misiorowski and uses the Combine to improve his stock when names are called on July 13-14.
-- Ed Eagle
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For all the obscure stats whizzes out there, this one’s for you. See how well you can compare players and their stats before the timer runs out. Three strikes and you’re out! Play free >> |
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