FT Leadoff

All eyes were on Pittsburgh over the weekend as Paul Skenes made his highly anticipated Major League Debut.

The final line wasn’t flashy, but the strikeout stuff lived up to the hype for baseball’s top pitching prospect (4 IP, 3 ER, 7 K).

The 2023 first-overall pick’s four-seam fastball averaged 100.1 MPH, the sixth-highest single-game average since Statcast launched in 2015.

For more on Skenes’ first start, tune into FT Live today at 1 PM ET!

The Phillies are a problem.

At 28-13, they have the best record in baseball, yet sit only two games ahead of the Braves in the NL East.

Despite blowing a ninth-inning lead to Brandon Nimmo and the Mets on Sunday, Atlanta has still won four of their last five games.

By the way, Nick Castellanos has been heating up, so check on your loved ones.

The AL East is also on fire at the top of the division.

The Yankees slugged their way to a weekend series win over Tampa Bay, while the first-place Orioles owner David Rubenstein was literally soaking O’s fans in the Splash Zone at Camden Yards on Friday.

Both teams have won seven of their last ten and enter the week separated by half a game atop the division.

Watch - Could the Blue Jays, Astros, and Cardinals be sellers? FT Senior Insider Ken Rosenthal speculates on who could be looking to dump players at the deadline.

Catch all of our content on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts!

Like what you see? Share this link with your friends to subscribe to the newsletter!