Welcome to the latest FanGraphs Changelog, where we update you on some of the recent improvements we’ve made to the site as we work to build a better FanGraphs.

First, here are some important updates we’ve already announced over the past month, in case you missed them:

• We added three new tools to the FanGraphs Lab, rolling out the Paired Pitches tool, the Power Rankings Board, and the Baseball Simulator.
• We also added Home Field Advantage to the Baseball Simulator.
• Lastly, we added ABS strike zone, arm angle, and spin rate related stats to our player pages and leaderboards.

We’ve worked hard to get our tools updated for the new strike zone and the ABS challenge system. In addition to the new plate discipline metrics added to player page season stats and leaderboards, those stats were also added to the game logs and spark graphs cards. To see how successful players have been when they make ABS challenges, we added an ABS Challenges leaderboard.

We also made a significant update to the FanGraphs mobile app, which can be download here: App Store (iOS) or Play Store (Android).

• We’ve added the full Major League Leaderboards to the app, including your custom reports. The custom report features are the same on the app as they are on the website. You have to be a FanGraphs Member to have more than 10 player or custom stat columns:
  
• You can also set the default for all leaderboards in the app to show you the left edge of the data grid or the right edge. We put some of the most important stats on the right side and default sort data grids by the right column on the website, so we are giving users the option to change this. This can be found under More >> App Settings:
  
• We also updated the RosterResource Closer Depth Charts in the app to reflect the updates on the site:
  

Speaking of RosterResource, the Closer Depth Charts now have more stats:

• The Results section has most of the stats that were previously there, and we’ve added SwStr%, K%, BB%, Shutdowns, and Meltdowns.
• The Arsenal section has individual pitch metrics, including Stuff+.
• We also added the number of pitches thrown and innings pitched over the last six days for each pitcher.
• There’s now a tooltip that has game-level information including innings pitched, total batters faced, innings appeared in, and leverage when the pitcher entered game.

We also made a small Member update. You are now able to download or copy a .png image of many of our graphs and charts, so you no longer have to screenshot them:

If you have questions, please leave them in the comments below, and if you have any suggestions for site features, be sure to let us know. And lastly, a thank you to our Members! Membership is the best way to ensure that we are able to continue to grow and improve the site, and support our staff. We couldn’t do any of this without you.

The Washington Nationals are starting out strong, but not strong enough.

They weren’t supposed to be good in 2026. They weren’t good last year, or the year before, or the year before, or the — they haven’t been good since they won the World Series in 2019. Our preseason positional power rankings had them 29th by overall projected WAR. Justin Klugh led the Nationals essay in the 2026 Baseball Prospectus annual with the story of an enema given to George Washington just before his death. And no, the parallel was not a particularly happy one.

Indeed, the Nationals have not been good. They’re 11-15 with a -18 run differential and a bottom-five WAR. They’re not yet last in the NL East because of whatever is going on in New York and Philadelphia. But our projections assume they’ll find their way there eventually.

Still, it’s the way they’ve gotten to “not good” that’s been frustrating, entertaining, and perhaps even a bit encouraging. Let’s start with a plot: Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Philadelphia Phillies have released right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker, and it’s not hard to understand why. The Phillies, two-time defending NL East champs and one of the preseason favorites for the National League pennant, are down two engines and spiraling rapidly toward an uncontrolled crash landing. They need to dump everything that’s not bolted down, and unfortunately for Walker, that’s him.

The 33-year-old right-hander took the loss in two of the Phillies’ eight consecutive defeats, and if his 9.13 ERA is due to regress with better sequencing and luck, it wasn’t going to regress by much. Walker’s xERA is 7.04 and his FIP is 7.82. In 22 2/3 innings, he has struck out 17 batters while allowing 36 hits (including eight home runs) and 11 walks.

On the heels of his final outing in Phillies colors, Jayson Stark posted a statistical coincidence that’s so damning, it almost feels unkind to notice: Opponents have hit .353/.417/.657 against Walker this season. In 1941, the year of his record 56-game hitting streak, Joe DiMaggio hit .357/.440/.643. Read the rest of this entry »

Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Washington Nationals. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the sixth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.

A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.

All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here. Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

Led by American League Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet, free agent signee Ranger Suarez, and trade acquisition Sonny Gray, the Red Sox were projected to have the majors’ top rotation in our preseason Positional Power Rankings. Four weeks in, the unit has been one of the majors’ worst, with Crochet getting pummeled and Gray underperforming before landing on the injured list earlier this week with a right hamstring strain. The bullpen has been shaky, the offense weak, and after losing the first two games of a three-game series against the Yankees at Fenway Park, the Red Sox now sit 9-15, last in the AL East.

Through 24 games, this is the Red Sox’s worst start since 2020, when they went 6-18 en route to a 24-36 record and a last-place finish. In terms of full-season futility, in 2019 the Red Sox — defending champions at the time — started 9-15 before rallying to finish at 84-78, third in the division but outside the playoff picture. After winning 89 games last season and making their first postseason appearance since 2021, this year was supposed to be different, but since Opening Day, the team’s seasonal win projection has fallen from 85 to 80.5, the fourth-largest drop in the majors ahead of only the Mets (-7.1), Phillies (-5.7) and Royals (-4.5). Only those three teams have larger drops in their Playoff Odds:

The driver of Boston’s success was supposed to be the rotation, headed by Crochet. After making his first All-Star team with the White Sox in 2024, he emerged as a true ace last year, leading the majors in both innings (205.1) and strikeouts (255) while ranking second in the AL in strikeout rate (31.3%), xERA (2.88), FIP (2.89), and WAR (5.8) — behind Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in all of those categories — and third in ERA (2.59). Read the rest of this entry »

When the Cubs signed Nico Hoerner to a six-year contract extension on Opening Day, they knew exactly what they were getting. You see, Hoerner has been remarkably consistent throughout his career; over his four full seasons in the majors, his wRC+ has had a peak of 109 and a low of 102, to go along with sterling defensive metrics. His seasonal WAR marks during that four-year span have ranged from 3.8 to 4.8. The only reason why this isn’t a five-season sample is because, in 2021, three separate IL stints curtailed his campaign to just 44 games. In those 44 games, though, he put up a 106 wRC+ and 1.6 WAR.

However, the Nico Hoerner that has showed up to play this year isn’t the same as before. He’s still playing excellent defense at an up-the-middle position, but he’s also rocking a .320/.393/.515 slash line (a 156 wRC+) with four home runs, meaning that in just 24 games, he’s already nearly halfway to his career high of 10, set back in 2022. Last week, he racked up nine hits, two home runs, and two stolen bases to earn NL Player of the Week honors. It’s still early in the season, but there are enough underlying changes in Hoerner’s performance that it’s worth digging into how he’s been able to power up this year. Read the rest of this entry »

12:15

Dan Szymborski: Here! Sorry, I had a weird problem getting int

12:15

Dan Szymborski: It’s hard to say. The Mets will get to first place if there’s sufficient time remaining in the season for another tragic downfall

12:15

Dan Szymborski: Probably still hitter

Read the rest of this entry »