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.

This is not how things were supposed to play out for Kyle Tucker and the Cubs.

When Chicago acquired the star right fielder in a trade from Houston this past offseason, hopes were sky-high on both sides. Tucker looked like the much-needed big bat that could help the team win its first full-season NL Central title since 2017. Meanwhile, a successful walk year -- coming on the heels of a spectacular-yet-injury-shortened 2024 -- would solidify Tucker as the gem of the 2025-26 free-agent class.

For the first half of the season, everything went according to plan. But now? The typically stoic Tucker is slamming helmets in frustration and hearing some boos from the Wrigley Field crowd amid a maddening slump that has coincided with the Cubs slipping nine games behind the surging Brewers in the division, heading into the teams’ day-night doubleheader on Tuesday on the North Side of Chicago.

The latest development, via Cubs beat reporter Jordan Bastian: Tucker is expected to get a breather on the bench, at least on Tuesday, despite Chicago playing a pair of head-to-head matchups against Milwaukee. (He was, in fact, not in the lineup for Game 1 this afternoon.) And manager Craig Counsell left the door open for a longer break, too.

“The fans are frustrated and Kyle’s frustrated,” Counsell said. “And it’s unfortunate, because Kyle -- when you make outs, it doesn’t look great. But he’s trying. It’s just not clicking. We’re going to have to take a little step back here, for sure, and just give him some days off to reset him, hopefully.”

Tucker (.381 OPS in August) is hardly alone in a scuffling Cubs offense that was one of MLB’s best before the All-Star break. Fellow outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s NL MVP candidacy has taken a hit this month (.420 OPS), and Michael Busch has gone ice-cold, too (.518).

Of course, as ill-timed as this tough stretch has been, better days could well be ahead. Even if the division is rapidly getting out of reach, the Cubs remain in the top NL Wild Card spot and a near-lock for the postseason.

As for Tucker? Well, no hitter is slump-proof. And his first three months were so good that despite his August swoon, he still has a 139 OPS+ for the season (tied for 16th among qualifiers with Freddie Freeman and José Ramírez) and a 3.9 FanGraphs WAR (tied for 20th among position players with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.) If Tucker finishes strong -- and especially if he powers the Cubs on an October run -- this tough stretch will be a distant memory come November for an established star heading into his age-29 season.

But for now, it’s cause for concern … and a “reset.”

-- Andrew Simon

• Astros at Tigers (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV and TBS): The marquee pitching matchup of the night features two Cy Young Award hopefuls, as Houston’s Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.45 ERA) looks to make a statement against reigning AL winner Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.42) and Detroit, which owns the best record in the league. It will obviously be a tough test for the slumping Astros offense, which was blanked for the third time in four games in last night’s series-opening 10-0 loss.  

• Blue Jays at Pirates (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Pirates took the series opener, 5-2, behind yet another outstanding start by Paul Skenes, but it was what happened after the Bucs’ ace exited that makes this game one to watch closely. Tempers flared between Pirates outfielder Tommy Pham and Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman in the seventh inning, leading to the benches clearing. It’ll be Max Scherzer versus Mitch Keller tonight, but Toronto could be without Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who had to leave in the fifth inning last night with hamstring tightness.

• Brewers at Cubs, Game 2 (8:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Brewers blanked the Cubs, 7-0, in the opener of this pivotal five-game series, and they’ll be looking for another premium pitching performance from Brandon Woodruff, who has been nothing short of sensational since returning from being sidelined for almost two years after shoulder surgery. He’ll be opposed by fellow veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon, who will make his first big league start since going on the IL with a right calf strain on July 4.

The kids aren’t just alright; they’re getting better -- and younger.

With the MLB debut this weekend of Orioles top prospect Samuel Basallo, the next wave of young stars has officially arrived. But it’s a trend that’s been developing all season across MLB.

At 21 years and 4 days old at the time of his debut on Sunday, Basallo wrested the title of MLB’s youngest player away from Roman Anthony (21 years, 97 days), the Red Sox star rookie and former top overall prospect in baseball. The distinction had been Anthony’s since his June 9 debut, at which point he was 21 years, 27 days old.

For the better part of the past two seasons, this area had been the domain of “The Jacksons” -- Chourio and Holliday, who had remained  the game’s youngest regulars since their debuts in early 2024. Chourio, who is 97 days younger, and Holliday are now baseball’s third and fourth youngest regulars, though both are still in their age-21 seasons.

They’re far from alone among young players reaching the big leagues quickly and becoming impact players seemingly in no time, as teams grow more comfortable fast-tracking their top prospects. Of the 22 youngest players to appear in the big leagues this season, 19 are current or former Top 100 prospects under the age of 23. Eleven of those guys debuted in 2025, most recently Basallo. Chase Burns is the oldest at 22 years, 215 days (though he was 22 years, 159 days old at the time of his June 24 debut).

Burns is only one year and 210 days older than Basallo, but within that range reside more than a dozen players already in the big leagues who we could be watching for a long, long time. Besides Basallo, Anthony and the Jacksons are: Mariners infielder Cole Young, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Nationals third baseman Brady House, Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill, Marlins righty Eury Pérez, A’s slugger Nick Kurtz, Astros third baseman Cam Smith, Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone and Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez, among others. 

The future is very bright. 

-- Joe Trezza

The Phillies hold a comfortable 5 1/2 game lead in the NL East, but the overall outlook for the team isn't quite as comfy as it looked a week ago.

Zack Wheeler is out indefinitely after having a blood clot removed, while Aaron Nola looked pretty shaky Sunday in his first start after spending three months on the IL with a right ankle sprain. Though Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez still give the Phillies plenty of talented arms, the uncertainty around their two stalwarts at least raises the question of whether the rotation has enough to carry them deep into October. 

Still, the Phillies could be just fine. That's because they can still mash like nobody's business, as Bryce Harper showed Monday night with his two massive (and historic) dingers, and as Kyle Schwarber has shown on a lot of nights (to the tune of 43 homers, which ties him for the NL lead). As a team, Philly has a .743 OPS (eighth in MLB), including .780 since the All-Star break (fifth).

So, if the rotation falters and the Phillies have to resort to outslugging their opponents, they're quite capable. And if they can take even a small lead into the ninth, you have to like their chances with the electric Jhoan Duran as closer. He's 5-for-5 in save opportunities since being acquired at the Trade Deadline and has yet to allow a run. So, while the roster isn't in ideal shape at the moment, the ingredients are still there for the Phillies to make noise in October.

-- Jason Foster

Who did you fancy your game looking like growing up? Jordan, LeBron, Curry?

How about in baseball? Jeter, Pedro, Ohtani?

In the latest episode of Café con Lindor, baseball and basketball crossed worlds as noted Mets superfan and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell assessed Francisco Lindor’s jump shot and offered an NBA comp.

The tables then flipped as Lindor did the same, suggesting an MLB player that matched Mitchell’s game. For that and much more, check out the second installment on MLB.TV, Spotify and Apple Podcasts or Lindor and MLB’s social channels.

Ever been chowing down on nachos and thought, well these are great, but what if they doubled as dessert? The Rockies were listening. Head out to Coors Field for the Dessert Nachos: fried tortillas tossed in cinnamon sugar, topped with powdered sugar and caramel drizzle, with whipped cream on the side.

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