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Perhaps no college baseball team disappointed more in 2025 than the Texas A&M Aggies.
Even after a coaching change in the offseason, with Jim Schlossnagle moving to rival Texas, the Aggies were seen as one of the most loaded teams in college baseball. Aggies were named No. 1 in many preseason polls.
Texas A&M didn’t just fail to live up to the hype. It failed to make the NCAA Tournament, making it the first preseason No. 1 to fail to make the field of 64 in decades.
But that doesn’t mean that the Aggies don’t have talent worth taking in July’s MLB draft. In fact, in a recent mock draft, MLB.com has the San Francisco Giants taking one of those players at No. 13 overall.
Why Jace LaViolette Makes Sense for Giants
Many college baseball and MLB mock draft evaluators have LaViolette, a junior, as the top outfielder in the draft class. He played left field and right field for the Aggies. He slashed .285/.432/.651 in three college baseball seasons, with a 1.083 OPS. He hit 68 home runs and drove in 202 RBI.
MLB.com, in assignment the right-handed hitting LaViolette to the Giants, noted his blend of speed, power and athleticism. It also noted that he has some swing-and-miss in his game. In three seasons he struck out 222 times.
But San Francisco could use some corner infield power, especially in right field where Mike Yastrzemski is set to be a free agent after this season. Not that LaViolette would be ready for the Majors by 2026. And that’s the other significant issue for the team that drafts him.
Whoever selects him may be waiting a bit for him to make his professional debut. During the SEC Tournament in May, he fractured a bone in his left hand when he was hit by a pitch. He left the game and later returned to the dugout with it wrapped up in a splint.
Aggies coach Michael Earley did confirm that LaViolette had a fractured hand. But LaViolette played the next game against Auburn. There were reports that he had surgery between games to have a pin inserted. Whichever team drafts him will not only have to mind his medicals but give the fracture time to heal. It’s possible he won’t make a pro debut in 2025.
But, as the Aggies’ all-time home run leader, he may be worth the way. San Francisco could add him to their stable of young, power hitting outfielders, which includes James Tibbs III, who was the Giants’ first-round pick last year. The former Florida State star is at High-A Eugene in his first full professional season.
More must-reads:
- Rangers playoff hopes continue to be decimated by injuries
- Phillies' Kyle Schwarber makes all kinds of MLB history vs. Braves
- The 'Active 20-home run MLB seasons' quiz
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Former Yankees Closer Turns Career Around with Rival Club
Rebounding from adversity is not an easy thing to do, but it seems that a former New York Yankees powerhouse pitcher has done it. Ex-Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has turned his career around completely after a bad ending in New York. The “Cuban Missile” was once seen to be a specimen of a reliever until mental and physical struggles prevailed. When discussing adversity, Chapman went through it from the start. Being a Cuban national, his baseball career was already uncertain. Chapman defected from Cuba and made his way to the United States, where he became a star with the Cincinnati Reds. The big lefty’s adversities continued, as he was faced with a severe injury after being hit in the head with a line drive back to the mound. He then signed a huge deal with the Yankees in 2015 and became a superstar. The left-hander spent seven total seasons with the Yankees in two stints. Some were memorable, some were forgettable. Chapman’s last few seasons in the Bronx were not ones to remember. It is now 2025, and he is reborn as a trustworthy closer in Boston. From the Bronx to Boston: Aroldis Chapman’s Career Resurgence Aroldis Chapman was a three-time All-Star with the Yankees. His role as a closer was solidified, and in all three of those All-Star seasons, Chapman recorded 30-plus saves. Where did things go downhill? Well, in two instances: when hitters figured out his pitch repertoire, and when his maturity got in the way of his performance. Chapman was a rocket fastballer, which is why he was labelled a “missile.” He got up to 102 mph, and stayed almost consistently in the triple-digits. At one point, it seemed that his sole reliance was on his velocity, which didn’t last long. 102 mph in was 111 mph out, if caught flat in the zone, which was typically the case. In 2021 and 2024, his hard-hit percentage was over 40%. Command was also an issue for the left-hander, as wild pitches and bases-on-balls were consistent. Chapman maintained a walk percentage above 14% for five seasons dating back to 2018. He was not only with the Yankees in this span, but also spent time with the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Chapman’s maturity was testing the Yankees organization. The structured environment was breached many times by immature and selfish decisions by Chapman. The closer got a tattoo in-season, which caused an infection, disallowing his activity. He was also defiant, deciding to skip mandatory team workouts based on his own thought process. Chapman was later disregarded and put up on the trade market. Fast forward to the present day, where Chapman closes for the Boston Red Sox, and has made changes. Chapman’s Present-Day Self is Valuable Now 37 years of age, Chapman’s overall character has leveled out to be a competitor, good teammate, and effective closer. He has been kept in line by a strict Red Sox environment. His performance has followed suit as well. From 2018 to 2024, Chapman’s walk rate averaged around 14%. In 2025, he currently holds a 7% rate, slashing that average in half. He maintains his velocity, increasing up to 105 mph and clocking consistently at 103 mph. Age has not ruined this feature. Chapman has improved his repertoire, commanding the fastball better, staying in and out of the zone. He also incorporated a splitter and is utilizing his sinker and slider more effectively. Chapman currently holds a 1.04 ERA with 26 saves, 74 strikeouts, 14 walks, and a 4-2 record in 52 innings pitched. The southpaw closer has revived his profile and is in the running for a postseason opportunity on the dark side (for Yankees fans, anyway) of the American League East.
Jerry Jones again proves he shouldn't be making decisions for Cowboys
When it comes to major decisions for the Dallas Cowboys it is always going to be Jerry Jones' way or the highway. The problem with that philosophy, however, is that the Jerry Jones way has proven to be a failure for more than 30 years. It's long past time for him to give up control of the team and hire a real general manager to fix the mess he keeps creating. All of that is back on the front-burner again following Thursday's conclusion of the Micah Parsons saga, with the All-Pro superstar getting traded to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. In a vacuum, it's not a terrible return. Clark is a legitimate starter on the defensive line -- and a very good player -- and two first-round picks are always going to have some value. But professional sports does not exist in a vacuum. There is always more context at play, and the context here is that an in-his-prime superstar (Parsons), that is one of the biggest game-changers in the league, and a player that was trying to make it work in Dallas, is now playing for somebody else because Jones could not get out of his own way. From the very beginning Jones bungled this contract negotiation, doing the one thing he does best — making himself and Cowboys drama the focal point, and what is best for the team a secondary matter. It's the Jerry Jones way. And it's a losing way. This situation did not have to end up the way it did. There was a perfectly reasonable outcome that would have seen Parsons remain in Dallas throughout the prime of his career and continue to be a focal point of its defense. All it would have taken was a common sense approach and an owner whose concern for the organization outweighed their ego. Every major negotiation with the Cowboys ends up getting drawn out into chaos. It's all part of Jerry's desire to keep him and his team at the top of the headlines. It usually results in him having to pay a player more money than he otherwise would have. And even that may not be a problem for Jerry because he gets to talk about how he negotiated and paid out this huge contract. This time, however, the plan finally burned him. If you want to reach, or if you want to carry Jones' water for him, you might be able to put together a somewhat coherent argument as to how this can work out. Maybe those two first-round picks will pan out in the future. Maybe Clark is a great fit in the middle of Dallas' defensive line. Maybe. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The more maybe's you throw in, the more likely it is they are not going to all pan out. Clark is good, but he's not Parsons. He is not as disruptive, he is not as good and he is going to be 30 years old this season while Parsons is still only 26. Two first-round picks looks good on paper, but the Packers are a pretty good team — and will be even better with Parsons — and those picks will likely be in the back half of the first-round. You hope to find a good player with at least one of them, if not both. The odds that either one is as good as Parsons are long. Since winning their last Super Bowl during the 1995 season the Cowboys have consistently been one of the NFL's most mediocre franchises. Never truly awful, but never good. They will make the playoffs semi-regularly, but never go anywhere. They have the longest NFC Championship game drought in the conference. They never get close to the Super Bowl and have not been bonafide contenders in literal decades. A sane owner would look at those results and would have fired multiple general managers for that run. Jones has no one to fire because he is the general manager. And he likes the way he is doing things. The problem is it doesn't work. It hasn't worked. And it won't work. History has proven that.
Ranking U.S. Ryder Cup pairings by how much you would hate to play with them
If you're an avid golfer, you know the anxiety-inducing feeling of showing up to your local muni as a twosome on a busy Sunday afternoon. The twosome you get paired with can make or break your entire weekend. Since captain Keegan Bradley finalized the U.S. Ryder Cup roster on Wednesday, let's have some fun by ranking the three worst duos you would hate to be paired with on the golf course. 3. Cameron Young and Harris English Getting paired with Young and English would be a bore fest from the first tee to the 18th green. The introductory handshakes and the occasional "nice shot" would be the only interactions you get from them all day. You'll spend the entire round debating whether they're 25 or 45. At some point, you'll ask your buddy if they're even friends. Sure, it would be a treat to watch Young bomb majestic high draws 350 yards and English drain multiple 30-footers with ease, but that's where the fun would stop. The over/under for the number of smiles cracked between the two of them might be set at 2.5. 2. Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns Morikawa just doesn't seem like a good hang this year. From multiple quarrels with the media to a handful of caddie switches in the span of a few months, Morikawa has been too high-strung and paranoid in 2025. He'd be quick to blame you for a poor drive because you blinked too aggressively in his backswing. No thank you. Burns is on the other end of the spectrum in that he'll keep to himself and pretend not to know Morikawa very well. He'll throw out a "Sorry about him, he's having a tough year" to ease the tension, but his personality isn't bubbly enough to offset Morikawa's bad vibes. 1. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele Cantlay would be the absolute worst-case scenario as a random pairing. You'd think his minute-long pitter-patter over the ball on the first tee was a one-time exercise to ease his nerves, but you quickly realize it's a steady feature of his pre-shot routine. Even though he's hitting the fewest shots, he's taking the longest time to hit them. The groups behind you start to pile up. At one point, the impatient union worker behind you hits into your group to send a message. Cantlay doesn't care. Five hours later, you finally finish up on 18. The group that was in front of you all day is already on their second beverage at the clubhouse bar. In an age when pace of play is just as important as your final score, Cantlay would be a nightmare pairing.
Micah Parsons will not have to wait long to get his revenge on Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys traded Micah Parsons in a stunning move on Thursday, and the star pass-rusher will now get his revenge game sooner rather than later. The Cowboys have traded Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Many were shocked that Dallas would trade arguably its best player to a longtime NFC rival, but the relationship between the two sides had rapidly deteriorated in recent weeks. Parsons issued a lengthy statement after the trade thanking Cowboys Nation, but it is safe to assume he has some sour feelings toward Jerry Jones and the team's brass. He will have a chance to express those frustrations on the field in Week 4. As luck would have it, the Packers travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" in Week 4. That game will likely be one of the highest-rated of the entire 2025 NFL season. Players often shine in so-called "revenge games" after they are traded. In this instance, the player happens to be a superstar who publicly feuded with his former boss all offseason. Parsons will probably have a little extra juice for Green Bay's Sept. 28 game against Dallas, and who can blame him? Rather than paying him what he wanted, the Cowboys let the four-time Pro Bowl defensive end walk. Parsons' former teammates may want to focus some extra attention on him in Week 4.
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