For the most part, baseball is a game of projections at the front office level, something the Detroit Tigers know all about during this rebuilding phase they have undergone.

With them inching closer to the point where the organization feels comfortable pushing them to the next step in the process of building a contender, all eyes will be on what they decide to do this offseason as they can become aggressive in bringing star talent to this roster.

The No. 1 priority for them to accomplish that is pairing another elite pitcher alongside their ace Tarik Skubal.

At this point, that likely comes from a high-profile signing in the winter, but there is also hope that one of their star prospects can become that missing piece, just like Skubal has done in his short career.

And while Tigers fans will be hoping this team can start contending with the left-hander at the top of their rotation, there will be another organization who needs to begin projecting how players are going to perform entering the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

With baseball officially returning as an Olympic sport, there are plenty of talented young players in the game who will be the headliners on that team, hoping to lead the United States to a gold medal in that event.

When looking at some early possibilities on who might be on the team, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed Skubal as someone who will firmly be in the mix to hold a starting rotation spot on Team USA.

It makes sense.

Not only is Skubal just 27 years old right now, he would still firmly be in his prime by the time the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles rolls around.

Rymer lists superstar Paul Skenes as the staff ace, but perhaps nobody would have a better resume heading into the team selection than Detroit’s star who could be on his way to winning his first Cy Young award this season.

Of course, this event is a long ways away, but if the star left-hander continues to be dominant, then not only will the Tigers likely see success if the front office is serious about building a contender, but fans will have their own guy to root for whenever he takes the mound for Team USA.

The Milwaukee Bucks waived two-way guard Jaylin Galloway on Aug. 1, and then the agent for center Anžejs Pasečņiks announced on ESPN he would sign with the team.

Players on two-way contracts can play 50 games in the NBA. Pasečņiks will also be able to play with the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.

Pasečņiks, 28, was originally the No. 25 pick in the 2017 NBA draft by Orlando, but was immediately traded to Philadelphia. The 76ers eventually renounced his rights, and he didn’t appear in a regular-season game until he signed a two-way contract with the Washington Wizards in 2019.

The contract was converted to a full deal in January 2020. Pasečņiks was then waived in January 2021.

The last time the 7-footer played significant minutes in the NBA was on Aug. 11, 2020, against the Bucks when he went 4-for-9 from the floor, including 2 of 4 from behind the three-point line, in scoring 10 points in just under 21 minutes in the “bubble” during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

More: What a strong free agent summer means for the Milwaukee Bucks heading into next season

Pasečņiks played last season for Palencia in Spain, averaging 13 points per game in about 22 minutes of action over 34 contests. He made just 1 of 10 three-pointers and averaged fewer than one block per game.

Galloway never appeared in an NBA game for the Bucks after signing a two-way way deal out of the Australian National Basketball League in March.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota is a top state for women to give birth in, according to a study published Monday.

Nationwide, the average conventional birth costs more than $2,600 for mothers with insurance and nearly $15,000 for mothers without insurance, according to the report from WalletHub.

The study used 31 key measures of cost, healthcare accessibility, and baby-friendliness.

Factors included conventional delivery charges at hospitals to average annual infant-care costs to the number of pediatricians per capita.

Minnesota came out as No. 3 in the nation after the rankings were calculated:

Having a Baby in Minnesota

• Overall Rank: 3rd
• 25th – Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges
• 20th – Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges
• 26th – Avg. Annual Cost of Early Child Care
• 10th – Infant Mortality Rate
• 9th – Rate of low birth weight
• 10th – Midwives & OB-GYNs per Capita
• 8th – Pediatricians & Family Medicine Physicians per Capita
• 16th – Parental-Leave Policy Score

The top five states for giving birth, according to the study, are:

1. Massachusetts
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota
4. Rhode Island
5. New Hampshire

The bottom five are:

1. Georgia
2. New Mexico
3. South Carolina
4. Alabama
5. Mississippi

Check out the entire study here.