Smith leads all of Major League Baseball with 26 saves while posting a 2.90 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts across 38 appearances. He’ll represent Cleveland in Philadelphia alongside rookie teammates Parker Messick and Travis Bazzana.

For a pitcher leading the majors in saves, he’s received remarkably little national attention.

Stats were taken prior to play on July 7.

Ready When the Opportunity Arrived

As a rookie in 2024, Smith emerged as one of baseball’s best setup men, appearing in 74 games while posting a 1.91 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and 103 strikeouts in 75.1 innings. His 28 holds illustrated exactly how much trust Cleveland already had in him.

He followed that with another outstanding campaign in 2025, throwing 73.2 innings with a 2.93 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, 104 strikeouts, 16 saves, and 19 holds.

When Clase was removed from the closer’s role following his suspension and eventual leave, Smith inherited one of the highest-pressure jobs in baseball. After blowing his first two save chances, he settled in quickly, converting 13 of his final 16 opportunities over August and September while pitching to an ERA in the mid-2.00s.

He carried that momentum into October, tossing 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts during Cleveland’s Wild Card Series against Detroit.

So, this season hasn’t been a breakout nearly as much as it has been a continuation.

SERENA, Ill. – An 8-year-old girl has died after she was struck by lightning while outside in the backyard of her home in LaSalle County over the Fourth of July weekend.

Girl killed by lightning strike

What we know:

The LaSalle County Coroner’s office said it was called to emergency department at OSF St. Elizabeth Hospital in Ottawa on the evening of July 3 after the child was brought in following the lightning strike.

A forensic autopsy was conducted on Sunday. Preliminary findings determined the girl died from injuries caused by the lightning strike.

What we don’t know:

Officials have not yet released the child’s identity.

The incident remains under investigation by the LaSalle County Coroner’s Office and the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office.

The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.

Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.

“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”