The Buzz — Thursday, August 13

Freddie Freeman

The take scary dugout tumble leaves Freeman sore day-to-day

The fall looked like the season. Freeman went down the stairs chasing a foul popup Wednesday night, stayed down long enough for the dugout to go quiet, then finished the half-inning at first base before Tommy Edman hit for him. No broken bones, no concussion — Freeman said he didn't hit his head, then listed the damage: kneecaps, shoulder, hand, wrist. Dave Roberts called it a bullet dodged, and the medical update is total-body soreness, not a structural injury.

He'll decide Thursday morning whether he can play against the Brewers. The crowd saw the tumble and assumed the worst, which was the right instinct on a play that looked that bad. The facts say bruising and caution — which is the most a fall like that can yield.

Freddie Freeman cards on eBay →(paid link)

Alex Bregman

The take Bregman first career 3-HR 7-RBI game in Cubs win

Eleven seasons, and this was the first time. Bregman hit three home runs — a three-run shot in the fifth, a two-run shot in the sixth, another two-run shot in the eighth — and drove in all seven RBIs on the long balls alone. The night raised his season total to 16 and pulled the Cubs to 71-50, three games back of the Brewers. For a player whose brand is consistency, not explosions, this was a new gear at the exact point in the schedule where Chicago needed one.

Alex Bregman cards on eBay →(paid link)

Paul Skenes

The take Skenes velo drop, short outing fuel injury fears

This is the one worth the argument, and both sides have a number. Skenes averaged 95.7 mph on his fastball against the Marlins — a career low — and did not break 97. His seasonal four-seamer sits at 96.9, down from 98.2 last year and 98.8 in 2024. That is not a blip; it is a trend with three data points and a direction.

Don Kelly said the five-inning, 65-pitch hook wasn't injury-related, and Skenes has said he is healthy. But what hitters did with the pitch is the verdict, and they didn't miss it. Skenes induced four whiffs on 34 swings — a 12% rate, the lowest of his career — and allowed eight hard-hit balls. His four-seamer averaged 100.0 mph in exit velocity that night.

The broader stretch confirms the slide. Skenes is 3-4 with a 5.79 ERA over his last nine starts, with 13 home runs allowed and a ground-ball rate down to 39.7%. His season ERA sits at 3.88. The expected numbers remain better than the actual line, and his first-half opponent average against the four-seamer was .195, so the stuff hasn't collapsed. But a fastball that sat at 98.8 in 2024 and 95.7 in his last start is the kind of decline that makes 'not injury-related' sound like a sentence with a second half.

Paul Skenes cards on eBay →(paid link)

Royce Lewis

The take Heating up ahead of Twins Field of Dreams game

Since July 9, Lewis is hitting .314 with a .562 slugging percentage — 33 hits in 105 at-bats, eight extra-base hits already in August. That is his best stretch in more than a year, and the quality of contact backs it: exit velocity, hard-hit rate, barrel rate, and expected slugging are all up since July 1.

The Twins are 60-62, one game back of the third AL wild-card spot, and Lewis is the bat that arrived with the schedule. His season line — .245, 13 home runs, .750 OPS — is still modest, and five multi-hit games in six doesn't erase what came before. But the Field of Dreams game is a national showcase landing on the one stretch where he looks like the player who broke out two years ago, and the Twins' first series win since the deadline is partly his doing.

Royce Lewis cards on eBay →(paid link)

Yordan Alvarez

The take Alvarez chasing rare Triple Crown and HR lead

The last man to lead the majors in average, home runs, and RBIs in the same season was Mickey Mantle in 1956. Alvarez sits at .322 with 35 home runs and 87 RBIs, leading the AL in all three — and the majors in two. The RBI race is tight enough to flip daily, but his 1.057 OPS says this isn't a hot two months. It's a season aimed at history, and only four players have done it since RBIs became official in 1920.

Yordan Alvarez cards on eBay →(paid link)