Umpire leaves Tigers-Guardians game after being hit by foul tip.
DETROIT — Home plate umpire Jansen Visconti left Wednesday night’s game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians after being struck on his hand by a foul tip.
In the fourth inning, Tigers rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy fouled a pitch from Guardians starter Tanner Bibee. The ball struck Visconti flush on his left hand, which was resting near his knee.
Visconti, in obvious discomfort, was checked out by Tigers head athletic trainer Ryne Eubanks.
The game was delayed for about 10 minutes while first base umpire David Arrieta got suited up with all the gear to call balls and strikes. The game then proceeded with a three-man umpiring crew.
Visconti, a Pennsylvania native, has been a full-time umpire since 2020.
Each team’s best Draft pick of the past 10 years.
The Draft is the best and most cost-effective way to procure and control talent. It’s virtually impossible to compete for postseason berths and World Series championships without identifying, selecting and signing future stars.
With that in mind, we take a look at each team’s biggest Draft success in the last decade. Not surprisingly, 18 of the players below were first-round picks, including No. 1 overall choice Paul Skenes. But there were several later-round finds as well, including the slugger who set a rookie record with 53 homers in the second round (Pete Alonso) and a pair of Cy Young Award winners in the fourth (Shane Bieber, Corbin Burnes).
Eight of them already have won World Series rings: Andrew Benintendi, Kyle Schwarber, Austin Riley, Will Smith, Jordan Montgomery, Josh Jung, Alex Bregman and Trea Turner. Among that group, only Riley, Smith, Jung and Bregman currently play for the club that drafted them.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Blue Jays: Bo Bichette, SS (2016, second round)
After signing for $1.1 million six years ago, the son of Dante Bichette quickly separated himself as a potential plus-plus hitter, winning a Minor League batting title in 2017, and that’s held up in the bigs with a career .290 average since his debut in 2019. Bichette has shown more power than expected from his Draft days too (e.g. his 29 homers in 2021), and his secure place at shortstop has helped the Jays secure three postseason spots since he arrived in The Show.
Orioles: Gunnar Henderson, SS (2019, 2nd round)
Obvious hat tip to No. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman, but we’ll give Henderson the nod as the second-rounder who currently has more WAR (13.5) than Rutschman (12.9). Both are All-Star starters in 2024 and could go down as one of the greatest 1-2 punches in Draft history.
