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MLB News & Moments You Should Know: 7/14/2024

Reds rookie Hinds hits a pair of HRs, has five in first six MLB games.

Steve Drumwright
MLB Morning News 7/14/2024

Stay updated on everything baseball with our morning MLB News & Moments articles. We’ve got you covered to keep you in the know.

Professional sports drafts in general are a gamble. After all, how many No. 1 picks have lived up to the billing of a superstar? Front offices, regardless of the sport, fret over the selection of high school or college athletes and how they will project into the future of the team. Some sports, such as the NFL and a lesser extent the NBA, expect an immediate impact. In others, such as MLB and the NHL, a draft pick might not play at the top level for a few years. There are hits and misses at the top of the draft, and even that unearthed nugget in a late round.

All this is to say that no matter what happens in today’s first round of the MLB Draft, there doesn’t appear to be a sure thing like there was last year with Paul Skenes, who went No. 1 overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes is a unicorn in baseball drafts as he is the first player in MLB history to be an All-Star the year after he was drafted. Scouts and front offices dig into hundreds of draft-eligible prospects each year to come up with who they think will best fit their franchise. Who will the Cleveland Guardians pick No. 1 today? It is up in the air as there is no consensus top pick, but the Guardians seem to be leaning toward West Virginia shortstop JJ Wetherholt in an under-slot deal. How fast will that player make it to MLB? Maybe next year at the earliest (again, Skenes is a unicorn). And what will they contribute? An even murkier question. But that is what makes drafts fun.

So take a look at the final mock drafts from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and The Athletic and you try to predict what will happen in today’s first round of the MLB Draft. The draft begins at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

 

Today’s Headlines

 

Rece’s Pieces Of History

Add a multihomer game to the list of impressive accomplishments for Cincinnati Reds rookie outfielder Rece Hinds. The Reds’ No. 15 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, continued his dazzling power display by hitting his fourth and fifth home runs of his MLB career in Cincinnati’s 10-6 victory over the Miami Marlins. Did we mention this was his sixth MLB game? Hinds hit a solo shot in the third inning and a two-run blast in the sixth inning for his ninth extra-base hit, the most by anyone since at least 1901. Hinds’ five homers in his first six games are the second-most in MLB history behind the seven from Colorado’s Trevor Story. With three games of multiple extra-base hits in his first six games, Hinds tied Willie McCovey, who did so in 1959, for the most in MLB history. Hinds’ two blasts were part of a six-homer day for the Reds.

Comeback Cats: Tigers Score Five In Ninth, Win In 10th

Going into Saturday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were 48-0 when leading entering the ninth inning. The Detroit Tigers had notched 19 comeback wins, nine of which included trailing after six innings. Those two forces clashed at Comerica Park, with the Dodgers taking a 9-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth — and the Tigers’ youth prevailing. Thanks to a clutch two-out, two-run homer by Colt Keith, the Tigers erased that five-run deficit to tie the game 9-9 and then won in the 10th on Gio Urshela’s two-run walk-off homer. This was the biggest of the Tigers’ comeback wins — literally. The previous largest deficit the Tigers had erased in a victory was three, something they had done five times. Five of the seven runs in the ninth and 10th innings were scored or driven in by a Tigers rookie.

Reds’ Collier Powers Way To Futures Game MVP

Speaking the Reds and power, there is another position player making a name for himself. That would be Cam Collier, MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 Reds prospect, who clubbed a 409-foot solo homer in the Futures Game in Arlington, Texas, to help the National League beat the American League 6-1. Collier, a 19-year-old third baseman, was named MVP and his bat is headed to Cooperstown. The 18th overall pick in the 2022 draft has hit 13 home runs this season at High-A Dayton. Meanwhile, the hometown Texas Rangers fans caught a glimpse of a potential ace in right-hander Emiliano Teodo, who started and threw only 14 pitches (12 strikes) to complete two perfect innings. Teodo, 23, is the Rangers’ No. 14 prospect and has a 1.71 ERA in 14 starts at Double-A Frisco.

All-Star Replacements

⚾ Philadelphia Phillies left-handed starter Cristopher Sánchez was named as an All-Star Game replacement for the NL for Atlanta left-handed starter Chris Sale, who is scheduled to pitch today. Sanchez gives the Phillies an MLB-best eight All-Stars. The Phillies’ five All-Star pitchers selected are the most by any team in any year.

⚾ Atlanta left-handed starter Max Fried is replacing Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who started Friday’s game.

 

Best Moments From Yesterday

 

F-4-9

Follow the bouncing ball from Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez to right fielder Will Brennan on this popup off the bat of Jonny DeLuca of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Athlete Does Something Resulting In Round Number

This home run might not be more important than the last one he hit or the next one, but because we love round numbers in sports accomplishments, Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani will make headlines for hitting career home run No. 200.

 

Injuries and Other Moves

 

⚾ Minnesota Twins third baseman Jose Miranda, who just a week ago tied an MLB record with hits in 12 consecutive at-bats, will be going on the 10-day injured list due to lower-back tightness that has sidelined him in recent days.

⚾ The Miami Marlins will give center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. time back at second base, perhaps as a way to increase his trade value. Chisholm was a second baseman until 2022 before switching to center.

⚾ Colorado Rockies left fielder Nolan Jones (strained lower back) was placed on the 10-day IL. Also, Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez, who underwent Tommy John surgery after making just four starts in 2023, will be activated and start today’s game against the New York Mets.

⚾ Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad is on the seven-day concussion list after being hit in the head by New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes on Friday.

⚾ New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino (strained left quad) went on the 10-day IL.

⚾ Right-handed reliever Hunter Harvey was acquired by the Kansas City Royals, who sent prospect second baseman Cayden Wallace and the 39th overall pick in today’s draft (Competitive Balance Round A). Wallace was a second-round pick in 2022. Right-handed reliever Nick Anderson was designated for assignment by the Royals to make room for Harvey.

⚾  Dodgers right-handed starter Dustin May will miss the rest of the 2024 season after having surgery to repair a torn esophagus. May has started only 20 games in the last 3.5 seasons due to a variety of injuries, including Tommy John surgery in 2021 and a procedure to repair his right flexor tendon last year.

⚾ Shortstop Nick Ahmed, who had been DFA’d by the San Francisco Giants this week, was released.

⚾ New York Mets right-handed reliever Drew Smith underwent Tommy John surgery and could miss all or most of 2025. He is a free agent after the 2024 season.

 

Articles You Should Read

 

The good and bad performances from the Futures Game — Keith Law, The Athletic

The All-Star Game you don’t know — John Thorn, baseball historian

Baseball’s big threes at the break — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle

 

Fantasy Baseball Coverage

 

Starting Pitcher Roundup

Hitter Performances

Reliever Ranks

Starting Pitcher Streamers

Steve Drumwright

Steve Drumwright is a lifelong baseball fan who retired as a player before he had the chance to be cut from the freshman team in high school. He recovered to become a sportswriter and have a successful journalism career at newspapers in Wisconsin and California. Follow him on Twitter and Threads @DrummerWrites.

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