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A few players worth focusing on as we reach the All Star Break:  

Cristopher Sanchez -- whose omission from the "Mid Summer Classic" was a true injustice -- brought the Phillies to the break in first place, with an other dominant outing.  Sunday, he worked 7-1/3 innings, and held the Padres to a run and six hits as the Phils won 2-1.  The lefty is 8-2 with a 2.50 ERA and just 32 walks in 122 innings.

The Red Sox didn't want to hit pause on the schedule.  Alex Cora's club has won its last 10 straight, and join the 2022 Mariners, the ‘75 Reds and ‘35 Tigers as the only clubs in history to have a 10-game winning streak or longer going into the break.  Also worth nothing: it's the first time the Red Sox have have won 10-in-a-row since July 2nd-11th of their 2018 World Series championship season.  Centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela has been a big part of this streak: a walk off homer Friday night that beat the Rays, another  home run Sunday plus a near-catch he turned into an assist nailing Tampa's Jonathan Aranda.


Spencer Jones, long one of the Yankees most intriguing minor league prospects, has been nothing less than scorching since his promotion to AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre.  Seven homers, 15 RBIs and six stolen bases in just 14 games.  Tack on eight walks and his OPS is a Judge-like 1.202.  The physical comparisons to the Yankee captain have always been there since Jones was drafted out of Vanderbilt.  But now the numbers are starting to match the potential.

Anthony Seigler  (below) was Jones' teammate a year ago at AA Somerset.  Years of disappointing stats since being a 1st round draft pick in 2018 led to the Yanks letting him leave last winter as a free agent.  Signing with the Brewers, a strong first half (.277 in 63 games) led to a recent promotion to Milwaukee, where he's had a couple of hits in six games.  Watching Seigler flounder for several years in the Yankee system, I was skeptical about his chances of reaching the majors.  So credit's due here that he's made it as a 26-year old rookie.

My image of Sanchez is from a May 2024 Phillies/ Nationals game.
I snapped Rafaela in June 2023 when he was with the Red Sox' AA farm club in Portland.
The Jones and Seigler photos are from August 1st, 2024, when Somerset visited Bowie.



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