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NBC Sports
19 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Jac Caglianone, Zebby Matthews, and Jesús Sánchez
With the All-Star break in the rearview mirror, it's time to start positioning ourselves for the championship push. Whether you're trying to hold onto a top spot, pushing the leader, desperately trying to play catchup, or positioning yourself for the playoffs, reinforcements are vital this time of year Most waiver wires have been picked over though and it's difficult to find impact players readily available in most leagues at this point in the season. Fear not, because there are still a handful of available players that have the chance to be difference makers that help push us towards glory. D.J. Short, If you want a larger list, Eric Samulski wrote his extended waiver wire piece on Sunday. Jac Caglianone, OF Royals Still teeming with potential, the first seven weeks of Caglianone's career have been a disaster. After 38 games, he has a lowly .501 OPS – second-lowest among all qualified players since his debut on June 3rd – and has not acclimated well to the corner outfield. In terms of FanGraphs' wins above replacement, no player in the entire league has been less valuable since he came up. Yet, the fact that Caglianone is even in the major leagues is a miracle in and of itself. The Royals drafted him sixth overall just last season and he only played 79 total minor league games before getting the call. While he was flying through the system, he was transitioning to the outfield after splitting his time between first base and pitching in college with the University of Florida. So, here we have a 22-year-old who was a regular member of a high-level SEC rotation last year that was tasked with trying to revive the Royals' floundering offense after barely half a season of minor league baseball at a defensive position he'd never played before. This is not an easy assignment! Funny enough, while his stats are completely abysmal, he's done a lot of things well enough at the plate to think he could turn a corner soon. The biggest thing working in Caglianone's favor is 99th percentile bat speed, on par with super-rookie Nick Kurtz. That was his MO in college and has translated to the big leagues with a max exit velocity of 114.1 mph (92nd percentile) and 90th percentile exit velocity at 110.2 mph (99th percentile). He hits the ball very, very hard Also, Caglianone has managed to both lift and pull the ball around league average so far. Of course, he's struggling to do both of those things at the same time with a very low pulled fly ball rate, but just having the capability to do each shows he could be close to it all coming together. Lastly, he is making tons of contact. His general contact rate is good and zone-contact rate is great despite poor chase and whiff rates. While he's aggressive in general, he's especially aggressive in the strike zone. Which is good for a hitter that can do as much damage as he can. That helps Caglianone pop on one of my favorite leaderboards: barrels per swing. It takes some fancy Baseball Savant search function customization to get there, so I linked it for you guys right here. I often go back to barrels per swing rather than the normally reported barrels per batted ball event of plate appearance because it adds a swing-decision element into the best stat we have to understand power output. Caglianone being around the 85th percentile there tells me his power is legit (duh), his swing decisions are solid, and his hit tool is a bit better than anticipated. Throw away what's happened so far and pick up Caglianone for the chance he goes on a huge hot streak to close the season. Zebby Matthews, SP Twins Of all the arms that could be found on waiver wires right now, Matthews has the best chance to pitch well enough to win you your league for the rest of the season. He's more reliable than any injury stash and already in the major leagues unlike any other prospect stash. Also, his upper-90s fastball, strong slider, and excellent command makes him totally equipped to get major league hitters out. There are a few mitigating factors though as to why he's flown a bit under the radar to this point. Matthews opened the season pitching in shorter, three to five inning stints with Triple-A St. Paul. He remained in a quasi-starter's role for a couple outings when the Twins called him up in mid-May. They began to push him shortly thereafter, but he struggled to keep runs off the board before landing on the injured list with a shoulder strain in June that kept him sidelined for about six weeks. He made one rehab start right before the All-Star break and looked excellent in it, striking out nine batters over four scoreless innings. His fastball touched 99 mph and sat around 97 mph over 56 total pitches. In all, he forced 15 swings-and-misses with eight of them coming with his slider. Funny enough, St. Paul's bullpen allowed eight runs over the following five innings after he was pulled. In most cases, he would've made a few more rehab starts before re-joining the Twins' staff. Their rotation has been ransacked by injuries though, so they brought him back over the weekend to eat some innings. Annoyingly, his return was in Coors Field where he allowed five runs in four innings. That pushed him to a 6.26 ERA at the major league level this season. Honestly, that should be considered a blessing in disguise for us. While his results were poor against the Rockies, he still struck out six batters and walked just one. Plus, his velocity looked great. We know for certain that right now, he's healthy. On top of that, the ugly ERA is foiled by a low 3.21 SIERA and elite 21.2% strikeout minus walk rate. His stuff is good, his command is great, and he has a bonafide spot in the Twins' rotation. He is primed for a great final few months of the season ahead. Jesús Sánchez, OF Marlins Now 27 years old and hovering around league average for the better part of three years, practically all the hype that surrounded Sánchez as a popular breakout pick over the last few seasons has dissipated. He's still producing like the same player he's been too with eight home runs, nine stolen bases, and a .733 OPS through 79 games. Ironically, all of those same tools that intrigued us are still present and he's made some massive improvements under the hood that haven't shown up in his production to this point. First off, he currently has the lowest strikeout rate of his career at 21.1%. He's gotten there by chasing fewer pitches out of the zone, making more contact on pitches in the zone, and dramatically decreasing his whiff rate against breaking balls. It's all borderline unbelievable after watching Sánchez flail at breaking ball after breaking ball in the dirt during his first few seasons and the growth in his approach has gotten to a point where we can confidently call it 'good'. Past that, he's pulling his fly balls better than a league-average rate at the moment after not doing so for the past few seasons. It was a skill he had earlier in his career, but lost as he seemed focused on adjusting his approach. Since 2023 – when he had one of the lowest pulled fly ball rates in the league – Sánchez has moved a few inches deeper in the batter's box, closed off his stance a good bit, and shortened up his swing a tad while swinging harder more consistently. With all of those tweaks, he's making contact with the ball nearly five inches further out in front of the plate on average. There was certainly some intentionality with these changes. Also, probably a function of him working better counts and not being victimized by breaking balls like he had been earlier in his career. Rumors have been swirling around Sánchez possibly being traded before the deadline next week too. Getting out of loanDepot Park in Miami will only further push him towards a late-season breakout. Just be advised that he still sits against left-handed pitchers, hurting his value in weekly leagues.
Associated Press
20 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
The University of Florida, Florida A&M University, & Virginia Commonwealth University Sign Multi-Year Contracts for iFOLIO All-in-One Digital Marketing Platform
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / July 22, 2025 / Three major universities - the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, and Virginia Commonwealth University - have signed multi-year contracts with iFOLIO to elevate and personalize digital communications. The University of Florida, a top-ten public university, joins a growing network of 22 top universities alongside enterprises using iFOLIO to modernize communications and marketing. From Northeastern University, Clemson University, University of South Carolina, University of Notre Dame, Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics, to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and more, organizations are expanding with iFOLIO's all-in-one platform. Since launching, iFOLIO has supported communications tied to more than $4 billion in philanthropic contributions - from campaign collateral and donor videos, to landing pages, digital proposals, automated email, and giving day promotions. Now teams can streamline strategic communications from fundraising proposals, event invites, donor thank you messages, and power digital PURL campaigns across email, text, and web from a single dashboard. From personalized digital experiences to robust analytics, iFOLIO enables the university to scale its impact and deliver measurable results, all while simplifying workflows and reducing platform costs. 'This partnership is a major step forward in our digital transformation journey,' said Nicole Yucht, Assistant Vice President for UF Advancement Strategic Communications, Marketing and Engagement, at the University of Florida. 'With iFOLIO, we're moving away from static PDFs and embracing dynamic, personalized digital communications that better reflect the innovation and excellence of UF.' 'Building a strong brand and personalizing digital communications has never been more important. iFOLIO supports the latest trends in digital marketing while reducing costs of multiple platforms,' said Jean Marie Richardson, CEO of iFOLIO. 'We are excited to partner with the University of Florida and the University of Florida Foundation.' As companies look to simplify tech stacks and increase ROI, iFOLIO Cloud offers a smarter way to work. By consolidating tools for websites, presentations, reports, events, email, text messages, and analytics, teams save time, reduce costs, and focus on what matters most - growth. Another Florida university reported, 'iFOLIO has been a lifesaver for our team. I love this platform,' Quiana Lowe, Director of Marketing and Communications, Florida A&M University. In a time when businesses and institutions are prioritizing efficiency and streamlining operations, iFOLIO Cloud stands out as the all-in-one platform helping teams build a digital brand and increase reach, while reducing costs of multiple platforms. iFOLIO scales with an integrated platform that enables 8+ functions. This empowers clients to elevate their strategies and succeed in today's dynamic digital landscape. With iFOLIO's high-performance technology and proprietary algorithms, teams can go digital more efficiently. About iFOLIO iFOLIO, the leader in personalized marketing cloud software, empowers organizations of all sizes and industries to digitally transform their customer engagement with a flexible cloud platform and data intelligence. iFOLIO is an industry-leading software-as-a-service platform powering digital marketing, targeted account-based marketing, automated email, SMS, web marketing, and analytics. iFOLIO powers customers and their usage in all 50 states and 100 countries. iFOLIO is SOC 2 certified and based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit: Contact InformationRachel Carlson Marketing & Design Manager 470-223-4818 SOURCE: iFOLIO press release
Miami Herald
20 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
The University of Florida, Florida A&M University, & Virginia Commonwealth University Sign Multi-Year Contracts for iFOLIO All-in-One Digital Marketing Platform
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / July 22, 2025 / Three major universities - the University of Florida, Florida A&M University, and Virginia Commonwealth University - have signed multi-year contracts with iFOLIO to elevate and personalize digital communications. The University of Florida, a top-ten public university, joins a growing network of 22 top universities alongside enterprises using iFOLIO to modernize communications and marketing. From Northeastern University, Clemson University, University of South Carolina, University of Notre Dame, Alabama Crimson Tide Athletics, to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and more, organizations are expanding with iFOLIO's all-in-one platform. Since launching, iFOLIO has supported communications tied to more than $4 billion in philanthropic contributions - from campaign collateral and donor videos, to landing pages, digital proposals, automated email, and giving day promotions. Now teams can streamline strategic communications from fundraising proposals, event invites, donor thank you messages, and power digital PURL campaigns across email, text, and web from a single dashboard. From personalized digital experiences to robust analytics, iFOLIO enables the university to scale its impact and deliver measurable results, all while simplifying workflows and reducing platform costs. "This partnership is a major step forward in our digital transformation journey," said Nicole Yucht, Assistant Vice President for UF Advancement Strategic Communications, Marketing and Engagement, at the University of Florida. "With iFOLIO, we're moving away from static PDFs and embracing dynamic, personalized digital communications that better reflect the innovation and excellence of UF." "Building a strong brand and personalizing digital communications has never been more important. iFOLIO supports the latest trends in digital marketing while reducing costs of multiple platforms," said Jean Marie Richardson, CEO of iFOLIO. "We are excited to partner with the University of Florida and the University of Florida Foundation." As companies look to simplify tech stacks and increase ROI, iFOLIO Cloud offers a smarter way to work. By consolidating tools for websites, presentations, reports, events, email, text messages, and analytics, teams save time, reduce costs, and focus on what matters most - growth. Another Florida university reported, "iFOLIO has been a lifesaver for our team. I love this platform," Quiana Lowe, Director of Marketing and Communications, Florida A&M University. In a time when businesses and institutions are prioritizing efficiency and streamlining operations, iFOLIO Cloud stands out as the all-in-one platform helping teams build a digital brand and increase reach, while reducing costs of multiple platforms. Organizations can increase conversions by 400% with a better digital user experience.92% of the most successful marketers agree that consolidating tools in their tech stacks would increase productivity and efficiency [Source: American Marketing Association]. iFOLIO scales with an integrated platform that enables 8+ functions. This empowers clients to elevate their strategies and succeed in today's dynamic digital landscape. With iFOLIO's high-performance technology and proprietary algorithms, teams can go digital more efficiently. About iFOLIO iFOLIO, the leader in personalized marketing cloud software, empowers organizations of all sizes and industries to digitally transform their customer engagement with a flexible cloud platform and data intelligence. iFOLIO is an industry-leading software-as-a-service platform powering digital marketing, targeted account-based marketing, automated email, SMS, web marketing, and analytics. iFOLIO powers customers and their usage in all 50 states and 100 countries. iFOLIO is SOC 2 certified and based in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit: SOURCE: iFOLIO press release
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Are there sharks in Delaware waters? Yes, here's what you need to know
Fifty years ago, the first summer blockbuster made people wonder if it's safe to go in the water. "Jaws" was nightmare fuel for people who enjoyed going to the beach but wondered if the apex predator was lurking in the blue void. Fast forward 50 years, and sharks are still roaming the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean. However, there isn't much of a reason to fear going in the water. How many shark attacks have happened in Delaware? Since 1837, there have been five shark attacks in Delaware waters, according to the database at the University of Florida. The biggest period for shark attacks was in the 1960s when two were reported in Delaware. The last two attacks were a 14-year-old boy who was hospitalized after a shark bite at Cape Henlopen State Park in June 2020, according to a Delaware Online/The News Journal story from 2021. That bite was likely from a sandbar shark, a state expert said. In 2014, another teen was bitten by a shark, also at Cape Henlopen State Park. How many sharks are in Delaware? According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, as many as 62 species of sharks can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Delaware Bay and inland bays. Included in the 62 is the great white shark. The great white, which has terrorized people ever since the movie "Jaws" was released in 1975, is the least common species found in Delaware waters. What are the most common sharks in Delaware? Sandbar shark According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sandbar shark, also known as a brown or thickskin shark, can grow up to 8 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds. The sandbar is among the largest sharks found in coastal waters. They live in shallow coastal waters and can be found on the East Coast from Cape Cod to Florida. Dogfish shark There are two varieties of the dogfish shark – smooth and spiny. Spiny dogfish can grow up to 4 feet and have two dorsal fins with ungrooved large spines. Smooth dogfish sharks can grow to 5 feet. They live in shallow bays, continental shelves and near offshore banks. Sand tiger According to Oceana, the sand tiger shark lives near the seafloor in surf zones, shallow bays and coral and rocky reefs. They can grow to more than 10 feet and weigh 350 pounds. The sand tiger shark is the only shark known to maintain neutral buoyancy by gulping air at the water's surface and holding it in its stomach. This allows the sand tiger shark to hover motionless in the water. Atlantic mako shark According to Oceana, the Atlantic mako shark lives in the open ocean and reaches lengths of 12 feet and weights at least 1,200 pounds. It is one of the fastest fish on the planet, swimming at speeds around 45 mph. These sharks are caught commercially or accidentally in fisheries. These sharks are valued for the high quality of their fins and meat. Hitting the beach: Are Delaware beaches safe for swimmers? Here's what the numbers say How to avoid sharks Again, once you enter the ocean or Delaware Bay, you are in their world. So here are a few tips from the DNREC and the County of Maui, Hawaii: Swim at lifeguard-monitored beaches, and follow their advice and any posted warning signs. Always swim in a group. Don't stray too far from the shore. Swim in water where you can see your feet. Avoid the water at dawn, dusk and at night. Don't enter the water if you have any open wounds or are bleeding in any way. Don't wear shiny objects in the water. Leave the water quickly and calmly if a shark is sighted; if you see a shark, alert lifeguards or other swimmers immediately. SHARK WEEK: Learn about the TV event and its copycats If you watch What: Discovery Channel's Shark Week When: Through July 26, starting at 8 each night Where: Airs on the Discovery Channel and streams on Discovery+ and HBO Max This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Which sharks are in Delaware waters. How to stay safe Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Warriors draft pick Will Richard looks like a steal after NBA Summer League
Warriors draft pick Will Richard looks like a steal after NBA Summer League originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The goal will be simple when the Warriors step on the court Saturday in Las Vegas for their eighth and final Summer League game. Get to the final horn in excellent health. After seven games, including three in the California Classic, significant decisions are at least 80-percent settled. Several players showed enough for further evaluation but only one appears ready to compete for a role in the NBA. Guard Will Richard, three months removed from winning a national championship at the University of Florida, has a chance to contribute for Golden State. Maybe as a rookie. Though six games, Richard is averaging team-highs in minutes (23.9 per game), scoring (11.5 points) and steals (1.7). He's shooting 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, and only 20.7 percent (6-of-29) from deep. The Warriors anticipate his 3-ball to come around, a 6-foot-4 guard shooting 63.3 percent inside the arc – and 92.9 from the line – is testimony to finding buckets. After shooting 9 of 26 from the field and 2 of 11 from deep in his first two games, during the California Classic, Richard's efficiency has trended up since the season moved to Vegas. He's shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from distance and an astonishing 80 percent inside the arc. And it's not as if the NBA Warriors are blessed with a surplus of finishers in the paint. 'It's clear,' Warriors Summer League coach Lainn Wilson told reporters in Vegas this week, 'that he's starting to look a little more comfortable.' Beyond the numbers, what seems particularly valuable to Golden State is Richard's relentless energy and considerable defensive aptitude, which are packaged with the kind of composure that develops over 105 starts for an elite college program. With Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green accounting for more than 80 percent of the 2025-26 payroll, the Warriors are limited to supporting their core by adding relatively cheap labor. A taxpayer midlevel exception, and then vet minimums and youngsters on rookie deals. They were in no position to offer Kevon Looney the two-year, $16 million contract he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans – especially when the front office feels good about the chance to add veteran center Al Horford. With unrestricted free agent Gary Payton II still on the market, the Warriors do not have a strong point-of-attack defender. There still is a chance GP II returns, according to league sources, but it would be at a significant reduction from his $9.1 million salary last season. Knowing Payton could hit the market after the 2022 NBA Finals championship, the Warriors shopped for a POA defender in the '22 draft, snagging Ryan Rollins in the second round. He was shipped out a year later in the Chris Paul trade and now is in Milwaukee. The Warriors brought in De'Anthony Melton, who has strong defensive credentials, last season, only to lose him three weeks into the season to a torn ACL. He'll be back in the league next season, and the Warriors are at his door. Which brings us back to Richard. At 6-foot-4, with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he shows the kind of two-way effectiveness coach Steve Kerr and his staff are craving. He's 22 years old and probably would have the lowest salary on the roster. For someone who was the 56th overall selection in the 2025 draft, he plays like a keeper. Yes, Golden State's primary goal against the Cleveland Cavaliers (4:30 p.m. on NBA TV) in the consolation game Saturday at Cox Pavilion is to escape unscathed. It offers the Warriors one more look at Richard in 'game conditions' before training camp. As if they need it. Download and follow the Dubs Talk Podcast
