Sports

Minor league scouting notes on Ben Hess, Seaver King, Adrian Santana and more

Published

8 months ago

May 12, 2025

Minor league scouting notes on Ben Hess, Seaver King, Adrian Santana and more

I recently caught a handful of minor-league games featuring prospects at the High-A level from the Yankees, Rays, Orioles and Nationals organizations. Below are scouting reports on the most notable prospects I saw.

Scouting Yankees arms Hess, Cunningham and Rodriguez-Cruz

The Yankees promoted George Lombard Jr., their top prospect still in the minors, from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset right before he was scheduled to come play a series 10 minutes from my house in Wilmington, Del. And I took that personally. I still went to a few of the games this past week, though, as Hudson Valley has a trio of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects.

Ben Hess was the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2024 out of the University of Alabama, and he had his best and longest start of his pro career to date on Thursday night pitching for Hudson Valley at Wilmington, going 6 2/3 shutout innings and striking out nine. The first Wilmington batter reached via catcher’s interference, and then Hess retired the next 17 batters, walking one in the sixth and allowing his first and only hit in the seventh.

It was an unusual outing, as Hess was 89-92 mph with the fastball in the first inning, then dialed it up to 93-96 for the next four innings before tapering back to 90-93 in the sixth and seventh. He dominated the Blue Rocks primarily with the fastball, using a 73-78 mph curveball as his primary secondary pitch, throwing a handful of sliders and maybe three or four changeups. He filled the zone with strikes, especially with the fastball, consistent with what he’s been doing most of the year to date. The curveball is at least an average pitch and the slider could be as well, but I’d like to see him use them more, and he’s going to have to develop the changeup to get lefties out at higher levels.

Right-hander Bryce Cunningham was the Yankees’ second-round pick last year out of Vanderbilt, and so far this year he’s been Hudson Valley’s best starter, with 38 strikeouts and eight walks in 36 1/3 innings through Sunday’s start. I caught the beginning of his Mother’s Day outing, just to get a first glimpse, and through two innings he was 91-96 with a changeup that flashed plus, also showing a slider and a big-breaking 11/5 curveball. The fastball/changeup combo alone looked like it’d be enough to keep him as a starter; I just didn’t see enough of the slider to say if it was an adequate third pitch. He raised his arm slot on the curveball, so while it had a huge break, hitters might pick that up out of his hand.

The Red Sox drafted right-hander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz in the fourth round in 2021, and then traded the native of Puerto Rico to the Yankees in December for catcher Carlos Narváez. Rodriguez-Cruz has taken a step forward, boosting his strikeout rate to 32 percent in High A this year from 24 percent in his brief time there in 2024. He showed a five-pitch mix in a four-inning outing for Hudson Valley on Saturday night, working 93-96 with big arm-side run, along with a curve, slider, and sweeper, with clear ability to spin the ball. He also showed an above-average split-change with good arm speed and some arm-side fade. The slider was plus at times, just inconsistent, and nothing was worse than average in the arsenal.

He had 40 command, though, and the delivery is very reliever-ish, with a high elbow in back and late pronation. That arm action doesn’t usually lend itself to good breaking stuff, so perhaps Rodriguez-Cruz can buck the odds because he may end up with one or more plus breaking pitches. It’s most likely he ends up in the bullpen, but the Yankees should give him every opportunity to start.

Nationals notes on Bennett, King and Lomavita

Nationals left-handed pitching prospect Jake Bennett started for Wilmington in the Mother’s Day game as part of his rehab from September 2023 Tommy John surgery, his first outing in High A after a pair of starts for Low-A Fredericksburg. Bennett was 92-95 in his outing with four pitches, including a changeup, a big two-plane curveball at 77-80, and a sweeper at 81-85. His command and control weren’t great; he walked two in three innings and threw just 36 of 64 pitches for strikes (56 percent), similar to his previous outing (58 percent). It’s not uncommon for guys on their way back from elbow surgery to need more time to get their command and control back, but the good news is at least his stuff is intact.

Seaver King (fielding) has struggled with his swing for Wilmington. (William Bretzger / Delaware News Journal / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

I’ve seen a lot of Nationals 2024 first-round pick Seaver King’s at-bats so far this year, and it hasn’t been great, certainly not what I expected coming off a tremendous 2024 season that saw him go with the No. 10 pick in the draft and then hit well for Fredericksburg after he signed. He went 2-for-24 in the just-completed series against Hudson Valley, with six strikeouts, bringing his total on the season to 34 strikeouts in 119 PA (28.6 percent). His swing was off earlier in the year, and while it looks better now, I don’t think he’s gotten his timing back at all. He’s always expanded the zone too much but made it work for him because he could hit pitches a little beyond the zone hard enough to make it count. Now he’s expanding the zone and not seeing results there, or even in the zone, where I’ve seen him mistime a lot of fastballs he should wallop. I’m not giving up, not after just a month, but this isn’t what I expected or wanted to see.

Catcher Caleb Lomavita, whom the Nats took with the comp-round pick (No. 39) they got from Kansas City right before last year’s draft in the Hunter Harvey trade, has been better, hitting .277/.371/.376 so far this year, although the high OBP is a function of eight HBPs so far — he has been hit by pitches more times than he’s walked (seven). He’s not catching as well as I expected based on his reputation as a plus receiver in college. His arm is good, and he’s definitely a great athlete for a catcher. It’s something to monitor, though. And he could stand to take a pitch every now and then.

Orioles right-hander Gibson flashes impressive stuff

I saw Orioles right-hander Trey Gibson pitch for High-A Aberdeen a little over a week ago, and it was his best outing of 2025 to date, with 10 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Gibson was 94-97 with a hammer slider up to 86, a cutter, and a handful of changeups. He’s been much more effective this year against left-handed batters, even though he’s still mostly fastball/slider against them; the slider breaks more vertically, and it’s so sharp that at least for now it misses bats regardless of who’s at the plate. Outside of that one outing, his line for the rest of the season so far is 19 1/3 innings, 23 hits, nine walks, and 23 strikeouts, allowing 21 runs in that span, so I’m not going to just overrate what I saw in that one outing. It was pretty darn good, though, and at the very least I could see him becoming a very good two-pitch reliever.

Rays prospects Santana, Pitre struggle, while Horvath looks ready for next step

Aidan Smith was the guy I most wanted to see for High-A Bowling Green, but he was a late scratch that day — between when I left the house and the first pitch. Rays 2023 comp. round pick (No. 31) Adrian Santana led off and had a terrible night, bouncing multiple throws from shortstop and striking out three times along with two weak groundouts. Émmanuel Pitre, Tampa’s second-rounder in 2024, also struck out three times for Bowling Green, fanning twice on cutters from Gibson.

Outfielder Mac Horvath, acquired from the Orioles last August for Zach Eflin, got to Gibson for a long home run on a 96-mph heater, walking twice and striking out looking on three straight sliders (yes, all looking). Horvath’s been on a tear of late, with seven homers in his last 11 games, and probably should move up to Double A since he’s 23 and is repeating High A. The power is real, and he’s got ball/strike recognition, but if pitchers can land off-speed stuff in the zone he has real trouble. I’d challenge him at the next level to see if pitchers there can force him to make the adjustment.

(Top photo of Hess: Tony Farlow / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)

Sports

Cedar Rapids wrestler chases her dream, from a volleyball player to a young star in the sport

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – When Maggie Peters is home, she’s locked in.

She lifts weights at a gym in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. But it’s not just for strength – it’s for safety.

“One things goes wrong, and you’ve got people’s lives in your hands,” she said. “I mean, you don’t want to drop somebody on their head.”

But more often than not, Peters is on the road. Her sport is professional wrestling.

She’s performed performed in front of thousands in arenas and on television. Her fights may be scripted, but her dream of reaching WWE is real.

Peters has a background in volleyball, playing at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Kirkwood Community College and Mount Mercy. But her dream has always been in the wrestling ring.

“I wanted to do it right when I started watching I wanna say I was eight or nine I would just go wrestle on my trampoline,” Peters said.

She went from the volleyball court at Mount Mercy to a wrestling school in Davenport.

“We would have a show on a Thursday night, so I would leave class early,” said Peters. “But at that point, I will say, my senior year was my worst year of school. Once I got the wrestling training done, I was like, ‘ooh, this is what I want to do.’”

In professional wrestling, the winner and loser are predetermined, unlike traditional sports.

“Pro wrestling, I will say, is like a dance,” Peters said.

But there’s nothing fake about the pain wrestlers endure, what they call “bumps.”

“Any time you get put down on the mat, you’re taking a bump. You’re hitting the top of your back,” Peters said. “Higher on your neck, sometimes, (is) not good.”

Maggie wrestles in independent shows across the Midwest under the ring name Maggie Lee. She also performs in front of thousands in TNA Wrestling as the villainous character “M By Elegance.”

“Yeah, I do like being the bad guy,” Peters said. “I’ve worked a mix of both the bad guy and the good guy on the independents. But everybody was like, ‘you look more like you as the bad guy.’ I was like, ‘gee, thanks,” Peters said.

TNA – Total Nonstop Action – is high-level televised professional wrestling, one step below WWE.

“I actually really love the whole TV aspect. It’s very organized. Being able to see myself on TV is really cool,” Peters laughed.

Maggie hopes a full-time contract with WWE is next. She’s banking on it, writing a card to her mother labeled “open when I’m in the WWE.”

“And it was one of many letters. I made them for her birthday,” Peters said.

When asked about the letter’s contents, Peters said she doesn’t remember what she wrote as a girl.

“I don’t even remember what’s in it, so I’m kind of like scared,” she said. “When she does open it, I feel like it’s going to be a big deal and I might get embarrassed.”

Sometimes she’s flying high, sometimes she’s taking bumps.

Either way, she’s racing towards her dream.

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Men’s Volleyball vs Jessup on 1/6/2026 – Box Score

Published

1 hour ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

—

UCSD subs: Chandler, Luke; Stewart, Tyler; Hornyak, Ethan.

—

JU subs: Petesch, Riley.

0-1

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

1-1

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Henning, Owen (from Marks, Colin).

1-2

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

2-2

[Sani, Sebastiano] Kill by Knudsen, Jacob (from Marks, Colin).

2-3

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

3-3

[Wiemelt, Leo] Kill by Knudsen, Jacob (from Marks, Colin).

3-4

[Depue, Carter] Service error.

UCSD

4-4

[Luers, John] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

4-5

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

5-5

[Ewert, Josh] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

6-5

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Henning, Owen.

6-6

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

7-6

[Selcho, Peter] Kill by Marks, Colin (from Lopuch, Jan).

7-7

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

7-8

[Pravednikov, Leo] Attack error by Depue, Carter (block by Wiemelt, Leo; Luers, John).

UCSD

7-9

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Wiemelt, Leo).

UCSD

8-9

[Pravednikov, Leo] Bad set by Luers, John.

8-10

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

UCSD

8-11

[Sani, Sebastiano] Service ace (Marks, Logan).

UCSD

9-11

[Sani, Sebastiano] Service error.

9-12

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

9-13

[Wiemelt, Leo] Attack error by Osahon Jr., Clement (from Marks, Colin).

UCSD

10-13

[Wiemelt, Leo] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

10-14

[Depue, Carter] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

11-14

[Luers, John] Service error.

12-14

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Osahon Jr., Clement.

12-15

[Knudsen, Jacob] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

13-15

[Ewert, Josh] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

13-16

[Osahon Jr., Clement] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

—

UCSD subs: Hornyak, Ethan.

UCSD

13-17

[Hornyak, Ethan] Kill by Wiemelt, Leo (from Luers, John).

UCSD

14-17

[Hornyak, Ethan] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

14-18

[Marks, Colin] Kill by Sani, Sebastiano (from Luers, John).

UCSD

15-18

[Pravednikov, Leo] Kill by Henning, Owen (from Marks, Colin).

—

JU subs: Mueller, Jonas.

16-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (block by Depue, Carter; Henning, Owen).

17-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Attack error by Sani, Sebastiano (block by Depue, Carter; Henning, Owen).

18-18

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Logan).

18-19

[Lopuch, Jan] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

19-19

[Sani, Sebastiano] Kill by Mueller, Jonas (from Marks, Colin).

20-19

[Henning, Owen] Kill by Depue, Carter (from Marks, Colin).

20-20

[Henning, Owen] Service error.

—

UCSD subs: Stewart, Tyler; Chandler, Luke.

UCSD

21-20

[Stewart, Tyler] Attack error by Chandler, Luke (block by Depue, Carter; Mueller, Jonas; Osahon Jr., Clement).

22-20

[Depue, Carter] Attack error by Selcho, Peter (block by Osahon Jr., Clement).

23-20

[Depue, Carter] Attack error by Pravednikov, Leo (from Luers, John).

23-21

[Depue, Carter] Kill by Ewert, Josh (from Luers, John).

UCSD

23-22

[Luers, John] Kill by Pravednikov, Leo (from Ewert, Josh).

UCSD

24-22

[Luers, John] Kill by Lopuch, Jan (from Marks, Colin).

25-22

[Knudsen, Jacob] Attack error by Pravednikov, Leo (block by Marks, Colin).

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Former CU volleyball star Sis Tebrake glad to be back in Omaha

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

OMAHA (KMTV) — She might have a new name, but Norah (Sis) Tebrake still brings the same infectious smile to the court.

The former CU volleyball star is now married to former Creighton baseball standout Dylan Tebrake.

“He’s always encouraging me and challenging me,” said Norah. “And I try to do the same for him. I think it’s such a cool dynamic.”

After spending her first pro season helping Orlando to a league title, Norah had now returned to Omaha to play for the Supernovas. But returning to her hometown actually did take some getting used to again.

“I’m a wimp when it comes to the cold,” Tebrake said. “But now coming back after spending just one winter away, I feel like I can’t handle the cold.”

Along with reuniting with some former Bluejays, Tebrake has also formed friendships with her former rivals and now current teammates, including ex-NU star Merritt Beason.

“She’s just so joyful and leads with so much grace and so much love,” said Beason. “You can see that in her play. She’s one of the best people that I’ve ever met and it’s been so fun getting to know her.”

“To have people that know just kind of what makes you tick and what you need on the court and off the court is super helpful,” Tebrake said. “Obviously we’re all learning that about each other but just to come in knowing that there’s people that already know that about me has been super comforting.”

The Novas host San Diego in the season opener on Thursday at 7 PM at CHI Health Center.

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South Shore High School Girls Volleyball All-Scholastics for 2025

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jan. 7, 2026, 4:01 a.m. ET

After a strong 2024 fall season, high school girls volleyball on the South Shore had an even better one in 2025.

There were two local state-championship-winning teams on the court this year. Oliver Ames finished off the best season in program history by winning it’s first-ever Division 2 state title in it’s second ever appearance (which came last season). On the same day, East Bridgewater followed that up with a program-first of their own, winning it’s first-ever Division 4 state championship in it’s first appearance.

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Who is the volleyball player of the year in the Montgomery area, vote

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Jan. 7, 2026, 4:05 a.m. CT

The high school volleyball season in the Montgomery area ended in late October with two area teams making pushes for state finals in Class 4A and 5A.

Prattville Christian and Montgomery Catholic ultimately fell short in the respective title matches, but it highlighted what was a successful season in the Montgomery area.

What made the high school volleyball season successful in the Montgomery area was the talent on the court.

With the calendar year turning to 2026, the Montgomery Advertiser wants to hear from the readers on which player is the best in the Montgomery area. Voting will last through Jan. 14 till noon.

2025 Montgomery area volleyball player of the year nominees

Joi McGuire, Montgomery Catholic

McGuire recorded 448 kills in the 2025 season despite the fact that she’s considered undersized at her position at 5-foot-6. McGuire was a well-rounded player on the court, not only did she chip in on the offensive side, but she contributed 512 digs on the season.

Kaci Armistead, Montgomery Academy

Armistead reached the milestone of 1,000-career digs and broke the school record in the 2025 season. Her defensive expertise led to 648 digs and 70 assists on the year. From the serving line, Armistead landed 108 aces to round out her performance.

Baylee Rogers, Prattville Christian

Rogers became the first player in school history to record 5,000 assists, landing on the AHSAA leaderboard at sixth in career assists. In the 2025 season alone, Rogers contributed 1,247 assists along with three other state lines that touched triple digits.

Elaisa Vazquez, Pike Road

As a setter, Vazquez checked all the boxes necessary in the 2025 season, grabbing 405 assists and 206 digs. Vazquez chipped in on the scoreboard with 48 kills and 26 aces, winning Pike Road’s Hard Hat award for the 2025 season.

Ellie Causey, Trinity Presbyterian

Causey played her role as a setter for the Wildcats very well, notching 890 assists and 283 digs in the 2025 season. Causey brought her career totals to 1978 assists, 525 digs, 140 aces and 121 kills.

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Sports

Asya Akbulut Signs with Vikings Ahead of 2026 Season

Published

2 hours ago

January 7, 2026

Your Sports Nation

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State volleyball program added an experienced setter to its 2026 roster in Asya Akbulut Tuesday.

Akbulut, a native of Ankara, Turkey, will be a senior for the Vikings this coming fall after spending her first three years at Southern Utah (one year) and Eastern Arizona (two years).

Akbulut led Southern Utah with 5.0 assists per set last season when she ranked seventh in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in the category. As a sophomore at Eastern Arizona, Akbulut averaged 5.16 assists and 0.42 aces per set when she was named to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference D1 All-Region First Team.

“Asya has the experience and skills to have an impact on our program immediately,” Portland State head volleyball coach Michael Seemann said. “She has reliable hands and location and understands how to put her hitters in good situations.”

Akbulut joins a setter group that includes returning starter Ava Blascziek and junior Elisabeth Levick.

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