Friday, August 14

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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. Today’s edition is brought to you by David Adler.

MLB Pipeline just dropped its midseason prospect rankings update. That means a new overall Top 100 and new Top 30 prospect lists for every single team. 

Since the original 2026 prospect rankings came out, we’ve had the Draft, a whole lotta trades and more than half a season’s worth of games. So there’s plenty of new stuff to dive into here.

We’ll put links to all the team Top 30 lists at the bottom, but first let’s check out the updated Top 100 prospects.

Who’s new in the Top 10? 

The big name to watch here is Franklin Arias. The Red Sox 20-year-old shortstop has jumped all the way up to No. 3 overall (he was No. 28 before). Arias has been raking at Triple-A and gives Boston a top-five prospect for a second straight year after Roman Anthony in 2025. 

He’s far from the only newbie in the Top 10, since six of the preseason Top 10 prospects have since reached the Majors and graduated from prospect status (Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle, JJ Wetherholt, Nolan McLean, Samuel Basallo and Colt Emerson).

Who’s new in the Top 100? 

Ethan Salas has had quite the rollercoaster ride on top prospect lists. The 20-year-old Padres catcher once reached as high as No. 5 overall in the Pipeline rankings, only to fall completely off the Top 100 list. But now he’s back on — with such a big turnaround that he ranks No. 23. He headlines nine newcomers in the Top 50.

Where do the Big 3 2026 Draft prospects rank? 

The top 2026 Draft picks are making their Pipeline ranking debuts. That means the grand entrance for No. 1 overall pick Roch Cholowsky, No. 2 pick Grady Emerson and No. 3 pick Vahn Lackey. All three are in the Top 20.

• Emerson actually ranks the highest of the trio. The Rays 18-year-old shortstop is No. 10 overall.
• Cholowsky, the 21-year-old shortstop picked first by the White Sox, comes in right behind Emerson at No. 11.  
• Lackey, the 21-year-old catcher drafted by the Twins, is ranked No. 19.

Who are the biggest risers? 

Arias made the biggest leap of anyone who got into the Top 10, but there are some other huge jumps within the Top 100. 

Dodgers infielder Emil Morales, who has a .919 OPS and 22 homers at A ball in his age-19 season, is the single biggest riser. He jumped 68 spots, from No. 92 all the way up to No. 24. Next is Rays 20-year-old outfielder Theo Gillen, who was No. 76 and nearly broke into the top 10, moving up 64 spots to No. 12.

What hasn’t changed? 

Guess who’s still No. 1 overall? Yep, it’s Jesús Made. The Brewers’ 19-year-old shortstop phenom started the season at No. 3, but he took over the No. 1 spot once Griffin and McGonigle graduated to the big leagues. 

The midseason re-ranking hasn’t changed that. Made has been tearing up Double-A all season. 

Team Top 30 lists 

Here’s how you can find the updated Top 30 prospects for every MLB team:

• AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
• AL Central: CLE | CWS | 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: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF

These list have gotten a full refresh, folding in the 2026 Draft class and updating other players based on their performances in pro ball this year. Your team might even have a new No. 1 prospect.  

 

GAMES OF THE WEEKEND

Here’s one game for you to watch every day this weekend. 

Tonight: Padres at Guardians (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV) 

Gavin Williams is just one start removed from a run of five straight double-digit strikeout games. He totaled 55 K’s over those five starts, and only issued three walks, which is something only a handful of pitchers have done. You’ll want to see who else is on that list, too. Jared Greenspan has it here, plus a breakdown of what’s made Williams so good of late. (Hint: It’s all about the heater.) There are some good quotes in there from the Guardians ace, so check it out.

Tomorrow: Brewers at Dodgers (7:15 p.m. ET, FOX / FOX ONE)

Misiorowski vs. Ohtani. What more do we need to say? The 2026 NL Cy Young favoritefaces the four-time MVP in this must-see NLCS rematch on Saturday. Misiorowski just reached the 200-strikeout mark in his last start and continues to lead MLB with a 1.76 ERA and 204 K’s. Ohtani is batting .292 with 27 home runs and leads the NL with a .935 OPS.

Sunday: Red Sox at Pirates (1:35 p.m. ET, MLB.TV) 

We were tempted to go with Tarik Skubal vs. the Brew Crew on Sunday, but we didn’t want to double up on one series, so let’s go to Pittsburgh instead, where the mystery of Paul Skenes continues. The Cy Young winner continues to be plagued by a loss of velocity, and he enters this start with a losing record at 9-11 and a 3.88 ERA, nearly two full runs higher than a year ago. Can Skenes make the adjustments he needs to and bounce back down the stretch?  

1 PEANUT VENDOR VISITED EVERY BALLPARK

He sold peanuts in one ballpark. Now he’s visited 237 of them. 

Erik Mertens — aka, “The Peanut Guy” — just completed a diehard baseball fan’s dream journey. He’s now visited every single active Major and Minor League ballpark. 

Ben Hill has the story of The Peanut Guy’s quest here, with all the nutty details. 

Mertens currently works for the Tri-City Dust Devils (that’s the Angels’ High-A team) as the director of fan experience and community relations and on-field emcee. But he got his start as a peanut vendor — hence the “Peanut Guy” nickname, of course.

He’s become something of a famous superfan over the years, and the Dust Devils’ home park, Gesa Stadium, even features a life-size Erik “The Peanut Guy” bobblehead on the concourse.

And this week, he finally checked off the elusive 237th ballpark: the Ontario Tower Buzzers’ ONT Field.

The Peanut Guy’s favorite park, if he realllllllllyhas to choose, is the Asheville Tourists’ historic home of HomeTrust Park (a recently renovated 102-year-old facility previously known as McCormick Field). 

Oh, and with all those ballpark visits, you should see his baseball cap collection. 

FIELD OF DREAMS? BACK. ALL-STAR GAME? IN SF.

We got two big announcements about two big baseball games today:

MLB at Field of Dreams will be back next year. 

A day after Kyle Schwarber led the Phillies past the Twins in the 2026 Field of Dreams Game with two home runs into the cornfieldsin Dyersville, Iowa, MLB announced that the game will return in 2027. 

The next Field of Dreams Game will feature the Red Sox vs. the Royals. It’s scheduled for Aug. 12 of next year, back at the “Field of Dreams” movie site. 

This will be the fourth edition of MLB at Field of Dreams. The White Sox and Yankees played the inaugural game in 2021, followed by the Cubs and Reds in 2022, and finally the Phils and Twins yesterday.

San Francisco gets the 2028 All-Star Game.

MLB also announced today that the Giants will host the 2028 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Oracle Park. 

This will be the fourth time San Francisco has hosted the Midsummer Classic. The last time was in 2007, which you might remember for Ichiro hitting the first inside-the-park home runin All-Star Game history. Barry Bonds also made his final All-Star appearance that year. 

Before the Giants, the Cubs are hosting the 2027 All-Star Game at Wrigley Field. 

TEAMS WANT IN ON STAR JAPANESE SLUGGER

Teruaki Sato might be the next star Japanese slugger to jump to the Major Leagues, and he’s already drawing plenty of interest.

The Mets, Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies are all linked to Sato, who’s the reigning MVP of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League. The Mets in particular have been scouting Sato and seem highly interested, according to the latest reports from the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

The 27-year-old Sato could be posted to MLB this offseason, which would kick off a bidding war for a player who could be the next Munetaka Murakami.

Sato hit 40 home runs in his MVP season for the Hanshin Tigers, and he has 27 more this year while batting .318 with a 1.026 OPS in 103 games. He also played for Team Japan at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. 

 

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