
Champ Week preview: CFP stakes and matchups to watch in conference title games
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adminThe college football season end is near, but before the postseason commences, it’s time to figure out where and when teams will be playing.
Bring on Championship Week, the week that is sure to clear up the College Football Playoff picture … or give the selection committee a lot to weigh should certain scenarios play out in this weekend’s conference championship games.
It seems simple for the undefeated teams — Washington in the Pac-12, Georgia in the SEC, Michigan in the Big Ten and Florida State in the ACC — win and you’re in. But a loss by any of those teams could mean a difficult decision for the committee.
Our writers break down what’s at stake in the Pac-12, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten and ACC championship games, and matchups to watch in those games plus notable quotes from the week.
Champ Week: What’s at stake
Pac-12
No. 5 Oregon (11-1) vs. No. 3 Washington (12-0)
Friday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
What’s at stake: This is the most high-stakes Pac-12 championship game of all time considering both teams will have the reasonable expectation to go to the College Football Playoff with a win. For Washington, that’s definitely the case. There is no scenario that exists that would see the Huskies get left out with a win. For Oregon, though, there’s one nightmare scenario that could see them get left out even with a win Friday. If Alabama, Texas, Michigan and Florida State all win, the committee would then have three teams for two spots: Alabama (12-1, SEC champ); Texas (12-1, Big 12 champ); Oregon (12-1, Pac-12 champ). Texas beat Alabama on the road, so there is certainly plain logic to go with Texas over Alabama. If that’s the determination, then you have Alabama vs. Oregon for the last spot and all bets are off.
Oregon wins if: The Ducks can maintain their level of play from the second half of the season. Since losing to Washington at Husky Stadium, Oregon has looked the better team. Bo Nix has played himself into a worthy Heisman recipient and has been surrounded by a team humming in all phases of the game. If the Ducks can get pressure on UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and get him off schedule in Las Vegas, it would bode well for them.
Washington wins if: It keeps riding the wave. It’s easy to find justification for how Washington wins because it has won 19 straight. Even if some of the Huskies’ recent victories haven’t had the style points like those earlier in the year, this is just a team that makes plays — on both sides — when they matter. That matters. It also helps that receiver Rome Odunze has turned into one of the most clutch players in college football. Whenever the Huskies need a big play, he’s the one they go to, and he has yet to let the team down.
X factor: UW running back Dillon Johnson. For all that has been made of Washington’s passing attack, the value of Johnson has really been understated. Penix could get into trouble if UW is one-dimensional, which makes Johnson’s role massive against the Ducks. — Kyle Bonagura
Big 12
No. 18 Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. No. 7 Texas (11-1)
Saturday, noon ET, ABC
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
What’s at stake: The two teams did not meet during the regular season, and the only thing standing between Texas winning its first Big 12 championship since 2009 in its last year in the league is Mike Gundy, the same coach who beat Oklahoma in the last Bedlam game between those two schools. Gundy downplayed that angle this week, saying “Texas will be going to the SEC and we’ll be in the Big 12 next year, no matter what,” Gundy said. “The SEC vs. the Big 12 or Big Ten or Pac-12, I just don’t think [the players] care. I don’t think it’s a factor.” But Texas has made it a mission all year to avenge its past losses on the way out the door, with Steve Sarkisian saying his team has a “John Wick mentality.” This game determines whether Texas stakes its claim to a College Football Playoff spot, while OSU has a chance to win its first Big 12 title ever and try to start the post-Texas/Oklahoma era on top of the league.
Texas wins if: The Longhorns stuff OSU running back Ollie Gordon II — the nation’s leading rusher, with 1,580 yards and 20 TDs — and make quarterback Alan Bowman beat them. Oklahoma loaded the box against him and Gordon still got 138 yards and two TDs, but it took 33 carries and a lot of patience. Bowman came up big in that game, throwing for 334 yards. But 6-foot-3, 362-pound UT defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat leads a cast of large humans up front who allow just 85 rushing yards per game, fifth-best nationally.
Oklahoma State wins if: The Cowboys can figure out a way to get Gordon going and open up the play-action game. OSU will have to try to wear down the Longhorns’ front and make some headway on first and second down because Texas’ defense is the best in the nation on third down, allowing a conversion just 26% of the time. And they’ll have to hold on to the ball. Texas has scored 92 points off turnovers this season, fifth-most in the country. The only game where the Longhorns didn’t score off a turnover was against Oklahoma in their one loss. Being able to run the ball and keep the Texas offense off the field would make a big difference for the Cowboys.
X factor: Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns’ star quarterback is much improved this year, averaging 270.9 yards per game and completing 69.8% of his passes with 17 touchdowns to five interceptions. But last year against OSU on a windy day in Stillwater, he had arguably his roughest game for Texas, completing 19 of 49 passes with two TDs and three INTs as a 34-27 lead slipped away into a 41-34 loss. — Dave Wilson
SEC
No. 1 Georgia (12-0) vs. No. 8 Alabama (11-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
What’s at stake: The loser is likely out of the College Football Playoff picture, with Alabama for sure gone if the Crimson Tide lose. There is a scenario where both teams could get in should Alabama win the game. The surest way would be for Texas to lose to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game, Florida State to lose to Louisville in the ACC championship game and Washington to beat Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game. Georgia is a playoff lock with a win and would almost certainly secure its second consecutive No. 1 seed.
Georgia wins if: The Bulldogs play like they have all season on the offensive line and dictate the flow of the game. There’s a lot to like about this Georgia team, but the offensive line has been the key, with three or four players who will play in the NFL. Quarterback Carson Beck has looked more in command each game, and one of the main reasons is that he has typically had clean pockets to throw from and plenty of time to throw. Georgia has allowed just two sacks in 12 games. If the Bulldogs are able to protect Beck and mix the run with the pass, keeping Alabama’s pass rush at bay, the Tide will have a hard time matching scores with a Georgia team that has been excellent at finishing games this season.
Alabama wins if: The Crimson Tide stay out of third-and-long situations on offense and don’t turn the ball over. Georgia ranks second in the country in third-down defense and feasts on offenses when they get behind the sticks on third down. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has accounted for 26 touchdowns and turned the ball over just five times since his benching in Week 3 against South Florida. His ability to scramble and extend plays will be a big factor in this game. Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King rushed for two touchdowns last week against Georgia, and Auburn’s two quarterbacks, Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford, combined for 125 rushing yards in the Bulldogs’ closest game of the season, a 27-24 win over Auburn on Sept. 30.
X factor: Both teams have some key players with injuries that make them questionable for the game and, at the very least, not full speed if they do play. Alabama’s top running back, Jase McClellan, injured his left foot last week against Auburn and is day-to-day depending on how much he’s able to practice this week. For Georgia, star tight end Brock Bowers had some soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle and didn’t play last week against Georgia Tech. Offensive guard Tate Ratledge (knee) was also held out last week. Receivers Ladd McConkey (ankle) and Rara Thomas (foot) would also fall into the questionable category. — Chris Low
Big Ten
No. 2 Michigan (12-0) vs. No. 16 Iowa (10-2)
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
What’s at stake: Michigan can secure its second consecutive 13-0 season, third College Football Playoff spot and third straight outright Big Ten title for the first time in team history. “It’d mean a great deal,” said coach Jim Harbaugh, who will return to the sideline Saturday night after a three-game suspension imposed by the Big Ten. “So many [historic] things about this team, and they all talk about how there’s more to do.” Iowa can spoil Michigan’s CFP chances and win its first outright Big Ten title since 1985 (first of any kind since 2004). A Hawkeyes win would send them to a New Year’s Six bowl game.
Michigan wins if: The defensive line controls Iowa’s run game and quarterback J.J. McCarthy builds on his efficient performance against Ohio State to give Michigan an early lead. McCarthy talked this week about being a natural risk-taker. “A lot of situations in football, if you miss that opportunity to take that chance, you won’t ever get it back,” he said. Like in the Ohio State game, McCarthy can take a few calculated gambles but not too many against an Iowa defense adept at jumping routes out of its zone sets. If Michigan makes Iowa play from behind and have to tackle Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards all night, it should win comfortably.
Iowa wins if: It holds the turnover edge by at least two, records a defensive or special teams touchdown, and shortens the game by extending drives and limiting possessions. Neither offense uses much tempo, so the Hawkeyes simply need to stay on the field. “The ABCs of how we do offense are: Possess the football, advance the football, score the football,” offensive tackle Mason Richman said. “We always want to possess the ball. Shoot, if we can possess the ball for 40 minutes, that’d be great, and obviously, we’d feel pretty dominant, in that sense.” The Hawkeyes are minus-1 in turnover margin for the season and simply can’t afford any giveaways against the Wolverines.
X factors: Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil and Iowa punter Tory Taylor. Sainristil, a former wide receiver, has become a playmaker in the back end for the Wolverines, recording five interceptions (returning two for touchdowns). Taylor, the inspiration for the “Punting Is Winning” T-shirts worn by Iowa fans, can change field position and bail out Iowa’s offense. He averages 47.7 yards per punt, with 29 placed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
ACC
No. 14 Louisville (10-2) vs. No. 4 Florida State (12-0)
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
What’s at stake: Florida State has a chance to reach its first College Football Playoff since 2014 with a win to finish off a 13-0 season. Although there has been much debate about what the committee will do with an undefeated Florida State team missing starting quarterback Jordan Travis, the latest CFP rankings have the Seminoles at No. 4 and in position to finish in the top four with a win over the Cardinals. Does margin of victory matter in this case? It should not, considering the Seminoles would have wins over three top-25 opponents (four if you consider Duke was ranked in the top 25 when the teams played). A Louisville victory secures its first Orange Bowl berth since 2007.
FSU wins if: It controls the line of scrimmage. With Travis out, Florida State relied on running back Trey Benson last week to help beat the Gators, and a dominant defensive front changed the tenor and demeanor in the second half. Florida State had six sacks and held Florida to 48 yards rushing after halftime. The challenge will be greater against a better Louisville offense, which has been dominant itself up front with its run game. Slowing down Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo and making Jack Plummer uncomfortable enough to make mistakes will be paramount. In its two losses this year, Louisville turned the ball over a combined six times. Creating turnovers is a must.
Louisville wins if: The Cardinals defense has been aggressive for most of the season — with 30 sacks and 54 tackles for loss on the year. Expect maybe even more against Florida State so the Cards can get after QB Tate Rodemaker and make him ineffective. Many of the Louisville defensive players have a familiarity with Rodemaker. He rallied Florida State to a win over the Cardinals last year when Travis got hurt during the game. To be as aggressive as possible, Louisville will have to get back to the way it played against the run in the first nine games. In two of the past three games, the Cards have allowed over 100 yards rushing — and in a loss to Kentucky last week, Ray Davis scored on a 37-yard run straight up the middle of the defense to win the game.
X factor: Keon Coleman. It is hard to call Coleman an X factor when he is so well known and established, but watch for him on special teams, where he has played a huge role for the Seminoles this season. His 34-yard punt return against Florida last week helped set up a go-ahead field goal. In a game that is expected to be close, a huge special teams play could be the difference. — Andrea Adelson
Matchups to watch
Pac-12: Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson vs. Washington’s defensive backs. The Ducks have one of the more prolific wide receiver tandems in the sport with Franklin and Johnson combining for 2,291 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns this season. Franklin, in particular, has 15 catches of 30 yards or more and three of 60 yards or more. The Huskies’ passing defense, however, has been a bit of a trick-or-treat unit this year. Although it ranks 124th in passing defense this season, it also has 15 interceptions so far (good enough to be tied for ninth in the country as a unit). Bo Nix has thrown only two interceptions all season, and although it’s difficult to see how Washington can contain both Johnson and Franklin, if the Huskies can force Nix into an interception at some point, they might be able to overcome their defensive shortcomings in one play and change the complexion of the game. — Paolo Uggetti
Big 12: Ollie Gordon II vs. Texas’ linebackers. Oklahoma State’s offense is backward in a lot of ways, in that the Cowboys get their big plays from an all-or-nothing run game and their efficiency from a quick but mostly low-impact passing game. Gordon is the most explosive RB in college football, but if you’re keeping him contained, OSU isn’t creating chunk plays and is settling for field goals at best. Texas’ linebackers — namely, Jaylan Ford and Anthony Hill Jr. — have been excellent in terms of big-play prevention in the run game, but OSU is going to have to create space for Gordon one way or another. There are almost no other realistic paths to victory. — Bill Connelly
SEC: Georgia’s offensive line vs. Alabama’s front seven on defense. Both units are really talented, but the Crimson Tide have to find a way to make the Bulldogs one-dimensional and pressure quarterback Carson Beck, who has been sacked only eight times this season and has completed 75% of his passes for 3,189 yards and 17 touchdowns when not pressured. The other key will be explosive plays. Alabama has given up far more than Nick Saban would like this season. The Tide have allowed 26 plays of 30 yards or longer, and only Arkansas, LSU, Florida and Vanderbilt have given up more in the SEC. Alabama needs to eliminate the big plays on defense and force Georgia to put together long drives. — Chris Low
Big Ten: Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards vs. Iowa’s defense. When these two teams met in the Big Ten championship in 2021, Corum was a young back who finished the game with 74 yards and a touchdown while Hassan Haskins had 56 yards and two touchdowns in the 42-3 win. Edwards took a backward pass from then-quarterback Cade McNamara and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson. In last year’s Big Ten championship game against Purdue, Edwards played without Corum, who was dealing with an injury, and exploded for 185 yards and a touchdown. The run game for Michigan is what drives this team, and it’s going to face a tough test in Iowa’s defense, which ranks 18th in rush yards allowed per game, giving up 106.4 yards. Corum is coming off the Ohio State game, where he had 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns and helped propel the Wolverines to the win. Corum and Edwards are hoping to do much of the same in this game against another good defense in Iowa. — Tom VanHaaren
ACC: Louisville DE Ashton Gillotte vs. FSU QB Tate Rodemaker. It is no secret Louisville will want to come after Rodemaker as much as possible. Here is where Gillotte comes in — as one of the top rush ends in the entire country. Gillotte has 14.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks and 3 forced fumbles this season. His ability to create havoc is well known around the league. Florida State has done an exceptional job this season protecting the football — ranking No. 1 in the nation with only five turnovers all year. If Gillotte can get to Rodemaker and force a mistake, that could be a game-changer for the Cards. — Adelson
Quotes of the week
“My emotions, my focus has been with the team the entire time. It’s been a tremendous season, right in the exact position that we hoped for, that we worked so hard to be in. It’s onward now. We’ve accomplished many of our goals, but not all of them yet. … The next is winning the conference championship, so that’s where our focus is. I would say it’s good to be back, but I never left.” — Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on returning from a three-game suspension.
“No offense to Tim Tebow, but this guy’s different. Tim was a different running style, a very different running style in terms of what they did and how they did things. This guy is like when I used to ask my sons who they were playing with on the Madden game, and they would say, ‘I’m playing with the Ravens,’ and I would say, ‘Why are you playing with the Ravens?’ And they would say, ‘They’ve got Lamar Jackson, and nobody can tackle him.’ Well, this guy is a bigger, physical version of that. He’s playing at a different speed than everybody else.” — Georgia coach Kirby Smart on Alabama QB Jalen Milroe.
“It’s been a heck of a journey — to think about where we were when we first started in Year 1 and just kind of changing the culture and kind of building upon from Year 1 to Year 2. Some tough losses along the way, but I thought our culture just continued to build. We continued to bring in talent along the way. This year, the thing that I think we’ve been able to do is find ways to win.” — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on getting Texas to the Big 12 championship game in his third year in Austin.
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Sports
Midseason grades for all 30 MLB teams: ‘A’ is for Astros, ‘F’ is for …?
Published
33 mins agoon
July 10, 2025By
admin
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David SchoenfieldJul 9, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
Close- Covers MLB for ESPN.com
- Former deputy editor of Page 2
- Been with ESPN.com since 1995
We’re past due to hand out some midseason grades, so let’s hand out some midseason grades.
As we pass the 90-game mark in the 2025 MLB season, my team of the first half isn’t the well-rounded Detroit Tigers, who do get our highest grade for owning MLB’s best record, or the explosive Chicago Cubs or Shohei Ohtani‘s Los Angeles Dodgers, but a team most baseball fans love to hate: the Houston Astros. They lost their two best players from last season and their best hitter has been injured — and they’re playing their best baseball since they won the 2022 World Series.
Let’s get to the grades. As always, we’re grading off preseason expectations, factoring in win-loss record and quality of performance, while looking at other positive performances and injuries.
Jump to a team:
AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN
AL West: ATH | HOU | LAA | SEA | TEX
NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF
Tarik Skubal is obviously the headline act, but the Tigers are winning with impressive depth across the entire roster.
Javier Baez is putting together a remarkable comeback season after a couple of abysmal years and will become the first player to start an All-Star Game at both shortstop and in the outfield. Former No. 1 overall picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson have put together their own comeback stories, while Riley Greene has matured into one of the game’s top power hitters.
Given their deep well of prospects and contributors at the MLB level, no team is better positioned than the Tigers to add significant help at the trade deadline.
I heard someone refer to them as the Zombie Astros, which feels apropos. Alex Bregman left as a free agent, they traded Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez has been injured and has just three home runs, and the Jose Altuve experiment in left field predictably fizzled.
But here they are, fighting for the best record in the majors and holding a comfortable lead in the AL West. They’re getting star turns from Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jeremy Pena, while the risky decision to start Cam Smith in the majors with very little minor league experience has paid off, as he has now become their cleanup hitter.
If we ignore the COVID-19 season, the Astros look on their way to an eighth straight division title.
This could be at least a half-grade higher based on everything that has gone right: Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s attention-grabbing breakout, Tucker doing everything expected after the big trade, Seiya Suzuki‘s monster power numbers and Matthew Boyd‘s All-Star turn in the rotation. The Cubs are on pace for their most wins since their World Series title season in 2016.
There have been a few hiccups, however, especially in the rotation with Justin Steele‘s season-ending injury and Ben Brown‘s inconsistency, plus rookie third baseman Matt Shaw has scuffled, and the bench has been weak aside from their backup catchers.
Still, this is a powerhouse lineup, and the Cubs will seek to improve their rotation at the deadline.
They just keep winning of late, going from 25-27 and seven games behind the Yankees on May 25 to taking over first place from the slumping Bronx Bombers, a remarkable turnaround over just 36 games. They went 27-9 over a 36-game stretch ending with their eighth win in a row on Sunday.
George Springer‘s recent surge has been fun to watch, a reminder of how good he was at his peak, and Addison Barger has been mashing over the past two months.
Some of the stats don’t add up to the Blue Jays being this good — they’ve barely outscored their opponents — but there might be more offense in the tank from the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and a healthy Anthony Santander, and the bullpen, a soft spot, is the easiest area to upgrade.
Their success is best summed up by the fact that Freddy Peralta is their lone All-Star, but they have a whole bunch of players who have contributed between 1 and 2 WAR.
Brandon Woodruff looked good Sunday in his first start in nearly two years, so that could be a huge boost for the second half.
I’m curious to see how Jackson Chourio performs as well. While his counting stats — extra-base hits, RBIs — are fine, his triple-slash line remains below last season, especially his OBP. He had a huge second half in 2024 (.310/.363/.552), and if he does that again, the Brewers could find themselves back in the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons.
The Rays started off slow, with a losing record through the end of April, but then went 33-22 in May and June to claw back into the AL East race — as the Rays usually do, last year being the recent exception.
Two key performers have been All-Star third baseman Junior Caminero, who has a chance to become just the third player to hit 40 home runs in his age-21 season, and All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda.
Due to the league wanting the Rays to play more home games early in the season, the July and August slate will be very road-heavy, so we’ll see how the Rays adapt to a difficult two-month stretch, especially since their pitching isn’t quite as deep as it has been in other seasons.
No, they’re not going to be the greatest team of all time. But they might win 100 games — even though Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, their huge offseason acquisitions, have combined for just two wins in 10 starts.
The lineup, of course, has been terrific, with Ohtani leading the NL in several categories and Will Smith leading the batting race. By wRC+, it’s been the best offense in Dodgers history.
If they can get some combo of Snell, Sasaki and Tyler Glasnow healthy, plus Ohtani eventually ramped up to a bigger workload on the mound, the Dodgers still loom as World Series favorites.
They are on pace for 95 wins, mainly on the strength of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez, who are a combined 23-7 with 11.8 WAR. Jesus Luzardo‘s ERA is bloated due to that two-start stretch when he allowed 20 runs, but he has otherwise been solid as well.
But, overall, it hasn’t always been the smoothest of treks. The bullpen has imploded a few times and the offense has lacked power aside from Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper is back after missing three weeks, and they need to get his bat going. Look for some bullpen additions at the trade deadline — and perhaps an outfielder as well.
The Cardinals have been a minor surprise — perhaps even to the Cardinals themselves. St. Louis was viewing this as a rebuilding year of sorts — not that the Cardinals ever hit rock bottom and start completely over. They had a hot May, winning 12 of 13 at one point, but the offense has been fading of late, with those three straight shutout losses to Pittsburgh and six shutout losses since June 25.
The starting rotation doesn’t generate a lot of swing and miss, with both Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas seeing their ERAs starting to climb. Brendan Donovan is the team’s only All-Star rep, and that kind of sums up this team: solid but without any star power. That might foretell a second-half fade.
All-Star starting pitchers Logan Webb and Robbie Ray, plus a dominant bullpen, have led the way, although after starting 12-4, the Giants have basically been a .500 team for close to three months now. Rafael Devers hasn’t yet ignited the offense since coming over from Boston, and the Giants have lost four 1-0 games.
These final three games at home against the Dodgers before the All-Star break will be a crucial series, as Los Angeles has slowly pulled away in the NL West.
This was an “A-plus” through June 12, when the Mets were 45-24 and owned the best record in baseball, even though Juan Soto hadn’t gotten hot. Soto finally got going in June, but the pitching collapsed, and the Mets went through a disastrous 1-10 stretch.
The rotation injuries have piled up, exacerbating the lack of bullpen depth. Recent games have been started by Justin Hagenman (who had a 6.21 ERA in Triple-A), journeyman reliever Chris Devenski, Paul Blackburn (7.71 ERA) and Frankie Montas, who has had to start even though he’s clearly not throwing the ball well. The Mets need to get the rotation healthy, but also could use more offense from Mark Vientos and their catchers (Francisco Alvarez was demoted to Triple-A).
At times it has felt like Cal Raleigh has been a one-man team with his record-breaking first half. But he will be joined on the All-Star squad by starting pitcher Bryan Woo, closer Andres Munoz and center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who made it on the strength of his defense, as his offense has been a disappointment.
The offense has been one of the best in the majors on the road, but the rotation has been nowhere near as effective as the past couple of seasons, with George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller all missing time with injuries. They just shut out the Pirates three games in a row, so maybe that will get the rotation on a roll.
They’re just out of the wild-card picture while hanging around .500, so we give them a decent grade since that exceeds preseason expectations. It feels like a little bit of a mirage given their run differential — their record in one-run games (good) versus their record in blowout games (not good) — and various holes across the lineup and pitching staff.
But they’ve done two things to keep them in the race. One, they hit a lot of home runs. Two, they’re the only team in the majors to use just five starting pitchers. The rotation hasn’t been stellar, but it’s been stable.
The Padres are probably fortunate to be where they are, given some of their issues. As expected, the offensive depth has been a problem.
Not as expected, Dylan Cease has struggled while Michael King‘s injury after a strong start has left them without last year’s dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation (although Nick Pivetta has been one of the best signings of the offseason). Yu Darvish just made his season debut Monday, so hopefully he’ll provide a lift.
The Padres haven’t played well against the better teams, including a 2-5 record against the Dodgers, but they did clean up against the Athletics, Rockies and Pirates, going 16-2 against those three teams.
For now, the Reds are stuck in neutral. Leave out 2022, when they lost 100 games, and it’s otherwise been a string of .500-ish seasons: 31-29 in 2020, 83-79 in 2021, 82-80 in 2023, 77-85 in 2024 and now a similar record so far in 2025.
The hope was that Terry Francona would be a difference-maker. Maybe that will play out down the stretch, but the best hope is to get the rotation clicking on all cylinders at the same time. That means Andrew Abbott continuing his breakout performance, plus getting Hunter Greene healthy again and rookie Chase Burns to live up to the hype after a couple of shaky outings following an impressive MLB debut.
Throw in Nick Lodolo and solid Nick Martinez and Brady Singer, and this group can be good enough to pitch the Reds to their first full-season playoff appearance since 2013.
The Yankees have hit their annual midseason swoon — which has been subject to much intense analysis from their disgruntled fans — and that opening weekend sweep of the Brewers, when the Yankees’ torpedo bats were the big story in baseball, now seems long ago.
Going from seven up to three back in such a short time is a disaster — but not disastrous. Nonetheless, the Yankees will have to do some hard-core self-evaluation heading to the trade deadline.
The offense wasn’t going to be as good as it was in April, when Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice were all playing over their heads. So, do they need a hitter? Or with Clarke Schmidt now likely joining Gerrit Cole as a Tommy John casualty, do they need a starting pitcher? Or both?
From the book of “things we didn’t expect,” page 547: The Marlins are averaging more runs per game than the Orioles, Padres, Braves and Rangers, to name a few teams. They’re averaging almost as many runs per game as the Mets, and last time we checked, the Marlins weren’t the team to give Soto $765 million.
An eight-game winning streak at the end of June has the Marlins going toe-to-toe with the Braves for third place in the NL East even though the starting rotation has been a mess, with Sandy Alcantara on track to become just the fourth qualified pitcher with an ERA over 7.00.
Heading into the season, I thought that if any team was going to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West, it would be the Diamondbacks. The offense has once again been one of the best in the majors, but the pitching issues have been painful.
After the aggressive move to sign Corbin Burnes, he went down with Tommy John surgery after 11 starts. Meanwhile, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt each have an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00. Rodriguez was better in June before a shellacking on July 4, while Gallen remains homer-prone, so it’s hard to tell if improvement is on the horizon. Their playoff odds are hovering just under 20%, so there’s a chance, but they need to get red-hot like they did last July and August.
It feels like it has been more soap opera than baseball season in Boston, with the Devers drama finally ending with the shocking trade with the Giants.
If you give added weight that this is the Red Sox, a team that should be operating with the big boys in both budget and aspirations and instead seemed to only want to dump Devers’ contract, then feel free to lower this grade a couple of notches, even if the Red Sox are close in the wild-card standings.
On the field, the heralded rookie trio of Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer hasn’t exactly clicked, with Campbell returning to the minors after posting a .902 OPS in April. A big test will come out of the All-Star break, when they play the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Twins and Astros in a tough 15-game stretch.
After last season’s surprise playoff appearance, it’s been a frustrating 2025 — although I’m not sure this result is necessarily a surprise.
There were concerns about the offense heading into the season and those concerns have proven correct. They were getting no production from their outfield, so they rushed Jac Caglianone to the majors to much hype, but he has struggled and might need a reset back in Triple-A. Even Bobby Witt Jr., as good as he has been (on pace for 7.5 WAR), has seen his OPS drop 140 points.
On the bright side, Kris Bubic emerged as an All-Star starter and Noah Cameron has filled in nicely for the injured Cole Ragans, so maybe they trade a starter for some offense.
Coming off a catastrophic 2024 season, nobody was expecting anything from the White Sox. Indeed, another 121-loss season loomed as a possibility. While they’re on pace to lose 100 again, they’ve at least played more competitive baseball thanks to their pitching.
Rookie starters Shane Smith and Sean Burke have shown promise, while rookie position players Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and now Colson Montgomery are getting their initial taste of the majors.
There has been the mix of calamity: Luis Robert Jr. has been unproductive and is probably now untradable, and former No. 3 overall pick Andrew Vaughn hit .189 and was traded to the Brewers.
The Twins are one organization that might like a do-over of the past five seasons. It feels like they’ve had the most talent in the division, but all they’ve done is squeeze out one soft division title in 2023. Now, the Tigers have passed them in talent and other factors, such as payroll flexibility.
There’s still time for the Twins to turn things around in 2025, but outside of that wonderful 13-game winning streak, they haven’t played winning baseball.
Overall, it’s been yet another bad season, despite Paul Skenes‘ brilliance. Really, do we talk enough about him? Yes, we do talk about him, but he has a 1.95 ERA through his first 42 career starts. Incredible.
Here’s an amazing thing about baseball. The Pirates are not a good team, but they recently put together one of the best six-game stretches in history. That’s not stretching the description. First, they swept the Mets — a good team — by scores of 9-1, 9-2 and 12-1. Then they swept the Cardinals — a good team — with three shutouts, 7-0, 1-0 and 5-0. They became the first team since at least 1901 to score 43 runs or more and allow four runs or fewer in a six-game stretch. And then they promptly got shut out three games in a row, making them the first to win three straight shutouts and then lose three straight shutouts.
Eighteen of our 28 voters picked them to win the AL West before the season, but it’s looking more and more like the 2023 World Series might be a stone-cold fluke in the middle of a string of losing seasons. That year, nearly everyone in the lineup had a career year at the plate, and the pitching got hot at the right time.
This year’s Rangers, though, have struggled to score runs, and while some have pointed to the offensive environment at Globe Life Field, they’re near the bottom in road OPS as well. It’s been fun seeing Jacob deGrom back at a dominating level, and Nathan Eovaldi should have been an All-Star.
Put it this way: If the Rangers can somehow squeeze into the postseason, you don’t want to face the Rangers in a short series. Indeed, if any team looms as an October upset special, it might be the Rangers.
The Nationals received superlative first-half performances from James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, while CJ Abrams is on the way to his best season. But there remains a lack of overall organizational progress, which finally led to the firings on Sunday of longtime GM Mike Rizzo and longtime manager Dave Martinez. A 7-19 record in June sealed their fate, as the rotation has been bad and the bullpen arguably the worst in baseball.
Until the Nationals figure out how to improve their pitching — or, better yet, find an owner who wants to win — they will be stuck going nowhere.
That fell apart in a hurry. Sunday’s loss was Cleveland’s 10th in a row, a stretch that remarkably included five shutouts. Indeed, the Guardians have now been shut out 11 times; the franchise record in the post-dead-ball-era (since 1920) is 20 shutouts in 1968.
There’s nothing worse than watching a team that can’t score runs, so that tells you how exciting the Guardians have been. Last year, the Guardians hit exceptionally well with runners in scoring position, keeping afloat what was otherwise a mediocre offense. That hasn’t happened in 2025 (trading Josh Naylor didn’t help either). Throw in some predictable regression from the bullpen, and this season looks lost.
We can’t give this a complete failing grade due to the emergence of All-Star shortstop Jacob Wilson (the Athletics’ first All-Star starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014) and slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz, who have a chance to finish 1-2 in the Rookie of the Year voting. Plus, we have Denzel Clarke‘s circus catches in center field.
But otherwise? Ugh. The Sacramento gamble already looks like a disaster, three months into a three-year stay. The team is drawing well below Sutter Health Park’s 14,000-seat capacity, with many recent games drawing under 10,000 fans. Luis Severino bashed the small crowds and the lack of air-conditioning.
The A’s had a groundbreaking ceremony for their new park in Vegas, renting heavy construction equipment as background props. Maybe they should have spent that money on more pitching help.
Based on preseason expectations, the Braves have clearly been the biggest disappointment in the National League — fighting the Orioles for most disappointing overall.
What’s gone wrong? They haven’t scored runs, as the offense continues its remarkable fade from a record-setting performance just two seasons ago. The collapses of Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies lead the way, with lack of production at shortstop and left field playing a big role as well. Closer Raisel Iglesias has struggled, and the team is 11-22 in one-run games. Spencer Strider hasn’t yet reached his pre-injury level and Reynaldo Lopez made just one start before going down.
The Braves haven’t missed the playoffs since 2017, but that run is clearly in jeopardy.
The Orioles have a similar record to the Braves but have played much worse, including losses of 24-2, 19-5, 15-3 and two separate 9-0 shutouts.
They will spend the trade deadline dealing away as many of their impending free agents as possible, and then do a lot of soul-searching heading into the offseason. After making the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, will this season just be a blip? While the pitching struggles aren’t necessarily a big surprise, what has happened to the offense? Are some of their young players prospects or suspects?
After two months of Cleveland Spiders-level baseball, it would be easy to make fun of the Rockies. Especially since they recently announced Walker Monfort — son of the owner — was promoted to executive VP and will replace outgoing president and COO Greg Feasel.
On the other hand, the Rockies are doing something right: They just drew 121,000 for a three-game series against the White Sox.
Sports
Ramirez, Brown out of ASG; McKinstry among subs
Published
33 mins agoon
July 10, 2025By
admin
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ESPN News Services
Jul 9, 2025, 05:52 PM ET
The Detroit Tigers have the best record in the majors. Now they are tied for having the most All-Stars, too.
Zach McKinstry was picked Wednesday to replace Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena, who has been dealing with a rib injury. The infielder-outfielder will join Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres and outfielders Javier Baez and Riley Greene — all AL starters — and staff ace Tarik Skubal, who also is among the candidates to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The five All-Stars for Detroit is tied for the most with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who have DH Shohei Ohtani, catcher Will Smith and first baseman Freddie Freeman starting for the NL along with pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw.
Yamamoto is scheduled to start Sunday for Los Angeles, so Cincinnati Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott has been picked to replace him.
Meanwhile, Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes was chosen for the AL team in place of starting third baseman Jose Ramírez, the seven-time All-Star who wants to spend the week rehabbing an Achilles injury; Twins right-hander Joe Ryan was selected as the replacement for Astros pitcher Hunter Brown; and Brewers closer Trevor Megill was added to the NL team in place of teammate Freddy Peralta, their scheduled starter for Sunday’s game.
The shuffling of replacements gives the Astros four All-Stars in Paredes, Peña, Brown and pitcher Josh Hader. The Brewers have two in Megill and Peralta. And the Twins have two with Ryan joining two-time All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton.
“This was the goal in the offseason,” said Megill, who struck out Freeman, Andy Pages and Tommy Edman in order in the 10th inning to secure the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday. “Just worked my butt off for it, and here we are.”
Ramírez was hit by a pitch in a game against Toronto on June 26 and has struggled at the plate since. The seven-time All-Star was still hitting .299 with 16 homers, 44 RBIs and 24 stolen bases through 87 games for the Guardians.
“Everybody wants to go to the All-Star Game and especially for the support from the fans,” Ramírez said. “But I feel the best thing for the team is to be able to be resting (those) days and be able to contribute to the team in the second half.”
McKinstry, Paredes, Megill and Ryan make six total replacements and 71 players between the two All-Star teams. The other substitution was Rays third baseman Junior Caminero for Boston‘s Alex Bregman, who has been dealing with a strained right quadriceps.
The Tigers have been one of the surprise stories of the first half of the season. After going 86-76 and tying for second in the AL Central last season, they were 59-34 through Tuesday — the best record in the majors.
Along with playing every infield position besides catcher, and both corner outfield spots, McKinstry entered Wednesday hitting .283 with seven homers and 27 RBIs. The 30-year-old needs just three more homers and nine RBIs to set career highs.
Peña, who is hitting a career-best .322 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 82 games for the Astros, has been out since June 28 with a fractured rib. He had hoped to return by the All-Star break, but he has not been cleared to resume baseball activity.
Paredes, his teammate, is headed to his second straight All-Star Game in his first season in Houston. He’s hitting a career-best .255 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs for the Astros, who lead the AL West.
“My main focus is to work hard for the team and be able to give the most I can for the team,” Paredes said, “but as you can see now with the results that I’m getting … those results allow me to get to the All-Star Game, so it feels good.”
Megill earned his first career All-Star selection by going 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 21 saves and 43 strikeouts in 33⅔ innings.
The 29-year-old Ryan, whose name has surfaced in plenty of trade talk recently, was one of the biggest snubs when the initial All-Star Game rosters were announced. The right-hander is 8-4 with a career-best 2.76 ERA across 18 starts, and he’s struck out 116 against just 21 walks over 104 1/3 innings for the Twins.
“The last couple years, I’ve had really good numbers at voting, then I’ve kind of scuttled the last two outings or so. I can see why optically it might not look as good,” Ryan said. “But putting it together, it was kind of a shock not to be in (this year).
“At the same time, there’s so many good pitchers in the league right now. You’ve just got to hang with them and if you don’t like it, play better. That was kind of the mindset I was trying to shift into, but to get the news and be excited to go, it makes everything kind of go away and you just think about the future and going forward.”
The Associated Press and FIeld Level Media contributed to this report.
Sports
Yankees DFA LeMahieu after ‘hard conversations’
Published
33 mins agoon
July 10, 2025By
admin
-
Jorge CastilloJul 9, 2025, 04:54 PM ET
Close- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — The Yankees designated two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu for assignment Wednesday, presumably ending the infielder’s seven-year tenure with the organization despite being owed $22 million through next season.
“Tough decisions,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “In the end, it ultimately comes down to how this roster sits and what’s best. You want to provide your manager with enough chess moves to deal with on a day-in and day-out basis in-game.”
Manager Aaron Boone explained that the move resulted from “an evolving conversation” in recent days that included multiple meetings with LeMahieu, a respected veteran in the Yankees’ clubhouse.
It comes a day after Boone announced that Jazz Chisholm Jr. would shift back to playing second base every day from third base, bumping LeMahieu from the team’s everyday second baseman to a bench role. Boone acknowledged LeMahieu took the demotion “not necessarily great” but emphasized that LeMahieu did not ask for his release.
“It’s been a tough couple of days,” Boone said. “Some hard conversations. And then ultimately coming to this decision, conclusion, obviously not easy for [who’s] been a great player. He’s done a lot of great things for this organization. So, difficult, but at the end [we] feel like this is the right thing to do at this time.”
LeMahieu, who turns 37 on Sunday, batted .266 with a .674 OPS in 45 games this season after starting the season on the injured list with a strained calf. He has been better since June 1, hitting .310 with a .754 OPS in 96 plate appearances as the Yankees’ primary second baseman, but Cashman ultimately decided the production wasn’t enough to offset his defensive liabilities.
The Yankees signed LeMahieu to a six-year, $90 million contract before the 2021 season — fresh off LeMahieu hitting .364 during the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign to become the first player to win a batting title in both leagues in the modern era — envisioning him as an everyday utility player bouncing between infield positions.
LeMahieu made 36 of his 55 starts last season at third base before going on the injured list in early September with a right hip impingement for the remainder of the year. That injury, according to Cashman, inhibited LeMahieu’s ability to play third base, and led to LeMahieu informing him that he couldn’t physically handle playing the position anymore.
“He was always just sharing that the recovery was really difficult,” Cashman said. “The physical toll on him to tee up at that position was a problem and so therefore that position is a problem.”
The limitation was cemented during spring training when LeMahieu strained his left calf in his first Grapefruit League game playing third base, forcing the Yankees to conclude that LeMahieu was no longer an option at the position. He only played second base in his nine rehab games before making his season debut May 13 as a second baseman with Chisholm on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Three weeks later, Chisholm, who started the season as the team’s everyday second baseman, came off the injured list to play third base despite LeMahieu’s range at second base being glaringly limited. Chisholm, who feels most comfortable at second base, accepted the assignment and returned to third base, a position he picked up last season after the Yankees acquired him from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline through the World Series.
The calculus changed Sunday when Chisholm, with the Yankees in the midst of a six-game losing streak, told reporters that he hurt his shoulder making a throw from third base three weeks earlier and the injury impacted his throwing. Two days later, Chisholm, who had made three throwing errors in his final four starts at third base, was the Yankees’ starting second baseman again.
With Chisholm, an All-Star this season, stationed at second base, former MVPs Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger entrenched at first base and Giancarlo Stanton occupying the DH spot, playing time would have been sparse for LeMahieu.
Factoring in that the Yankees’ options at third base behind Oswald Peraza, who is also the team’s backup shortstop, would have been catcher J.C. Escarra, Cashman determined that LeMahieu’s presence hampered the team’s flexibility to an extent that would have handcuffed Boone’s in-game decision-making. Infielder Jorbit Vivas, a light-hitting versatile defender, was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace LeMahieu on the roster.
“I wouldn’t say he’s unwilling to still make the attempt and maybe spell over there,” Cashman said of LeMahieu. “But it was something that he was without sharing that was steering clear of to the extent he could.
“Because, again, like anything else, he’s got a lot of pride. He’s a great player. He wants to contribute to the team. He loves this team. He loves this organization. But he felt that was an avenue that was no longer a realistic avenue and that kind of ties our hands a little bit more moving forward.”
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