I thought I should feature the Comeback Players of the Year and Relievers of the Year as well. The MVP was the AL Comeback Player of the Year, so here's the NL winner.

BASICS:

Born: May 30, 1990

Jersey Number: 45 (both teams)

Bats: Left

Throws: Right

Position: Starting Pitcher

Drafted: 2009 by the Giants, 6th overall pick

MLB Debut: June 18, 2013

Teams: Giants (2009-2011), Mets (2011-2019), Phillies (2020-present)

Instagram: @wheelerpro45

2026 STATS:

Games: 28

Innings Pitched: 162

Wins: 14

Losses: 5

ERA: 3.00

Strikeouts: 193

CAREER STATS:

Games: 311

Innings Pitched: 1890.1

Wins: 127

Losses: 80

ERA: 3.26

Strikeouts: 2013

Complete Games: 5

Shutouts: 3

2026 AWARDS:

NL Comeback Player of the Year

CAREER AWARDS:

All Star - 2021, 2024, 2025

Gold Glove - 2023

NL Pitcher of the Month - May 2022, June 2025

NL Player of the Week - 7/6/25

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW:

He has four kids.

He pitched a perfect game in high school.

He led MLB in complete games, shutouts and innings pitched in 2021.

He was a two-way player in high school.

In 2025, he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his throwing shoulder and had a rib removed as part of his treatment.

His brother pitched in the Yankees system.

He has never made a regular season relief appearance in his MLB career.

2026 HIGHLIGHTS:

His 2000th career K

He got a career high 14 Ks

He broke a 10 game losing streak for the Phillies in his return

He took a no-hitter to the sixth

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:

His first CGSO shutout

His 1000th K with the Phillies

WHY I LIKE HIM:

He's a great pitcher - I'm surprised he's never won a Cy. If he goes through with retiring after the 2027 season, he'll be missed.

PAST PLAYERS:

11/6: William Contreras 11/7: Adley Rutschman 11/8: José Ramírez 11/9: Jacob Misiorowski 11/10: Sal Stewart 11/11: Kevin McGonigle 11/12: Cam Schlittler 11/13: Yordan Álvarez 11/14: Pete Crow-Armstrong

In the AZ Fall League championship game last night, Peoria Javelinas defeated the Surprise Sahauros 8-3. They scored 4 in the first and were up 8-0 until late in the game despite Surprise having a ton of base runners.

The largest crowd of the season (that I saw) was there last night, over 1,000. Typical games are 300-400.

Personally I find going to the fall league tons more fun than watching spring training. Ticket prices are $12 for seniors, $14 for over 10, and free for kids under 10. No parking fees. You can sit anywhere in the park and with most parks having 8,000+ seats, that means plenty of space and a good chance of getting a foul ball even if you aren't a ball scavenger.

SD Padres pitcher Kemp came in relief and hit 99 mph and was mostly between 96-98. Typical control issues.

Walks are a big issue in the league. Teams average over 6 walks per 9 ip. While most games are 9 innings with the ghost runner for extra innings, some games are only 7 innings and some end in ties. Mostly due to how many pitchers they need in each game. In a rare case you will see a SP complete 4 innings.

I never watched minor league baseball so I wasn't used to how rough fielding can be with these guys. Lots of SBs, mishaps in the infield, dropped fly balls and catchers seemingly missing balls and dropping the ball while trying to transition to throwing a runner out at 2b.

Tai Peete, a Cards OF prospect, probably was my favorite player on Peoria (we live nearby the park). Fast, good defensively and a decent hitter. He seemed to play to the crowd and would look at them each time he approached the plate.

Being an Orioles fan I was watching guys like Ike Irish, Honeycutt, etc.

I saw one RP who appears in 5 games, 4 ip, 5 hits and 20 walks (2 Ks). Fortunately not everyone was that bad. (Nolan Hughes).

If you are a baseball fan and in the area I would strongly recommend checking out the games.

In the NBA, there are a few notable examples of when superstars demanded a trade. Examples like Anthony Davis from Pelicans, James Haren from Rockets, Kyrie Irving from Cavs, Kawhi Leonard from Spurs, etc.

What about in the MLB? What are some examples of superstars or even just average MLB players that demanded a trade from their original team?

there’s always a legend of someone clearing the trees and hitting it over the parking lot

The challenge system has been an overall success—umpire mistakes are quickly corrected and everyone moves on. Or do they?

One thing that is still missing is a sense of accountability. So, here’s what I propose:

When an umpire announces that a call is overturned over the mic, they must finish the announcement with “and I’m sorry”.

This bit of humility will go a long way in reestablishing trust in the umps and recognizing the humanity of baseball.

I saw we had genuinely compliment your rival so I thought we'd turn it around now.

Sorry if this wording doesn’t make sense

I’ll start: the Cardinals have some amazing jerseys