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The Houston Astros started the 2024 season poorly, but managed to pull within a game of the AL West lead before the All-Star break. With some important core players getting older or heading for free agency, Houston needs to begin rebuilding their farm system for the future. In this year's draft, they selected a key piece in the first round, but otherwise it was given just a C by CBS Sports.
Part of the reason that the grade is just a C is the fact that Houston had just one pick in the top 100. That selection came at 28, where they took Sam Houston State catcher Walker Janek.
Janek is a bat-first backstop who was considered the top catcher in the draft by MLB Pipeline. Janek's final season in college was his breakout season at the plate, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 58 runs with a 1.185 OPS. He also hit five triples, impressive for a catcher. He also won Conference USA's Defensive Player of the Year award, but there is still some work to do on defense aside from the plus arm.
Houston's next pick didn't come until 101, where they selected UC San Diego pitcher Ryan Forcucci. A four pitch pitcher, Forcucci sits mid-90s with a slider that misses a lot of bats and is his best offspeed pitch. His curveball is his least used pitch, but he does have a changeup that rates as a 50.
The worry with Forcucci is durability, as he has never thrown more than 53.2 innings in a season.
Outside of their first two picks, Houston landed only two other players in the MLB Pipeline top 250. Cole Hertzler is a right handed pitcher from Liberty University selected in the fifth round. He sits in the low-90s, with his best offspeed pitch being his changeup. He also throws a curveball that has bat-missing upside.
Their only other top 250 pick was Ky McGary, a high school outfielder from Arizona with their final pick. Given that he was a pretty highly regarded high schooler picked so late, it's unlikely that he will sign with Houston. He is committed to Arizona State, which is likely where he will head.
Houston needs to rebuild their farm system, as it is considered one of the worst in baseball. They got off to a great start in a catcher of the future with Janek, but no other picks in the top 100 handcuffed their draft upside.
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The Pac-12 is no longer a ‘power conference’
In April 2024, the Division I Board of Directors voted to strip the Pac-12 of its autonomous legislative powers and remove the conference’s representation from the board. In layman’s terms, the Pac-12 lost its status as a power conference, leaving the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC in charge of FBS football. When the House settlement was announced in June, the Pac-12 was included as one of the five autonomy conferences. “The five autonomy conferences and the NCAA agreeing to settlement terms is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come,” the five conference commissioners and NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a joint statement. “This settlement is also a road map for college sports leaders and Congress to ensure this uniquely American institution can continue to provide unmatched opportunity for millions of students. All of Division I made today’s progress possible, and we all have work to do to implement the terms of the agreement as the legal process continues. We look forward to working with our various student-athlete leadership groups to write the next chapter of college sports.” In the wake of the House settlement, some fans believed that the Pac-12 had regained its status as an autonomous conference. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports attempted to clear up some of the confusion on Thursday. “The league is included in House-related matters with the four power conferences — as it was with (College Sports Commission) guidance — because it was a named defendant in the House lawsuit when filed in 2020,” Dellenger wrote on X. “However, as for the NCAA and (College Football Playoff), the Pac-12 is not a ‘power conference.’” Dellenger also noted that the term “power conference” holds no actual authority. The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC are the four conferences with historic ties to the New Year’s Six bowl games. “Today, the delineation here is the NCAA’s autonomous legislative powers and CFP revenue distribution/weighted voting,” Dellenger wrote. The power four conferences receive more money from the CFP than Group of 5 schools. In summary, the reborn Pac-12 of current members Oregon State and Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State of the Mountain West, Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference and Texas State of the Sun Belt will not be a power conference in 2026. What the Pac-12 will have is access to the CFP. The five highest-rated conference champions in the final CFP rankings receive automatic bids to the playoff.
Five biggest losers from the 2025 MLB trade deadline
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline was 6 p.m. ET on Thursday. Some teams managed to get better in either a short-term or long-term outlook. Other teams did not. We've already gone over the five biggest winners, which featured some surprising teams. Here we are focusing on the five teams that were the biggest losers. Minnesota Twins The good news for Twins fans is the team did not trade outfielder Byron Buxton or starting pitcher Joe Ryan. The bad news for Twins fans is the team traded pretty much everybody else. The worst news is the Twins have pretty much sabotaged any goodwill the team had built up in recent years, including their 2023 trip to the American League Division Series. Since then the Twins collapsed late last season, did very little in the offseason and then completely gutted the roster over the past two weeks, including a straight salary-dump trade of Carlos Correa to the Houston Astros, his former team. This is going to be a long, slow climb back to the top. Pittsburgh Pirates The Pirates had a chance to have a potentially impactful trade deadline with some intriguing trade chips in what had become a seller's market. They ended up trading closer David Bednar, third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Bailey Falter and relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson. They held on to pending free agents Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham and Andrew Heaney. What's so baffling about the trades they did make is that they gave up useful, productive players with years of team control still remaining, did not get a single highly-ranked prospect back in return and kept the players that are going to leave for nothing. The only winner here is owner Bob Nutting's bank account for all of the money he saved in the future by dumping Hayes' contract and potential arbitration years from Bednar and Falter. Chicago Cubs After paying a steep price to get outfielder Kyle Tucker in the offseason everybody in Chicago knew the clock was ticking on the Cubs to build a winner around him. He is a free agent after this season and seems determined to hit the open market for the highest bidder. Even though the Cubs have emerged as a contender, it was pretty clear as the season has gone on that they needed at least one more starting pitcher. They did not get one, and instead only added a utility infielder (Willi Castro) and reliever Taylor Rogers. While so many teams around them in the NL managed to get better, it's an underwhelming deadline performance for a team that should be going all in. Atlanta Braves It's not that the Braves did anything poor at the trade deadline that makes them losers. It's that they didn't do ... anything. At least not anything that they needed to do. None of their pending free agents were moved, no significant changes were made to a team going nowhere this season and the only move they did make was a marginal trade involving Rafael Montero. That is extremely underwhelming. Boston Red Sox The Red Sox were rumored to be in the market for a significant starting pitcher, including Minnesota's Joe Ryan. They did not make that sort of splash move, and instead added Steven Matz and Dustin May. For a team trying to hang in the American League playoff race, that is not really exciting. They also paid a steep price to get May, giving up one of the top prospects — outfielder James Tibbs III — they acquired in the Rafael Devers trade to the San Francisco Giants.
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One player from each AFC team who deserves Hall of Fame call
Let the (preseason) games begin. With the Detroit Lions-Los Angeles Chargers Pro Football Hall of Fame Game kicking off 2025 action, Yardbarker NFL writers mulled a player — past or present — on each AFC team who merits enshrinement in Canton. AFC East BUFFALO BILLS | LB Von Miller | As the NFL’s active leader in sacks (129.5), Miller — who's now with the Commanders — is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame even though he missed 14 games in three years with Buffalo. In 10 seasons with Denver, Miller earned a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, made eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams and was named MVP of Super Bowl 50, the last defensive player to win the award. MIAMI DOLPHINS | WR Tyreek Hill | His subpar 2024 season aside (81 catches, 959 yards, six TD catches), the 31-year-old receiver boasts a Hall of Fame resume (eight Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro nods in nine years). Hill led NFL receivers with 1,799 yards in 2023 and has six 1,000-yard seasons in his career, two fewer than Cris Carter, who spent the last five games of his Hall of Fame career with Miami. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS | Kicker Adam Vinatieri | The NFL’s all-time leading scorer (2,673 points) narrowly missed induction as a finalist in 2025, his first year of eligibility, and will be an automatic finalist in 2026. Vinatieri, who retired in 2021, holds records for most field goals made in the regular season (599) and playoffs (56) and helped the Patriots win three Super Bowls before winning another with the Colts in 2007. NEW YORK JETS | QB Aaron Rodgers | The enigmatic passer disappointed as a Jet, but four first-team All-Pro honors, four NFL MVP awards and a Super Bowl MVP with the Green Bay Packers can’t be overlooked. Rodgers’ 62,952 passing yards are the seventh most in league history, and his 4.34 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the best of any quarterback, past or present. — Bruce Ewing AFC West DENVER BRONCOS | WR Rod Smith | Smith played a key role when the Broncos repeated as Super Bowl champions in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The three-time Pro Bowler had 152 receiving yards in a 34-19 Super Bowl XXXIII win over the Atlanta Falcons, tied for the sixth most in a Super Bowl. The undrafted WR starred for Denver from 1995-2006, becoming the club’s career leader in receiving yards (11,389). KANSAS CITY CHIEFS | QB Patrick Mahomes | Star tight end Travis Kelce would be an excellent pick, too, but the Chiefs had won only one Super Bowl before Mahomes became the starter during the 2018 season. The 2017 first-round pick has won three Super Bowls and two MVPs in eight seasons with the Chiefs. Expect Mahomes, who turns 30 on Sept. 17, to keep bolstering his stellar resume. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS | QB Philip Rivers | Rivers, who retired as a Charger in July, never reached a Super Bowl during his career, but neither did former Chargers QB Dan Fouts. That didn’t prevent him from making the HOF in 1993. The same should go for eight-time Pro Bowler Rivers, who ranks sixth in career TD passes (421). LAS VEGAS RAIDERS | Guard Steve Wisniewski | It’s surprising Wisniewski isn’t in Canton already. Per Pro Football Reference, his HOF monitor score (76.58) is higher than that of HOF guard Mike Munchak (72.7). The former O-lineman is also a member of the HOF’s All-1990s team. — Clark Dalton AFC North BALTIMORE RAVENS | LB Terrell Suggs | Suggs, who played from 2003-19, and former Ravens guard Marshal Yanda were finalists for the 2025 class but missed out. Suggs was one of the more dominant pass-rushers of his era, accumulating 139 career sacks, earning seven Pro Bowl nods, one first-team All-Pro, a Defensive Player of the Year award and an NFL-record 202 tackles for loss. He was a key part of two Super Bowl winners. CINCINNATI BENGALS | QB Ken Anderson | The Bengals did not win a Super Bowl during Anderson’s career (1971-86), but that is pretty much the only thing separating him from other Hall of Fame quarterbacks, especially from his era in the 1970s. Anderson has an NFL MVP award and led the league in passing twice, completion percentage three times and passer rating four times. CLEVELAND BROWNS | Edge Myles Garrett | Garrett is still active, but it’s not hard to see the path his career is on. He has been the more dominant pass-rusher in the league from pretty much the day he arrived. He may not win a title in Cleveland, but he is going to finish as one of the best Browns players of all time and one of the best defenders of the modern era in the NFL. PITTSBURGH STEELERS | QB Ben Roethlisberger | Roethlisberger, who retired in 2022, does not have many individual accolades, but spending nearly two decades as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and earning two Super Bowl rings will be more than enough to get him in. It is just a matter of how long he might have to wait for induction. — Adam Gretz AFC South HOUSTON TEXANS | DE J.J. Watt | Widely considered to be a first-ballot lock, Watt — who retired following the 2022 season — will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2028. His career could have been even better if not for several seasons being shortened by injury, but Watt is one of only three players to win three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards. Few players were capable of changing the game the way a healthy Watt could. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS | Kicker Adam Vinatieri | The three-time Pro Bowl selection made 29 game-winning kicks in his career, including two that won Super Bowls for the Patriots. Vinatieri has four Super Bowl rings and could be considered the most clutch kicker of all time. There are four kickers in the Hall of Fame, and it is almost impossible to argue against Vinatieri becoming the fifth. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS | RB Fred Taylor | The wait continued in 2025 for Taylor, a Hall of Fame finalist for the second straight year, but he did not get the nod. Taylor, who retired in 2011, ranks 17th in NFL history with 11,695 rushing yards and holds numerous Jaguars records. The only running back ahead of him on the all-time rushing list who is not in the Hall of Fame is Frank Gore, and he is likely to get into Canton eventually. TENNESSEE TITANS | RB Derrick Henry | Titans legends Eddie George and Steve McNair advanced in the Hall of Fame voting process for 2025, but there is a good chance neither will get into Canton. Henry, meanwhile, is already 19th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 11,423 yards and coming off a season in which he ran for 1,921 yards. Henry, who spent the majority of his career in Tennessee, should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. — Steve DelVecchio
Warriors Predicted to Trade Jonathan Kuminga to West Contender for $80 Million Duo
The Golden State Warriors have had an underwhelming offseason thus far as they continue to deal with the situation surrounding restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga is still deciding on the next chapter of his NBA career after he fell out of Steve Kerr’s rotation last season. As of now, the only reported teams interested in Kuminga are the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns and it will be difficult for either of them to acquire him as they would have to pull off a sign-and-trade deal with the Warriors. Golden State has already turned down trade offers from both teams and while the sides continue to talk, there could be another team that could enter the Kuminga sweepstakes. With this in mind, Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell recently created a mock trade that would send Kuminga to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team deal that includes the Atlanta Hawks. In the trade, the Warriors would send Kuminga to the Clippers in exchange for Bogdan Bogdanovic, Kobe Brown and three second-round picks while the Hawks would land Kris Dunn from Los Angeles. This would be an interesting trade for every team involved and one that is unlikely to happen due to the Warriors’ high asking price for Kuminga. The Clippers may also not be the best fit for Kuminga as he would likely come off the bench if they were able to acquire him where he would rather be in a starting lineup, which would likely be the case with either the Suns or Kings. Despite this, the Clippers lack young talent on their roster and they could elect to add Kuminga to build around him in the future whenever Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, James Harden and Bradley Beal are gone. While that may be the case, the Warriors would likely want more in return for their young forward.
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