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  • Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMay 15, 2024, 10:30 AM ET

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      Ryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.

DENVER — Growing up in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, meant Casey Mittelstadt spent countless hours watching Minnesota Wild games and wearing the No. 11 jersey of his favorite player whenever he played pond hockey as a child.

Being a kid from Robbinsville, New Jersey, who grew up watching the New Jersey Devils gave Ross Colton a sense of pride knowing he could someday get to the NHL by studying the traits of a certain hard-working, two-way winger who was his idol.

One of Jason Robertson’s biggest entry points into hockey was playing the EA Sports NHL video game. He was 7 and didn’t know much about the league, but playing those games allowed him to go through teams. He saw the Devils, he liked the logo and red was his favorite color, so it all fit together. It also made him a fan of a forward who would become a six-time 30-goal scorer.

Each of these anecdotes underscores how much Zach Parise means to hockey in America.

These are among the reasons why many of his Colorado Avalanche teammates want him to rethink his retirement plans and stay around for at least one more year.

“I really hope he doesn’t hang them up,” said Avalanche forward Brandon Duhaime, who grew up in South Florida watching Parise play. “I was just telling him yesterday that he’s coming into his prime here. He’s been really fun to watch and what he contributes to the lineup is super important.”

Parise has repeatedly said this will be his final season. After not signing with a team as a free agent at the start of the season, he joined the Avs on a one-year contract on Jan. 26, with the hopes he could win the Stanley Cup that has eluded him throughout a 19-year career in which he has scored 434 goals and 889 points in 1,254 regular-season games.

That’s what could make Wednesday one of the more emotional nights in Parise’s distinguished career. With the Dallas Stars holding a 3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series, the Avs’ next loss could be the final game of Parise’s career.

And if this is really it for Parise? His career, while it might not have a Stanley Cup, will be filled with moments that have made him one of the most important figures in American hockey over the past two decades.

The 39-year-old was one of the faces of the generation of players, including Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Jack Johnson, Jonathan Quick and Ryan Suter, who provided a blueprint for how Americans could find success at the highest levels of the game.

That’s what made winning America’s first IIHF World Junior Championship back in 2004 beyond special. It’s what made the U.S. reaching the gold medal game and pushing Canada to the brink in overtime at the 2010 Winter Olympics impactful. Those moments allowed a new generation of American players to understand they could compete with the best in the world at international tournaments and in the NHL.

Players, regardless of age, go out of their way to talk about how Parise carries himself the “right way” on and off the ice.

“I haven’t really thought about it all, to be honest,” Parise said when asked about his legacy. “I think you just get so consumed in just playing and having fun with it. I’ve been fortunate to wind up on some good teams, being on the first [U.S.] under-18 team to win the gold, the first [U.S.] World Junior team to win the gold. I look at those two teams that were pretty important for USA Hockey, but I never looked at it from an individual standpoint.”

As players slowly left Ball Arena after an optional practice, the double doors from the Avalanche’s dressing room opened and walked Parise out.

He’s less than two months away from turning 40 but looks like he might be in his early 30s. Dressed in a prep school white ball cap, a dark T-shirt, a black jacket and blue jeans, he sported a look that makes him one of the Avalanche’s more stylish players.

Parise grabbed a seat and for the next 19 minutes, he answered questions while also learning just how much he still means to so many American youth hockey players.

His eyes widened upon hearing how he was Mittelstadt’s childhood hero and that his current teammate wore his sweater as a kid. He learned how, when Mittelstadt and his buddies were kids, they ran around screaming throughout a Minnesota cabin on the day Parise signed with the Wild.

That’s when he also learned Mittelstadt had held off on telling him this because he wanted to play it cool.

In a way that’s uniquely Parise. He showed his appreciation while expressing a level of humility that’s typically more reserved for a rookie rather than a 19-year veteran who has been the face of two franchises.

What allows Parise to be that way, when he could bask in the fact that he has been such a crucial part of so many lives?

“I think I was raised that way by my parents,” Parise said. “I grew up in that environment at Shattuck [the Minnesota prep school known for its hockey program]. That was just the culture that is there. It’s all about the team and not the individual, but hearing that, it means that you did the right things.”

Setting an example was always something Parise thought about with deep regard. It has become an even greater priority now that he’s a father. That’s why talking about his own father causes him to get choked up.

Of all the lessons Jean-Paul Joseph-Louis Parise taught his children, the most important was to be the best person they could be. That meant making time for others, being polite and realizing that being nice to someone never hurt anyone.

How much do those lessons mean now, with Parise at the end of his career, nine years after his father passed away?

“We all want to follow in our dad’s footsteps,” Parise said, his voice breaking. “The way I hear about how people talk about him, you want people to talk about you the way they refer to him. Since he’s passed, I’ve had so many people in Long Island or that I don’t even know who have pulled me aside in rinks after morning skates and just say, ‘I played for your dad’ and what he meant to them and the impact he left on them.

“When it’s all said and done and you’re done playing this sport, you want to leave a good impression. It goes back to wanting to be like your dad.”

J.P. Parise played for Canada in the famed 1972 Summit Series. With his father representing Canada, was there ever a thought for Parise to play for Canada? Or was it just understood he was going to play for the U.S.?

“I was born here, my dad had become a U.S. citizen and I guess it never really crossed my mind that was an option,” Parise said. “It was like, ‘Here’s the path.’ When you’re 15 and going to selects and you’re playing for the under-16s or whatever it was. I’m not even sure that was even a thought.”

Representing the U.S. at such an early age allowed Parise to get in on the ground floor of the next wave of American hockey. It’s not that Team USA didn’t have talented players throughout various levels. It did. But winning international tournaments proved challenging.

The U.S. men’s team has won only two IIHF World Championships, with the most recent coming in 1960. While the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s team won the gold medal, the nation didn’t return to the podium until 2002, when it won silver. America’s next podium appearance at the Olympics came in 2010.

Capturing the first gold medal in American history at the U-18 World Juniors in 2002, then winning the nation’s first goal medal at the 2004 World Juniors built more momentum. Six years later, the U.S. fielded a team at the 2010 Olympics that placed the world on notice that a shift could be coming.

Now it appears that shift has arrived. Although it is early, Team USA is one of the favorites to win both the 4 Nations Face Off in 2025 and the Winter Olympics in 2026.

“You look back, and I know USA Hockey has had a lot of success since then, but you take pride in, ‘Hey, we were the first ones,'” Parise explained. “We had an impact on what they’re doing now and how they’re winning all this stuff now. You feel like we broke through and were able to set a good example for these guys.”

It was Valentine’s Day when Colton’s cell phone blew up. He wasn’t getting heart emojis from friends.

What he got that day were several texts from his friends about the fact that he was now going to play with Parise.

“When he first got here, I just wanted to feel him out. I think he knew I was a big fan of his,” Colton said with a smile. “But once we started to play cards together on the plane or started going to dinners with him, I definitely asked him some stuff about my childhood and his years in Jersey. He’s been amazing. He doesn’t get annoyed. It’s really cool to see, but that goes to show the kind of person he is to make someone’s day.”

Culture is one of those words front offices throw around when it comes to building the sort of program that can win championships. The Avalanche have a particular culture that helped them win their third Stanley Cup in 2022, and there’s a belief they could win more in the years ahead.

Even with those core tenets in place, there’s still flexibility to incorporate more, which is what makes Parise even more valuable.

“The one thing I always love about him is that he’s one of the first guys on the ice and one of the last guys off,” Colton said. “He’s doing little stuff after practice. He’s shooting pucks. He’ll ask you, ‘Do you want me to pass you some pucks?’ Coming from a guy like that, it should be the other way around. He’s the first guy who wants to help you with your game.”

Whether it’s his current set of teammates or those who have played against him, nearly everyone has something to say about Parise and his impact on the game.

“When I first got to New Jersey, the staff there, all they talked about was Zach,” said Avs forward Miles Wood, who started his career with the Devils. “I didn’t have the privilege to play with him there, but what he did to the organization over his time there, he was such an impactful player.”

Duhaime, who was traded to the Avs from the Wild at the deadline, was a prospect when Parise played in Minnesota.

“I did one or two camps with him and he was always super nice,” Duhaime said. “I was an American League guy and always on the outside looking in. He was there and he was nothing but great to those young guys.”

The relationship between Johnson and Parise has existed for years. Johnson was a freshman at Shattuck when Parise was a senior. They represented Team USA together over the years, and were reunited this season when Parise joined the Avs in January.

“I think every great American player has had an impact because those are the guys that kids watch,” Johnson said. “When I was a kid, I watched Brian Leetch and Chris Chelios. Each generation watches the previous great players of that generation, and he’s one of them. I know he had an impact on me. He was a guy I looked up to.”

Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor shared his thoughts on Parise during his team’s first-round series against the Avalanche.

“He’s a big part of a lot of the Olympics and Team USA,” Connor said. “I think the type of motor and type of player — while I’ve never met him personally — from what I see, he gives it his all every single shift. … That whole team and USA Hockey throughout the years and the success they had, it really helped grow the game in the States as well.”

Another one of his contemporaries, Stars center Joe Pavelski, provided a different perspective.

“He’s been a player who leaves an impact,” Pavelski said. “I’ve gotten to play with him a few times for Team USA and have been around him a little bit. It was great to be able to do that and see what he’s about as a player and as a person. I have a lot of respect for Zach.”

From practices to morning skates to warmups to games, there is an expectation for anyone who wears an Avalanche sweater.

They better be prepared to skate all the time, or they can go play somewhere else.

Parise has done that. He has done it repeatedly since coming to Denver. It’s why he has been on the Avs’ second line and continues to be trusted in key scenarios. Add in the fact that he’ll turn 40 in two months, and you start to see why his teammates want him to stay.

“Any superstar that you see in those older years, they just manage the game the right way,” Duhaime said. “They think the game better than anyone else. Let’s say they physically lose a step or lose a little bit of speed, they make up for with their mind. Not saying that Zach’s lost a step, because he looks faster than ever.”

Parise admitted he has had moments when he stops to appreciate what he’s doing at this stage of his career. One of those came when he opened the playoffs on the first line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

“I thought, this is incredible!” Parise said. “I am playing on the top line with the Colorado Avalanche … something I never thought would happen. To hear teammates talk like that, it means a lot.”

Realizing he can still perform at this level, has Parise thought about reconsidering his decision to retire?

“I mean, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t times,” Parise said. “It’s just the excitement of winning a playoff round or it never changes with that excitement when you score a goal. You think, ‘I can still do it. I kinda want to keep doing it.’ But I feel like I’m at the point that now just mentally going through another 82 games would be really hard.”

But?

“Never say never,” Parise smiled. “Right now, I think that’s kind of the direction I’m thinking.”

Parise laughed when he was asked whether he’s at peace with that decision, because it seems like he could be swayed.

“I thought I was at peace with it last year!” Parise said. “It was also different, coming off what I thought was a good year. I felt great. It’s also been hard being away from the family. That’s tough being away from the kids. But to put a percentage on it, you’re talking upper 90s.”

Parise spoke with ESPN the day before the Avalanche lost Game 4. He said if the Avs won the Stanley Cup this season, he wouldn’t even consider coming back.

But if this season ends with a loss in the second round, the conference finals or the Cup finals, does he know for certain that he’ll be done?

“I think this is it,” Parise said. “I’m very content with it.”

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Who has the edge for MVP, Cy Young and more? MLB Awards Watch at the All-Star break

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July 16, 2025

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Who has the edge for MVP, Cy Young and more? MLB Awards Watch at the All-Star break

  • Bradford DoolittleJul 16, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

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      • MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
      • Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
      • Been with ESPN since 2013

Judge. Ohtani. Skubal. Wheeler.

A little more than halfway home, four of baseball’s titans have established themselves as the front-runners in the major awards races, at least according to ESPN BET. A lot can happen between now and the balloting late in the season, but when you have established stars and perennial awards favorites atop the leaderboard, their competitors can’t count on any kind of a drop-off.

In other words: Barring a major injury to Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal or Zack Wheeler, it’s going to take a strong second half by anyone hoping to overtake them. It can happen, and if any of these races tighten up, it’ll be something to behold.

Awards Watch agrees with many of the assessments made by the betting markets, but if the season ended today, there would be a few disagreements, according to AXE. That doesn’t mean the voters would fall in line with the numbers, but the debate would be robust.

As we check in with our midseason Awards Watch, let’s see how things stack up for the favorites.

Most Valuable Player

American League

Front-runner: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (162 AXE)

Next nine: 2. Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (148); 3. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals (138); 4. Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros (134); 5. Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (133); 6. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians (130); 7. Ceddanne Rafaela, Boston Red Sox (129); 8. (tie) Randy Arozarena, Mariners, J.P. Crawford, Mariners (124); 10. Julio Rodriguez, Mariners (122).

Leader trend: Judge has retained a comfortable lead in this category all season. Raleigh drew fairly close in late June, but the gap has since widened again. That’s not Raleigh’s fault; it’s just Judge being Judge. At the time of our last Awards Watch, Judge had a 1.234 OPS. Since then, he has managed a meager 1.141. Yeah, that’s still pretty good.

The shape of Judge’s numbers has changed a bit. When we convened in late May, he was hitting .395, and he has posted a mortal .297 average since. But he has picked things up in the slugging category. Last time, he was mashing homers at the rate of 54 per 162 games. Since, that number is 66. Raleigh might be having the greatest catcher season of all time, and it’s possible that if there is any kind of Judge fatigue among the voters, that could impact the ballot. But what isn’t likely is any kind of prolonged drop-off by Judge.

Biggest mover: Buxton wasn’t in the top 10 last time out, but he has entered the top five based on several weeks of elite production and good health. During an 11-year career marked as much by injury as spectacular play, the first half featured Buxton at his best and most available, putting him on pace for his first 30/30 season at age 31. It keeps getting better: Since the last Awards Watch, Buxton has a 1.025 OPS with rates of 48 homers and 39 steals per 162 games.

Keep an eye on: Last time, there were two Red Sox in the top 10. Both have dropped out, with Alex Bregman hitting the IL and Rafael Devers hitting the airport for a flight to join his new team in San Francisco. But Boston is still represented by the overlooked Rafaela. No, he isn’t going to overtake Judge in the MVP race, but one of baseball’s most unique players deserves a little run.

After splitting time between shortstop and center field in 2024, Rafaela has played almost exclusively on the grass this season, and his defensive metrics have been off the charts. That’s driving this ranking, but Rafaela also has made tremendous strides at the plate. After entering the season with a career OPS+ of 83, he has upped that number to 118 in 2025 and is on pace for a 20/20 campaign.

National League

Front-runner: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers (144 AXE)

Next nine: 2. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs (143); 3. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres (136); 4. Kyle Tucker, Cubs (135); 5. James Wood, Washington Nationals (134); 6. Will Smith, Dodgers (131); 7. (tie) Pete Alonso, New York Mets, Juan Soto, Mets (129); 9. Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds (128); 10. Francisco Lindor, Mets (127).

Leader trend: Crow-Armstrong just won’t go away. He has lurked behind Ohtani on the AXE leaderboard for most of the season, but a quiet series from Ohtani in Milwaukee paired with another outburst from Crow-Armstrong flipped the top spot. Ohtani is still the favorite — the leaderboard flipped again over the weekend and, besides, he’s Ohtani — but at this point, we have to come to grips with the reality that Crow-Armstrong can mount a legitimate challenge.

Like Rafaela, Crow-Armstrong’s defensive metrics are top of the charts and, in fact, those two are in a duel for the MLB lead in defensive runs saved metrics among outfielders. But Crow-Armstrong’s bat continues to fuel his rise to superstar status. He entered the break on pace for 42 homers and 46 steals.

Ironically, if the offensive numbers between Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong are tight, it could come down to very different forms of run prevention. Crow-Armstrong is at 15 defensive runs saved as a center fielder. Meanwhile, Ohtani is at three runs above average during his nine innings on the mound. As the pitching side of Ohtani’s record grows, that gap might narrow considerably.

If that happens and it comes down to a straight-up comparison at the plate, it’s going to be tough for Crow-Armstrong, whose 140 OPS+ currently is dwarfed by Ohtani’s 174.

Biggest mover: Wood continues to cement his arrival as a right-now star player, and his pace has been accelerating even after an excellent start. Despite a subdued week before the break, Wood has a .908 OPS and 162-game rates of 42 homers, 127 RBIs, 19 steals and 100 runs since the last Awards Watch. Overall, he has a .381 OBP and is on pace for 100 walks, so those numbers aren’t driven by a short-term power surge. At 22, Wood simply is already an all-around offensive force.

Keep an eye on: Tucker overtook Crow-Armstrong for the No. 2 slot (and the Cubs’ team lead) in AXE late in June, before Crow-Armstrong reasserted himself. But Tucker’s production is metronomic: His AXE at the last Awards Watch was 130, and he is now at 135. Tucker has an .839 OPS at Wrigley Field as compared to .905 on the road, where 12 of his 17 homers have been hit. But if warmer weather and outward-blowing winds become consistent in Chicago, a Tucker power surge could be in the offing. If that happens, look out.

Cy Young

American League

Front-runner: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers (151 AXE)

Next nine: 2. Garrett Crochet, Red Sox (149); 3. (tie) Framber Valdez, Astros, Joe Ryan, Twins (138); 5. Hunter Brown, Astros (137); 6. Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers (136); 7. Kris Bubic, Royals (134); 8. Max Fried, Yankees (133); 9. Jacob deGrom, Rangers (132); 10. Bryan Woo, Mariners (126).

Leader trend: Skubal was fourth in AXE among AL pitchers last time out, though he was still the clear front-runner to repeat as AL Cy Young. A few more weeks have brought AXE in line with reality, as Skubal has gone to that magical place few pitchers ever reach.

Skubal’s blastoff actually began when we posted the last Awards Watch, as he was coming off a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Cleveland. Perhaps the most impressive part of that outing is that he recorded 13 strikeouts on just 94 pitches. Well, since then, Skubal did the same thing to Minnesota: 13 whiffs on 93 pitches on June 29.

In eight outings following the last Watch, Skubal has gone 5-1 with a 1.89 ERA, thrown at least seven innings five times and posted an absurd ratio of 61 strikeouts to nine walks. This race isn’t over, but it’s clearly Skubal’s to win.

Biggest mover: DeGrom missed the top 10 last time, but since then, he has shown every indication of ramping back up to his historic level of stifling run prevention. He’s doing it a little differently than he did in his Mets heyday, emphasizing pitch efficiency to a greater extent.

DeGrom’s 26% strikeout rate is his lowest in nearly a decade, and he has reached double digits in whiffs just once this season. But he has a sparkling 2.32 ERA and has been at 2.20 over eight starts since the last Awards Watch. He had a string of five straight starts when he threw at least six innings, reaching seven twice, all without hitting the 90-pitch mark.

Keep an eye on: Crochet has been coming on like gangbusters, as has the team around him. He finished his first half with a complete-game, three-hit shutout of Tampa Bay, closing the AXE gap between him and Skubal. Crochet leads the AL in innings pitched (129⅓), strikeouts (160) and ERA+ (185). We’ve seen Skubal do this for a full season; now, it’s up to Crochet to prove he can match the reigning Cy Young winner start for start in what’s shaping up as a great race.

National League

Front-runner: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates (150 AXE)

Next nine: 2. Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies (148); 3. Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies (143); 4. MacKenzie Gore, Nationals (135); 5. Nick Pivetta, Padres (133); 6. Ranger Suarez, Phillies (132); 7. (tie) Andrew Abbott, Reds, Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers (131); 9. Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants (130); 10. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers (128)

Leader trend: The numbers between Wheeler and Skenes are so close, it’s hard not to fixate on the disparity in the win-loss columns: Wheeler is 9-3, while the criminally under-supported Skenes is 4-8. Recently, I re-pitched the notion of a revised win-loss record based on game scores, so that’s worth taking a fresh look at to see if the difference in the traditional records is misleading.

Well, it is and it isn’t. Skenes has suffered a string of hard-luck game score losses of late and now sits at 11-9 by that method. Wheeler, meanwhile, is an MLB-best 16-3. Wheeler also has a solid edge in average game score at 65.2, as compared to 63.2 for Skenes. For now, Wheeler has the edge.

Will it last? Consider another byproduct of that game score work: pitcher temperature. You win a game score matchup, the temp goes up. You lose, it goes down. Each starter begins his career at the average temperature of 72 degrees, and it goes back and forth from there. The hottest starter in baseball by this method: Wheeler, at 127.2 degrees. Because of his recent bad run, Skenes has cooled to 68.7 degrees.

Biggest mover: For now, Sanchez has seized the spot just behind Wheeler, which of course makes him a mere No. 2 in his own rotation. Sanchez was overlooked when the NL All-Star rosters were released, and it was a true oversight. Like Wheeler, Sanchez has been fiery hot, with a string of excellent outings since the last Awards Watch. Over nine starts during that span, Sanchez has 1.77 ERA and 2.11 FIP, while pitching seven innings or more six times.

Keep an eye on: Let’s just stick with our Phillies theme and keep our eyes on their whole rotation. Wheeler (second), Sanchez (third) and Suarez (sixth) are entrenched in the top 10. Meanwhile, Jesus Luzardo (126 AXE), who led this category last time out, just missed giving the Phillies four rotation members in the top 10. Philadelphia leads the majors in average game score and is second in the NL (behind Cincinnati) in game score win-loss percentage.

Rookie of the Year

American League

Front-runner: Jacob Wilson, Athletics (121 AXE)

Next nine: 2. Carlos Narvaez, Red Sox (120); 3. Cam Smith, Astros (116); 4. Noah Cameron, Royals (115); 5. Nick Kurtz, Athletics (108); 6. Jake Mangum, Tampa Bay Rays (107); 7. (tie) Mike Vasil, Chicago White Sox, Will Warren, Yankees, Jasson Dominguez, Yankees (106); 10. Roman Anthony, Red Sox (105)

Leader trend: Wilson has come back to the pack on the AXE leaderboard, perhaps inevitably after his remarkable start to the season. He was hitting .348 at the last Awards Watch then went out and pushed that number to .372 on June 8. Since then, Wilson has hit just .222 and has just three extra-base hits over 24 games. Wilson’s quick beginning turned enough heads to get him voted as the AL’s starting shortstop in the All-Star Game. But he has been replaced by Smith as the AL Rookie of the Year favorite at ESPN BET.

Biggest mover: Smith has mashed his way into prominence, but he’s proving to be a well-rounded young hitter despite just 32 games of minor league experience. Alas, his surprising .277 batting average is driven by a .378 BABIP that doesn’t seem likely to hold up. However, Smith has just seven homers, and if his game power starts to match his raw power, he can easily replace any loss in average with a gain in slugging.

Keep an eye on: Kurtz has been picking up the pace, especially in the power category, manifesting what was his calling card prior to reaching the majors. Kurtz hit the IL with a hip injury on the day the last Awards Watch went out. He had just started to drive the ball before getting hurt, and he has gone right on slugging since he came back. After homering just once over his first 23 games, Kurtz has since gone deep 16 times in 35 contests while slugging .713 in the process.

National League

Front-runner: Caleb Durbin, Brewers (113 AXE)

Next nine: 2. (tie) Chad Patrick, Brewers, Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves (112); 4. (tie) Hyeseong Kim, Dodgers, Isaac Collins, Brewers (109); 6. (tie) Jack Dreyer, Dodgers, Brad Lord, Nationals (105); 8. (tie) Liam Hicks, Miami Marlins, Lake Bachar, Marlins, Yohel Pozo, St. Louis Cardinals (104)

Leader trend: The race remains tepid. One of those players tied for second — Patrick, the leader in this category last time out — is back in Triple A, joining Logan Henderson (not listed here, but who ranks 11th) in the rotation at Nashville. It’s not because of failures on their part, though, it’s just because Milwaukee is so flush with starting pitching. Speaking of which …

Biggest mover: Jacob Misiorowski had yet to debut when we last convened, but he has since become a must-watch big league starter and, amazingly, an All-Star.

He won his first three starts while posting a 1.13 ERA, then put up his first stinker in a loss to the Mets. He followed that with a head-turning six innings of dominance against the defending champion Dodgers, whiffing 12 L.A. batters and beating future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. The end result: Misiorowski has become ESPN BET’s new front-runner for top NL rookie.

Keep an eye on: Kim has been as good as advertised for the Dodgers, matching the elite defense and baserunning we knew he had with a surprising 137 OPS+ over 119 plate appearances. Now, in the wake of Max Muncy‘s knee injury, Kim should be more of a lineup fixture, at least for a few weeks.

Manager of the Year

American League

Front-runner: A.J. Hinch, Tigers (112 EARL)

Next four: 2. Joe Espada, Astros (109); 3. Ron Washington, Los Angeles Angels (108); 4. John Schneider, Toronto Blue Jays (107); 5. Dan Wilson, Mariners (103)

Overview: It’s bittersweet to see Washington on the leaderboard now that we know he won’t be back this season because of a health issue. That leaves a pretty good battle between Hinch and Espada, his bench coach with the Astros. The Tigers’ historic pace with such a young team has Hinch in front. But Houston’s surge despite injuries and underperformances is the kind of thing that will catch a voter’s eye.

National League

Front-runner: Pat Murphy, Brewers (108 EARL)

Next four: 2. (tie) Oliver Marmol, Cardinals; Bob Melvin, Giants (106); 4. (tie) Craig Counsell, Cubs; Clayton McCullough, Marlins (105)

Overview: This is a hard race to read. Marmol is a classic candidate, guiding a low-expectation team to a good record and playoff contention. But the Cardinals might be on the verge of dropping back. Meanwhile, the Brewers have become the NL’s hottest team, nudging Murphy, last year’s NL Manager of the Year, into the lead at the break. But in both manager categories, these stories are very far from being written.

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MLB betting: Top storylines for the season’s second half

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July 16, 2025

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MLB betting: Top storylines for the season's second half

Coming off his second American League MVP season in 2024, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge opened as the favorite to repeat for the award. He has only helped his argument by posting the AL’s best average (.355) as well as its second-most home runs (35) and RBIs (81) at the All-Star break. However, as excellent as his season has been, a stunning breakout campaign from Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is closing the gap in the odds.

Judge currently shows -600 odds to win the AL MVP in 2025, a major improvement from his leading +300 at the start of the season, according to ESPN BET lines. However, Raleigh now has the second-best odds +325, a remarkable shortening from his opening 100-1 price.

Judge’s short odds all season — which reached an incredible -1,000 in mid-May — dictated that he was never going to be an attractive option for bettors, with BetMGM reporting 5.2% of the bettors backing him for the award, fifth best in the market.

Raleigh, on the other hand, made a slow progression up the odds board, allowing bettors to take advantage of his long plus-pricing for some time. Caesars Sportsbook baseball lead Eric Biggio said many of the sportsbook’s customers grabbed the Mariners backstop at 90-1 back in early May. Judge’s excellence actually helped keep Raleigh at a long price, according to another bookmaker, since Judge’s extremely short price needed to be balanced.

BetMGM said Raleigh holds a leading 33% of the handle for AL MVP, the book’s largest liability in the market. His laidback attitude, Home Run Derby win and amusing nickname could continue to fuel his MVP narrative … and make trouble for sportsbooks.

“As much as I like him, as much as I enjoy rooting for the Big Dumper, he’s a pretty big liability for us,” Biggio told ESPN. “We’ve got some pretty big tickets on Raleigh to win the MVP and for the home run leader.”

The latter market is also an intriguing one: Even as Raleigh (38) holds a three-homer lead over Judge, the Yankees slugger is still the solid favorite to sock the most dingers this season, showing -140 odds to Raleigh’s +130 at ESPN BET. Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani holds +800 odds to accompany his 32 home runs.

“If Raleigh wins either one of those two awards, we’re not going to be in as good of shape with him as we are with those other two guys,” DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN.

Ohtani is also the solid favorite for National League MVP at -700, but Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting some degree of pressure on him at +750. BetMGM reports PCA as its biggest liability in that market.

World Series favorites

Ahead of the 2025 season, the Dodgers were an astounding +160 to win the National League pennant and +275 to win the World Series, per ESPN BET lines — the shortest odds to win MLB’s championship since the 2003 Yankees. At the All-Star break, not a whole lot has changed, with L.A. now a +140 favorite to take the NL crown and a +240 favorite for the World Series.

Things have not gone as expected on the American League side, however. After opening the season at +1200 to win the AL and +3000 to take the World Series, the Detroit Tigers now display the best record in baseball, bringing their pennant odds to a favorite’s +250 and their championship odds to +700, tied with the Yankees for second best.

The underdog story resonated with the betting public, who began backing the Tigers at the first indications that they could make some noise not only in the AL Central, but in the league at large. Biggio said Detroit is Caesars’ second-largest liability, behind only the San Francisco Giants.

“We had some longer prices, and the public spotted it early that they’re a legit squad,” he said. “So some big prices on the Tigers to win it all, and they are for real.”

“They’ve become a popular futures selection, now our second-most bet World Series winner by total bets, and third-most popular pick by handle,” ESPN BET’s VP of sportsbook strategy and growth Adam Landeka said via email. “Given their relatively longer price earlier in the season, we already know we’ll be a fan of almost any team the Tigers face in the postseason.”

While Detroit’s concern will be coaching its relatively inexperienced core to a postseason run, L.A.’s will be staying healthy. Bookmakers remark that the Dodgers’ ability to keep winning games despite several significant injuries is a testament to their depth, thus keeping them a favorite in the long run.

Young arms

The eyes of the baseball world turned to Milwaukee for a seemingly random matinee game June 25. It was the first head-to-head matchup between Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes and Milwaukee Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski, two of the brightest future pitching stars in baseball. It would prove to be significant for at least one of them.

Prior to his MLB debut on June 12, Misirowski was +2500 to win NL Rookie of the Year. That day he moved to +1000, then to +175 after his second start, before finally becoming the odds-on favorite at -120 after getting the better of Skenes, according to ESPN BET’s Landeka. At the break, “The Miz” is -220 to take home the award. Sportsbooks were able to stay on top of his rapid ascendancy, limiting their liability.

“We were able to move this guy pretty quickly,” Avello said. “That’s one that didn’t get hit, could have had some good value there. We’re in pretty good shape with him actually.”

Skenes, meanwhile, is having another remarkable season after taking home ROY honors last year, but his disappointing record (4-8) for a dismal Pirates team could be keeping him from being the NL Cy Young favorite. He currently shows -105 odds at ESPN BET, trailing Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler at -130.

It’s largely a two-man race — Wheeler’s teammate, Cristopher Sanchez, is next closest in the odds at +2000 — but sportsbooks aren’t too worried about liability given the short prices on Skenes and Wheeler all season.

“We’ve seen comparable action on both, but as it stands now Skenes would be a better result for us,” Landeka said.

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NHL schedule release: Bruins, Penguins, Maple Leafs and more lead top reveals

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July 16, 2025

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NHL schedule release: Bruins, Penguins, Maple Leafs and more lead top reveals

The 2025-26 NHL season is slowly approaching and teams checked another offseason box on Wednesday by revealing their schedules for the upcoming campaign.

Creativity abounded as squads looked to show off their upcoming calendar in distinctive ways. The Boston Bruins enlisted comedian Bill Burr to help unveil their schedule. The Pittsburgh Penguins went with a hospital theme. Dogs were brought in to help out the Toronto Maple Leafs with their reveal.

Headlined by those and more, here’s a look at the social media schedule release posts from each NHL team.

Boston Bruins

Pittsburgh Penguins

Toronto Maple Leafs

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