Thursday, June 11
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 Brian Murphy.
There are remarkable turnarounds, and there is what the 2026 White Sox are doing right now.
Chicago defeated old friend Chris Sale and the Braves on Wednesday night to take the first two games of its series against the team with the best record in baseball and climb into first place in the AL Central.
To say the White Sox have gone from worst to first kind of undersells their rapid ascent. Lest we forget that just two years ago, the South Siders were in the midst of what was, objectively, the losingest season in the Modern Era (since 1900) in terms of both losses (121) and win-loss percentage (.248). They got outscored by 306 runs.
They achieved a 19-win improvement last season, but they don’t hang banners for going 60-102.
However, there might be a divisional title in the White Sox future if they keep swinging it as well as they have. Of the 11 position players who received at least 200 plate appearances on that 2024 squad, only one (Andrew Benintendi) is a part of the current roster. That overhaul makes sense considering that ‘24 team was last in MLB in runs scored (507) and home runs (133).
And now? Good luck to opposing pitchers when they have to travel to Rate Field. The White Sox enter Thursday’s series finale against Atlanta (7:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV) with the fourth-most homers (91) and the fifth-best OPS (.739) in the Majors. They then welcome the Dodgers for a three-game weekend set in Chicago, where the club’s 22-11 home record — tied with the Braves for the second-best mark in MLB — is largely due to a cast of young, potent bats.
Second-year shortstop Colson Montgomery, who hit 21 home runs in 71 games as a rookie, has 16 homers through 64 games this year. That’s tied with third baseman Miguel Vargas, whose breakout campaign has him looking every bit like an All-Star. Japanese sensation Munetaka Murakami is still tied for second in the AL with 20 dingers even though he hasn’t played this month due to a right hamstring strain.
Rookie Sam Antonacci (.387 on-base percentage) has been a pest at the top of the lineup. Outfielder Tristan Peters, who was acquired for cash from the Rays during the winter, has an OPS better than 1.000 across his previous 22 games. Outfielder Braden Montgomery, MLB’s No. 21 overall prospect, followed up his improbable debut from Tuesday with two more hits in Wednesday’s victory. And besides missing Murakami, the White Sox have also been without catcher Kyle Teel (hamstring strain/knee sprain) for the entire season, and he had a 121 OPS+ last year.
This offense is for real. The pitching? It could use some work, although starter Davis Martin has evolved into an ace and was stellar again last night.
But maybe the first-place White Sox will be buyers at this season’s Trade Deadline and fortify their staff. Who thought that would be the case two months ago, much less two years ago?
J-ROD = MVP?
The AL MVP Award has resided with Aaron Judge in three of the past four seasons. But with the Yankees captain on the shelf for a long while due to a fractured rib, that honor will most likely fall into other hands this year.
One candidate to watch is Mariners star outfielder Julio Rodríguez, and you can watch him tonight when the Mariners face the Orioles at 7:05 ET on ESPN.
To mention J-Rod as an MVP possibility even a few weeks ago would have been a wild take, considering that he got off to another one of his typical slow starts, when his bat was as frigid as the winter rain in Seattle. Even with a few good performances to close April, he entered May with a .254/.329/.349 slash line and two homers through 32 games.
But Rodríguez’s bat blossomed in May, highlighted by 10 homers and resulting in one of the best months of his five-year career. We usually don’t see J-Rod really turn it on until we’re closer to the All-Star break, but as MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan explains, Rodríguez’s monster month could have him set up for a career-best season and a real run at that aforementioned hardware.
ANOTHER CHANGE AT THE TOP
Rodríguez, however, didn’t crack MLB.com’s latest Hitter Power Rankings, which were released today. So who did? Well, this month’s top 10 features a change at No. 1 for the fourth straight edition.
Also, there is a very (very, very, very) familiar name who rose up to No. 2 after going unranked last month.
Check out the full Hitter Power Rankings here >>
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Tarik Skubal will return this weekend! That, plus a wild walk-off Wednesday and a home run that was ready for its close-up are among a few more stories that you need to know.
• What are you doing at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday? Set a reminder for the Tigers-Guardians game to witness Skubal’s return from the injured list. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch made the big announcement this morning: The reigning two-time AL Cy Young Award winner will be back on a big league mound just 38 days after undergoing surgery to remove a loose body from his left elbow. It’s obviously tremendous news for a Tigers team that has won seven of its first nine June games to pull within 5 games of a Wild Card spot.
• There were four walk-offs on Wednesday, but none more historic or zany than what took place in San Francisco between the Nationals and Giants. The Nats held a 9-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth. Game over? Think again! The Giants struck for five runs in that inning and five more in the bottom of the ninth to complete a crazy 11-10 comeback victory. It was punctuated by an “ultimate grand slam” from rookie Bryce Eldridge.
• At literally the exact same time as Eldridge’s triumphant blast (3:48 p.m. PT), Fernando Tatis Jr. belted a walk-off homer for the Padres down the coast in San Diego. Staying in California, the Angels walked off the Astros in 10 innings. The Rockies also celebrated a walk-off win over the Cubs.
• You’ll be shocked — shocked! — to hear that there were five more homers hit during yesterday’s Brewers-A’s game in Las Vegas. There were 21 home runs during the three-game series, but only one of them hit a manned television camera in straightaway center field.
THE NASTIEST PITCHES IN BASEBALL
Here’s hoping you’re having a good time playing around with the new swing timing and miss distance leaderboard on Baseball Savant.
There’s a lot to take in, but in general, we can now see which pitchers/pitches disrupt hitters’ timing the most and create the most extreme whiffs.
Simply, we can see which pitches are the nastiest, the filthiest, the most unhittable in the sport. Mason Miller’s slider may very well be at the top of that list, but it’s far from the only pitch that can leave hitters shaking their heads in disbelief. Which other offerings stand out?
MLB.com’s David Adler has spotlighted eight of the nastiest pitches in MLB — one per pitch type >>
VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME
Phase 1 of All-Star voting is open until Thursday, June 25, at noon ET.
Vote now to help send your favorite players to this year’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia. Fans can vote up to five times per day.
Fill out your 2026 All-Star Ballot here >>
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RJ Hamster 