After falling into a 5-1 hole in the second period, the Nashville Predators scored five unanswered goals for a miraculous comeback victory over the St. Louis Blues, 6-5 on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
It ties the franchise record for the largest comeback in the game, four goals, set in a 7-5 win over the San Jose Sharks on Jan. 21, 2025, when Nashville also came back after going down 5-1.
Steven Stamkos scored the game-tying and game-winning goal in the third period.
The Predators were down by just a goal at the end of the first period, with Ryan O'Reilly recording his first tally of the night on the power play.
However, in the first four minutes of the second period, the Blues scored three unanswered goals, two of which came just 30 seconds apart.
The early second-period barrage saw the Predators pull Juuse Saros for Justus Annunen after Saros allowed five goals on 21 shots.
The Predators began to turn things around near the end of the second as Michael McCarron and Filip Forsberg scored to make it a two-goal game. Forsberg now has four goals in three games.
In the third, O'Reilly netted his second of the night to cut the Blues' lead down to a goal. Stamkos took over, scoring twice to tie the game and give the Predators the lead. The second goal was his ninth game-winning goal of the season.
While they didn't score, Roman Josi had four assists and Luke Evangelista had three assists. Josi is riding a red-hot scoring streak, with 37 points in 42 games.
Nashville was able to hang on for the final 10 minutes of the game for its 17th comeback win of the season. The Predators improve to 26-23-6 on the year and steal two points for 58 on the season.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov scored his second goal of the game on a power play at 3:38 of overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.
Minnesota got the power play when Phillip Danault hooked Kaprizov in front of the goal. Kaprizov took a feed from Quinn Hughes and fired a shot past Jakub Dobes from the high slot for his 32nd goal of the season.
Joel Eriksson Ek and Brock Faber also scored, and Hughes had three assists to reach 50 for the season. Filip Gustavsson made 17 saves.
Faber tied it at 3 at 7:05 of the third, racing onto the puck down the right side for a quick shot. Quinn assisted on the goal.
Hughes assisted on Kaprizov’s first goal to tie the Russian’s team-record assists streak at nine and push his franchise-record points streak for defenseman to nine. Kaprizov had assists in nine straight games in 2022-23.
Minnesota won its fourth straight, ending Montreal winning streak at three.
Brendan Gallagher, Ivan Demidov and Kirby Dach scored to give Montreal the lead after the Wild raced to a 2-0 advantage.
Dach put Montreal ahead 12 seconds into the third, knocking in Nick Suzuki’s feed. Gallagher started the comeback with 52 seconds left in the first, and Demidov tied it with 17 seconds to go in the second,
Eriksson Ek opened the scoring at 38 seconds of the first, firing a wrist shot from right circle. Kaprizov made it 2-0 with 4:12 left in the first, tipping in Quinn's feed.
Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt didn’t return after taking a puck to the throat in the first period.
Up next
Canadiens: At Winnipeg on Wednesday night in their final game before the Olympic break.
Wild: At Nashville on Wednesday night in their final game before the Olympic break.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Joyce Edwards had 28 points and Tessa Johnson added 19 and tied a career high with five 3-pointers to help No. 3 South Carolina outlast Texas A&M 71-56 Monday night.
South Carolina (22-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) led by as many as 16 points, but was clinging to a five-point lead when Edwards scored eight points in a 9-0 run that made it 67-53 with less than two minutes remaining.
Johnson made her first four 3-point attempts and made all five of her 3s in the first half. She finished 5 of 11 from long range.
The Aggies had made six free throws in the fourth, but missed their first 10 shots of the quarter before Janae Kent made a 3-pointer with 90 seconds remaining.
Ny’ceara Pryor had 14 points for Texas A&M (8-10, 1-8), which lost its sixth straight. The Aggies performed much better on Monday night than they had in recent contests when they dropped four of their previous five games by 25 points or more.
NO. 13 MISSISSIPPI 71, AUBURN 45
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Cotie McMahon scored 20 points and Mississippi rolled to a victory over Auburn at neutral site Legacy Arena.
McMahon made 7 of 13 shots, 6 of 8 free throws and grabbed seven rebounds for the host Rebels (19-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), who have won three straight and five of six.
Sira Thienou totaled 14 points and eight rebounds for Ole Miss. Christeen Iwuala added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double this season.
NO. 25 NORTH CAROLINA 61, NC STATE 59
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Lanie Grant scored 10 of her 18 points in the third quarter and Indya Nivar rebounded her own missed free throw in the closing seconds to secure North Carolina’s victory over N.C. State.
North Carolina (18-5, 7-3 ACC) broke a five-game losing streak on the road in the series, notching its first victory in Raleigh since the 2018-19 season. The Tar Heels also secured their fifth straight victory overall this season.
Nivar’s driving layup in the opening minute of the fourth quarter gave North Carolina the first double-digit lead of the game at 52-42.
Tilda Trygger made a layup with 12.6 seconds left to pull N.C. State within 61-59 and the Wolfpack forced a jump ball at the other end to regain possession. N.C. State was off on a 3-point attempt and Nivar secured the defensive rebound before being fouled. Nivar missed both free throws, but she outhustled three N.C. State players to secure the rebound.
Nivar finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists for North Carolina. Nyla Harris had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Khamil Pierre led N.C. State (15-7, 8-3) with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Trygger finished with 11 points and Qadence Samuels scored 10.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 02: Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) and Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield (24) fight during the New York Islanders versus Washington Capitals National Hockey League game on February 2, 2026 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Third-string rookie goalie? No problem… for the Capitals. Clay Stevenson played just his second game this year, and while he didn’t get his first career shutout, he turned away 29 of 30 shots by the Islanders.
Bo Horvat still looks a bit rusty after missing some time due to injury; he had a lot of chances tonight but just was off the mark each time. Hopefully he’ll get on the board soon, since the power play could really use his shot.
It wasn’t a bad effort by the Islanders, but struggling to score more than one goal against this guy just isn’t going to cut it for a team that has some level of playoff ambitions.
Early, David Rittich made a save on Ryan Leonard and took some extra contact and went down. Nic Dowd was called for slashing Rittich, sending the Islanders to the power play. That power play was not great, despite Patrick Roy putting Mat Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Matthew Schaefer back together on PP1.
Schaefer took a holding penalty, and Horvat missed a shorthanded breakaway backhand, but the Islanders killed the penalty.
Rittich saved an Anthony Beauvillier breakaway, and then the Capitals gave the puck away to Barzal in the slot, and he made it 1-0 with his 15th of the season.
Ondrej Palat drew a slashing penalty on Tom Wilson with 19 seconds left in the period, and the Caps killed it in the second period. Palat, on PP1, nearly gave the puck away to Aliaksei Protas, but he couldn’t catch up to it.
Then, Martin Fehervary scored to tie the game, and just 30 seconds later, Beauvillier made it 2-1 quickly, two fairly soft goals given up by Rittich.
Bo Horvat shot wide on a breakaway chance and Simon Holmstrom hit the outside of the post, on the best opportunities to tie the game after the quick Capitals lead.
David Rittich made big saves on Wilson and Jakob Chychrun, and then Wilson laid a big open ice hit on Holmstrom, which got Scott Mayfield’s attention. Mayfield and Wilson fought, and Mayfield picked up an extra two minutes for “roughing” that seemed like a pseudo-instigator penalty even though Wilson was the one who dropped the gloves first after Mayfield came up to him.
Casey Cizikas had a good shorthanded chance on the kill, but with 10 seconds left, Carson Soucy took a high sticking penalty, giving the Capitals some 5 on 3 time and another power play.
After some dangerous moments, the Islanders killed both Mayfield and Soucy’s penalties. Any chance of a comeback seemed to deflate, though, when a Dowd pass bounced off Tony DeAngelo and past Rittich to make it 3-1.
Rittich was pulled for an extra skater with 5 minutes left, but John Carlson scored the empty netter with 2:25 left, giving the Capitals a 4-1 win.
Up Next
Tomorrow, the Islanders head back to UBS Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who currently occupy the second seed in the Metro Division, two points ahead of the Islanders. Feels like a big one for the season as we approach the Olympic break!
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Jason Zucker broke a tie on a power play at 5:31 of the third period and he Buffalo Sabres beat the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers 5-3 on Monday night.
The Sabres have won six of seven and took over the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They hold a 10-point lead over the Panthers. Florida, which has lost four straight, trails Boston by nine for the final playoff position with 27 games remaining.
Peyton Krebs had a goal and an two assists for the Sabres. Tage Thompson, Zach Benson, and Josh Doan also scored for Buffalo, with Rasmus Dahlin had two assists. Alex Lyon, who has won 11 of his past 12 starts, made 38 saves.
Sandis Vilmanis, Evan Rodrigues, and Uvis Balinskis scored for Florida. Sergei Bobrovsky made 15 saves.
The Panthers took a 2-0 lead early in the first period, but the Sabres scored the next three.
Florida, already playing without a number of its top forwards including captain Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand, lost center Sam Bennett to an upper-body injury.
Bennett left the game after the first and did not return.
The Panthers scored 37 seconds in on a goal from Vilmanis, with Rodrigues making it 2-0 at 5:56 of the period.
Buffalo scored the next two to tie the score going into the second, first off a long wrist shot from Thompson, then off a goal from Kreps in front off the rush.
The Sabres led 3-2 at 5:44 of the second when Bobrovsky came 15 feet out to play the puck. Only Ryan McLeod beat the Florida goalie to it, and he found Benson in the slot for the easy goal.
The Panthers tied it late in the second on a power-play goal from Balinskis, but Buffalo took the lead back on a power-play of its own at 5:31 of the third when Zucker scored off a blind feed from Doan. Doan ended the scoring with a goal off a pass from Krebs with 2:1:9 remaining.
The Florida Panthers are going through some hard times right now.
Desperate for every point they can get in the standings, Florida dropped their fourth straight game on Monday night in Sunrise, a 5-3 affair to the Buffalo Sabres.
It didn’t take long for Florida to pick up the game’s opening goal, and it came off the stick of rookie Sandis Vilmanis.
Earning a start along with Cole Schwindt and A.J. Greer, Vilmanis jumped on the rebound of a Niko Mikkola point shot that hit Greer in the backside, corralling the puck and wiring a wrist shot over Alex Lyon’s glove at the 37-second mark.
The Cats weren’t done there.
After Sam Reinhart forced a turnover deep in the Sabres’ zone, Evan Rodrigues’ cross-crease pass attempt deflected past Lyon and into the net, making it 2-0 Florida before the game hit its first TV timeout.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the lead did not stick.
A pair of quick goals by Tage Thompson and Peyton Krebs brought Buffalo right back into the game after the first 20 minutes.
Buffalo took their first lead of the game immediately after killing off a delay of game penalty early in the second, with Zach Benson catching Sergei Bobrovsky out of position after taking a pass from Ryan McLeod, who had just come out of the penalty box and beat Bob to the puck in Florida’s zone.
Another power play for the Panthers would prove much more prosperous, with Reinhart finding Uvis Balinskis sneaking down from the point. His one-time snap shot beat Lyon over the glove, sending the game into the third period tied at three.
Buffalo took the lead back about five minutes into the final frame after an iffy hooking call on Cole Schwindt quickly led to the Sabres first power play goal of the game.
After a couple key penalty kills by Buffalo, they converted a 2-on-1 with just over two minutes to go to cement the victory for the visitors.
Photo caption: Feb 2, 2026; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Buffalo Sabres center Peyton Krebs (19) celebrates after scoring against the Florida Panthers during the first period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Sam Navarro-Imagn Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 2: Anthony Mantha #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes the puck to the net as Linus Ullmark #35 of the Ottawa Senators tends goal in the first period during the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on February 2, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Pregame
The Penguins go with the same lineup as last game with a change in goalies back to Arturs Silovs.
Thought the Penguins were cutting corners and falling into some bad habits early. One example early was Ryan Shea in the opening minute attempting to go up the wall to a covered players. It got picked off and a nice Ottawa passing play nearly led to a goal (and probably should have if the placement was elevated to where it should have been). They got away with it, thanks to the play of Silovs in the first 5-10 minutes, following some cross-ice passes and good looks by the Senators after the Pens either flew the zone or just weren’t quite as connected with their positioning and/or decision making with the puck.
The Pens’ style pays off when Parker Wotherspoon is able to make one of those long passes up to Evgeni Malkin. Malkin puts a centering pass in an area with Egor Chinakhov can take one touch and shoot. When Chinakhov shoots, he shoots hard. This one low past Linus Ullmark, 1-0 Pens.
THRIVING IN THE BLACK AND GOLD 🐧
Egor Chinakhov has nine points (7G-2A) in 16 games since he joined the Penguins. pic.twitter.com/IZthuV5CaD
Rickard Rakell sideswipes Ullmark to take a goalie interference penalty in another avoidable little moment of not quite being super-sharp. The hot Pittsburgh PK kills it off.
Ilya Solovyov is the next to go to the penalty box for getting a stick up, another kill for the Penguins.
First period comes to a close, Ottawa is up 13-7 in shots, Pittsburgh carries a 1-0 lead where it counts. More in the thoughts section, didn’t like this start for the Pens. Silovs was very good and they’re fortunate to be ahead at this point.
Second period
The sloppy play continues, Malkin fumbles a puck in front of his net and hands it over to Michael Amadio. Amadio quickly puts the puck glove side on Silovs and in. 1-1 game.
Still not going well, Shea coughing the puck up leads to Parker Wotherspoon cross-checking a guy. The refs call it to send Ottawa to their third power play of the night. Another kill, though the Sens are getting more and more zone time and opportunities.
Lines have changed, Anthony Mantha joins the Crosby/Rakell group, Justin Brazeau goes to play with Kindel/McGroatry. The Penguins finally get their first shot of the period with just over nine minutes to go.
Solovyov breaks his stick and fails to clear the zone in the last minute, then Connor Clifton takes another cross-checking penalty for Ottawa’s fourth power play in the game, compared to the zero for the Penguins. The buzzer sounds before too much can happen.
It’s been a sludge for the Penguins tonight. Only three shots on goal in the second period and just 10 for the game. It’s a tie game after 40 minutes.
Third period
The Pens deal with the 91 seconds of carryover power play time. It takes until 13:14 remaining for Ottawa to take the lead. Shea fails to get the puck deep and turns the puck over at the far blueline while the Pens are changing behind him. That gives Drake Batherson a clean breakaway, Silovs makes the first stop, the rebound is sitting right there for the second player on the scene to get to. Turns out it’s Tim Stutzle. 2-1 Ottawa.
The Pens finally find a response on the rare chance to get a puck to the net. It’s Shea again (he’s everywhere) taking a shot that hits off Tommy Novak in the crease. Novak is able to find the loose puck and tap it into the net. 2-2 game with 11:12 to go.
It takes until 9:09 left in the game for Pittsburgh to get their first power play of the night. The big group stays out the whole time without scoring.
Claude Giroux splits the defense, Erik Karlsson has to hack at him. That causes Giroux to fall and crash into Silovs and the net, the puck goes in during the continuation of play. It takes a long review and it’s ruled a good goal for the puck over the line before the net was off.
That explanation isn’t good enough for Dan Muse, so he challenges the play for goalie interference. Questionable at best considering the contact was clearly initiated by Karlsson. Challenge denied and the Pens get a penalty and a goal against out of the deal anyways.
Pittsburgh kills off the punishment penalty, Silovs is pulled with over 2 minutes to go to get to 6v5 grind time. About halfway through the timeout is used to give the top players a breather. Doesn’t work, time runs out on the comeback effort.
Some thoughts
From the first period area, didn’t like the way the Penguins started this game. It was nice they scored first, the style was eye-catching. The players didn’t look as connected as they usually do to start breakouts in close support. They’re trying to stretch the ice more. It’s impossible to be sharp and have the details down every night, though I think we saw some of this against the Rangers too where some bad habits are starting to creep in. Once a team experiences success or gets on a winning streak it can be difficult to keep all those little details buttoned up. It’s a long stretch of hockey too, there’s no such thing as perfection but it can be alarming to see some of the finer points of their game erode away.
Then again, it still means something to take advantage of those mistakes. Ottawa made one in the first period when Nick Jensen played too wide and let Chinakhov get inside of him. Didn’t take long for the puck to get on and off his stick and in the net.
You can see why Ottawa is first in the league in 5v5 xGA and third best overall in fewest shots allowed per game. They hound opponents all over the ice, grinding them down and making everything earned then jump on turnovers and get right back on the attack. Not a lot of room out there against them.
Ryan Shea was all over the place tonight. At one point he even skated the puck aggressive while shorthanded when he realized it was a forward in Dylan Cozens back playing defense. Some good moments, some not so good.
Kinda crazy how the Pens just can’t draw a power play for the most part these days with just 19 power plays in the last eight games. They can’t complain too much, they barely had the puck enough and were chasing Ottawa around for most of the night, tough to get a call like that.
We’ve had some Dan Muse headscratchers when it comes to challenging very questionable goalie interference penalties, this was another one. There was no universe where the refs where going to rule Giroux interfered with Silovs. Did the Penguins want the play to be a penalty on Karlsson and no goal? I don’t even think that’s possible. Not sure if Muse is being fed bad information by the video team or just out of tune with how NHL referees are going to rule on these types of plays, he’s now 0-5 in goalie interference challenges. Muse has made several calls where the chance of getting the call to go his way was going to be an extreme longshot. This review being the most questionable of them all so far. These things can happen with a rookie coach, though at this point of the season almost four months and 55 games in it would be nice to see smarter coaching inputs happening there.
Bad game by the big guys, as it was for just about everyone besides Silovs. Malkin was turning pucks over, he did create a goal but his decision making was spotty all night. Crosby didn’t have so much as one shot attempt (let alone one on goal) and was forcing cross-ice passes in the last minute when it appeared he had a shooting lane — a telltale sign for the rare times that he is fighting things and mired a slump. Rakell wasn’t much more noticeable. Probably a good thing that Bryan Rust can play tomorrow back from his suspension, his presence will be needed.
Can’t win ‘em all, the Ottawa Senators have always been a tough matchup for the Pens, that continued again tonight. Pittsburgh was tied late but had difficulties all night in looking sharp and couldn’t find a way to win a seventh straight game. No shame in that, though they will need to put this one in the rearview mirror quickly with a matchup against the division-rival Islanders tomorrow night.
The Islanders failed to add to their lead and saw the Capitals take a 2-1 lead within a 31-second span in the second period.
First, it was Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary beating Rittich five-hole through a screen at 5:29 of the second before Beauvillier wrapped one past an out-of-position Rittich at the six-minute mark of the middle frame.
The Islanders, like we saw in the second period of their 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, struggled to do everything. Despite their breakout issues and neutral zone play, they garnered chances.
Simon Holmstrom missed the net on a backhand semi-breakaway try before Horvat failed to score on his second breakway of the game, with Stevenson getting the shaft of his stick on a blocker-side try.
At 8:46 of the second, Nic Dowd's backdoor pass banked off Tony DeAngelo's skate and in to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead.
Roy pulled Rittich with 5:17 to go in the third, with John Carlson adding an empty-net tally at 17:35 for the 4-1 final.
UP NEXT: The Islanders battle the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM.
During this past off-season, former Montreal Canadiens forward Ryan Poehling was traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to the Anaheim Ducks in the deal that brought Trevor Zegras to Philly. While Poehling was not the big name in this trade, the 27-year-old forward has proven to be a solid addition to the Ducks' roster this season.
In 48 games this season with the Ducks, Poehling has recorded five goals, 16 assists, 21 points, 56 blocks, and a plus-7 rating. However, the former Canadiens forward has only been heating up as the season continues to roll on for the Pacific Division club.
In his last five games, Poehling has recorded two goals and five points. This included him recording a goal and an assist in the Ducks' most recent win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 1.
Poehling will now be looking to stay hot as the Ducks aim to get back into the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Poehling was selected by the Canadiens with the 25th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The former Canadiens first-round pick went on to play three seasons with the Habs, where he had 13 goals, nine assists, 22 points, and 79 hits. This included him scoring a hat trick and scoring the shootout winner in his NHL debut with the Canadiens during the 2018-19 season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 12: Gabriel Moreno #14 of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks on against the Minnesota Twins on September 12, 2025 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Earlier tonight, MLB Now’s Top 10 Catchers Right Now countdown was announced, hosted by Brian Kenny with MLB Network analyst Alex Avila. The Diamondbacks had Gabriel Moreno ranked sixth on the list. That’s up one place from last year, and marks his third year in a row being ranked, having come tenth in 2024.
The complete ranking for MLB Now’s top-10 catchers is listed below:
Top 10 Catchers Right Now
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros
Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves
Iván Herrera, St. Louis Cardinals
Shea Langeliers, Athletics
The 16th season of each Top 10 Right Now ranking considers player performance over multiple seasons, offensive and defensive metrics, both advanced Statcast data and traditional numbers, and expert analysis by the MLB Network research team.
The offseason rankings will continue tomorrow, February 3 as Kenny and Chris Young count down MLB Now’s Top 10 Right Fielders Right Now at 7 p.m. ET. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back with another entry then, because Corbin Carroll will certainly be listed high in that category.
Adolfo Sanchez and his bag o’ tools was voted the #14 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system for 2026 by you, the voters and participants in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings. Now, we turn our eyes to spot #15!
Per usual, you can find the link to the Google Form for voting right here, yet it’s also embedded at the bottom if you want to read through first and not have to embark upon the painstaking process of scrolling all the way back up here. Both link and embed will be removed once voting closes so you can’t stuff the ballot post facto, however, so be advised that this paragraph will make zero sense if you stumble back across it a year from now.
Here’s how the list has materialized so far:
Sal Stewart
Alfredo Duno
Rhett Lowder
Hector Rodriguez
Edwin Arroyo
Cam Collier
Steele Hall
Tyson Lewis
Chase Petty
Arnaldo Lantigua
Jose Franco
Zach Maxwell
Leo Balcazar
Adolfo Sanchez
A large list of talented names exists below for spot #15. Have at it with the votes!
Aaron Watson, RHP (19 years old)
2025 at a glance: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2nd round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Trinity Christian Academy (FL); signed overslot $2.7 million bonus to forego commitment to the University of Florida
Pros: 6’5” frame; potential 60-grade slider; fastball that runs up to 96 mph from a three-quarter arm slot and already has a solid three-pitch mix with his change rotated in
Cons: Did not pitch professionally after being drafted, so he’s a complete unknown
One glimpse of Watson on the mound and you immediately think yep, I bet that guy can turn into a pretty dang good pitcher. He’s got an ideal frame to produce downhill offerings, and his fastball/slider mix is already something on which he can hang his hat.
However, command of all three of his pitches – specifically a very developmental changeup – will be what he needs to work on to begin to move quickly through the ranks. He possesses a good ‘feel’ at the moment in terms of what pitches to throw, which part of the zone to attack vs. which hitters, etc., but how well he can build in more deception with his offerings will be vital.
Carlos Jorge, OF (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: .251/.342/.355 with 6 HR, 40 SB in 469 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)
Pros: Plus speed; former infielder moved to CF in 2023 and in 2025 looked like a natural there; plus speed; shaved 12.5% off K-rate from down 2024 season; 60-grade arm strength a weapon in CF
Cons: ISO declined for third straight year, this time precipitously; prone to extreme streakiness
If you threw out every other stop of Carlos Jorge’s pro career and just focused on the good ones, he’d already be ranked by now. The good parts of the best of his years have been quite tremendous, all told. He’s flashed great speed (40 steals in 2025), good pop for a small-ish CF (12 HR in 2023 and 2024; .483 SLG in the cavernous Florida State League in 2023), and the ability to play pretty elite CF defense (as recently as 2025).
However, he’s added some real clunkers in there, too. He hit just .220/.291/.394 with a K-rate over 31% at Dayton in 2024, and that came on the heels of hitting just .239/.277/.398 in 23 games once he reached Dayton at the end of 2023.
Maybe it’s just Dayton, where he was again in 2025 in a much better all-around year, even though his power dried up again. He’ll surely begin with AA Chattanooga of the Southern League in 2026, and at 22 (with his position in CF now settled) the former 2B might finally have a one-track shot to focus on his all around game in a new locale. After acing his move on defense, shaving off a ton of strikeouts, and bumping his walk rate back up over 11.1% (where it’s been for most of his career), perhaps 2026 will have a lot more in store for him.
Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)
2025 at a glance: .247/.368/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)
Pros: 29/35 K/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term
Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing
The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was ‘one of the most skilled defenders in his class’ and ‘offers solid wheels’ with ‘magic in his hands’ while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.
The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6’0” and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what’s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.
It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.
Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)
2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League
Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)
Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph
Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he’s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.
Holman, Cincinnati’s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127/33 K/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we’ve not seen him since.
He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati’s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.
Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7/1 K/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78/31 K/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi
Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix
Cons: Lack of experience
Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6’4” 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He’s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they’ve also got the juice.
The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.
Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That’s something he’s never really done before, however, and he’ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we’ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there’s very little reason why he shouldn’t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.
Julian Aguiar, RHP (25 years old)
2025 at a glance: Did not pitch
Pros: Four-seam fastball that flirts with 100 mph; five-pitch pitcher with a pair of breaking balls and potentially plus change-up
Cons: Missed all of 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery; roughed up in 31.2 IP in MLB debut in 2024 (22 ER, 8 HR)
Julian Aguiar has risen quietly through the ranks of the Reds after being a 12th round pick out of Cypress College back in 2021, and his 2024 season saw him rocket from AA Chattanooga all the way through AAA and then to the Reds. Unfortunately, his short stint there ended with him requiring Tommy John surgery, and he missed all of 2025 while recovering.
He’s got plus potential with at least three pitches, and has another two that are still passable to keep hitters off-keel. His 360/93 career K/BB in 346.1 IP across the minors shows he’s got good strikeout stuff and a passable ability to keep hitters from free passes, and if his command returns as quickly as his velocity does post-surgery he should be in the mix to get big league batters out in some role as early as Opening Day. My best guess, though, is that he’ll be slated for AAA Louisville’s rotation to re-establish himself as a starter first, and he won’t actually turn 25 until June.
Mason Neville, OF (22 years old)
2025 at a glance: .247/.333/.442 with 1 HR, 2 SB in 90 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .290/.429/.724 with 26 HR, 9 SB in 280 PA with University of Oregon
Pros: 60-grade power with potential plus arm and plus speed & baserunning; chance to stick in CF, though still profiles as a solid RF if moved to the corner; led Division I with 26 HR in final season at Oregon
Cons: Lots of swing and miss in his game, at times, including a 34.4% rate in his short sample with Daytona
The Reds clearly love Neville, as they drafted him in the 18th round out of high school 2022 only to watch him initially attend the University of Arkansas. After transferring to Oregon and swatting more dingers than anyone else in 2025, the Reds went back to him in the 4th round of the most recent draft.
Neville is incredibly toolsy, his left-handed swing producing significant power when he makes contact. He’s good at working walks despite his swing-and-miss proclivities, and posesses the kind of athleticism and speed to be a legitimate CF.
His tiny sample with Daytona has some red flags with the Ks, but it’s such a small sample that it’s hard to take it with too much certainty. For instance, he hit .298/.365/.526 through his first 17 games there only to go 2 for 20 with 9 Ks across his final 6 games – that could, and likely is, all small-sample noise.
Big tools, that Neville. He could well be the steal of the 2025 draft.
The White Sox might really get a kick out of having David Sandlin in their rotation this summer. | (Photo by Ella Hannaford/Minor League Baseball via Getty Images)
Rejoice! It’s February! That means baseball will be back before the month is over, and I’ll finally write about something besides “Hey, look at this young arm!”
Unfortunately, Spring Training is still weeks away. Respite still eludes you, South Side Sox stan. The Pale Hose have another arm you haven’t heard of, Daniel Sandlin, and I’m going to tell you all about him. (At least he’ll stick around for longer than Ryan Rolison.
The trade represents a lateral move for Sandlin’s organization ranking: FanGraphs has Sandlin as the ninth best prospect in the White Sox system, which was just about the consensus for him with the Red Sox. His big-ticket trait is velocity: at 6’4’’ and 215 pounds, Sandlin was topping out at 99.9 mph in September. The steady velocity – he sits around 96mph – has kept the door open for Sandlin to start in the majors, despite being transitioned into the bullpen at Triple A this past season. In the video below, a June 21 Double-A start, you can see how easily Sandlin can overpower an opposing lineup when he’s locating his fastball at the top of the zone:
FanGraphs also has good things to say about Sandlin’s cutter and slider, calling both pitches “nasty and fairly distinct from one another.” A sinker/sweeper combo rounds out his standard five-pitch mix, although he has a curveball he’ll mix in on occasion. Sandlin also threw a changeup last year. No, literally. He threw one changeup:
However, I’d wager the remainder of Luis Robert Jr.‘s contract that Sandlin is going to be throwing a lot more changeups … what’s that? Apologies, dear reader, but I’m now being told all that money actually has been spent? No kidding? Huh. Well then, I guess I’d wager the remainder of Andrew Benintendi’s contract? Regardless, if Sandlin’s going to win a spot in the White Sox rotation, he’ll need to get comfortable with a changeup, and quick.
At this point in time, Sandlin’s has a two-part plan for approaching lefthanders. The first part is to throw the ball, and the second part is to pray:
2025 Splits (Combined Double-A and Triple-A) vs. Righties: .225 BA, .343 SLG, .649 OPS, .289 BABIP vs. Lefties: .285 BA, .430 SLG, .772 OPS, .358 BABIP
Back to FanGraphs, who came through in the clutch with an updated 2026 report today: “[Sandlin] still doesn’t have a great offspeed pitch with which to attack lefties … [he] peppers the top of the zone with cutters and sliders before elevating his fastball with two strikes.”
If you’re throwing your breaking pitches up in the zone to get ahead against opposite-side hitters, it doesn’t take much imagination to picture what could happen if that slider hangs just a little, or that cutter comes out a little flat, or even if he just misses his spot a couple inches low. The French refer to it as “Bang City.”
If you’ve read a single thing I’ve published on this site before — not a guarantee, I realize! — you already know what I’m going to say, and you’re probably pissed off that you’ve read 500 words just to realize this is yet another article about the kick changeup and how I think it’s a magical pitch that fixes everybody. But I’m not even the first to bring it up this time!
“The White Sox have had recent success coaxing better changeups out of pitchers with naturally-good breaking balls,” FanGraphs concludes in their prospect report, “and perhaps they’ll be able to do that with Sandlin.”
And I’d say the evidence is there! Sandlin has a very strong supinator profile. His Achilles’ heel, for him and many supinators, is a lack of arm-side options against opposite-handed hitters.
To flatten out his pitching splits, Sandlin’s going to need something. This is the magic of the kick change: no unfamiliar arm mechanics or discomfort. The platonic ideal of the kick change isn’t just its effectiveness, but how quickly somebody can pick it up and add it to their arsenal. For Sandlin, it is also the difference between a major league starter versus a middle reliever.
San Diego Padres Joe Musgrove (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Major League Baseball’s offseason is coming to an end. It is time to take your bats, balls, and glove out of storage because Spring Training is fast upon us. The San Diego Padres’ postseason hopes rest on a resurgent Joe Musgrove leading them to October baseball.
Spring Training is where pitchers want to ramp up their offseason workouts, but the Padres need some assurance that Musgrove is healthy to begin the regular season on the active roster.
Musgrove is an essential part of the rotation
He missed the entire 2025 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery. Arm injuries limited his workload the prior season, as Musgrove finished with a 6-5 record, 3.88 ERA in 19 starts. The right-hander’s season prematurely ended in the postseason, as Musgrove pitched 3.2 innings before leaving his start against the Atlanta Braves with elbow discomfort in the Wild Card round.
You cannot argue with his career success. Musgrove registered a 3.73 ERA with a 23.9% strikeout rate and 6.0% base-on-balls rate in 180 starts. He utilizes a six-pitch repertoire, as his sinker averages over 90 MPH, which sets up the four-seam fastball (93 MPH) to get batters out.
Friars skipper Craig Stammen has reiterated that he does not foresee implementing an innings limit on Musgrove. However, he will monitor how he feels after each start and determine if Musgrove needs extra recovery time before his next appearance on the mound.
Starting pitching depth is hard to find
The Friars are searching for starting pitching depth, as they need to take a cautious approach with several starters. Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vasquez, JP Sears, Triston McKenzie, and newly signed Marco Gonzales are expected to see time in the starting rotation this season. Several in this group carry their own injury issues.
King spent the majority of last season on the injury list, which limited him to 15 starts. All eyes will be on him during his throwing sessions at the start of Spring Training. The organization is optimistic that King will return to form in 2026.
Gonzales spent last season recovering from surgery that placed an internal brace to repair the flexor tendon in his left forearm. The injury limited him to 17 combined starts in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The latest procedure was the third surgery on Gonzales’ troublesome arm. If he makes the major league roster, the coaching staff will monitor the amount of innings-pitched all summer long.
It is undecided if Musgrove will begin the 2026 season on the Opening Day roster, as the Padres will monitor his progress during Cactus League appearances. They need to build up his arm strength before Musgrove makes his regular season debut.
It may be disappointing not to see him pitch in the opening series at Petco Park, but the goal is to keep Musgrove healthy all season long.
We are getting close to the point where our Top 100 Prospect countdown crashes into the Prospect Vote, so we may not have too many more rounds to go here.
This time around, we determined a winner while one player on our ballot was DFAd (Jairo Iriarte) and a recent winner (Gage Ziehl) was dealt away. For now, we will keep Jairo on the ballot, but if his is claimed elsewhere we’ll add two players next go-round.
In very tight voting, Marcelo Alcala eked out the win, earning 8 of 44 (18%) votes:
The tight race among Alcala, Diaz and Schweitzer yielded the lowest share of the vote for a winner yet, at 18.18%. This was Alcala’s first time on our ballot.
Past No. 34s in the SSS Top Prospect Vote 2025 Voting lasted only 31 rounds 2024 Abraham Núñez (33%) 2023 Voting lasted only 24 rounds 2022 Voting lasted only 17 rounds 2021 Kodi Medeiros (23%) 2020 Alec Hansen (32%) 2019 Luis Curbelo (25%) 2018 Jameson Fisher (28%)
Alcala is the 15th hitter of 34 players to advance, as well as the third center fielder:
Left fielder Caden Connor, who traversed three levels of the White Sox minors in 2025, joins the ballot for this round.
South Side Sox Top-Voted White Sox Prospects for 2026
Alexander Albertus Third Baseman Age 21 2025 high level Arizona Complex League (Rookie) Age relative to high level +0.4 years Overall 2025 stats 8 games ▪️ 0 HR ▪️ 2 RBI ▪️ .333/.520/.444 ▪️ 3-of-3 (100.0%) SB ▪️ 6 BB ▪️ 3 K ▪️ 1.000 FLD%▪️ 0.3 WAR
What can you say further about Albertus? He seems to have great tools but an uncanny ability to stay off of the field (just eight games in a season-plus in the White Sox system). In 2025, he was assigned to Kannapolis but was … wait for it … injured. He lasted just eight games of ACL rehab before hitting the IL-60 again.
Aldrin Batista Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Age 22 2025 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 6 2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A) Age relative to high level -1.2 years Overall 2025 stats 2-0 ▪️ 7 games (2 starts) ▪️ 14 IP ▪️ 5.79 ERA ▪️ 17 K ▪️ 7 BB ▪️ 1.429 WHIP ▪️-1.2 WAR
Batista was our No. 6-voted player in last year’s poll and top righthander — and then disaster struck, as he started the third Dash game of the season on April 6 and then was out more than four months with a stress fracture in his right (pitching) elbow. His return in late August was iffy, with three poor relief appearances of five. But he ended the season with a scoreless (two-inning) “opener” start, which hopefully reverses the curse for 2026.
Ryan Burrowes Second Baseman Age 21 2024 SSS Prospect Vote ranking 23 2025 SSS Prospect Vote ranking N/R 2025 high level Winston-Salem (High-A) Age relative to high level -2.0 years Overall 2025 stats (Low-A/High-A) 111 games ▪️ 6 HR ▪️ 39 RBI ▪️ .255/.342/.355 ▪️ 47-of-53 (88.7%) SB ▪️ 39 BB ▪️ 110 K ▪️ .976 FLD%▪️ 1.1 WAR
It feels like Burrowes has been around forever, and he’s still only 21 years old (and playing at a level significantly younger than his age). His first taste of High-A ball went pretty well, as his baserunning seems to have no trouble translating at any level. The hit tool is solid, although he continues to struggle with contact — a no-no for a speed-over-power guy.
Caden Connor Left Fielder Age 25 2025 high level Charlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -2.3 years Overall 2025 stats (High-A/AA/AAA) 126 games ▪️ 7 HR ▪️ 64 RBI ▪️ .272/.358/.366 ▪️ 13-of-16 (81.3%) SB ▪️ 60 BB ▪️ 81 K ▪️ .982 FLD%▪️ 1.9 WAR
Like Ryan Galanie, it’s hard to know what to make of Connor. The end of the 2025 season, at Charlotte, marked the first time in his pro career that he’s not played old for his level. But aside from a dip in July, Connor hit well all season and didn’t get dunked underwater at Charlotte. Theoretically with a weak White Sox outfield, the sky’s the limit for him in 2026.
Reudis Diaz Right-handed relief pitcher Age 20 2025 high level ACL (Rookie) Age relative to high level -2.1 years Overall 2025 stats 1-1 ▪️ 1 SV▪️ 21 games (4 finishes) ▪️ 27 2/3 IP ▪️ 2.28.ERA ▪️ 18 K ▪️ 8 BB ▪️ 1.084 WHIP ▪️1.2 WAR
Who? You’re forgiven for being unfamiliar with an extremely young arm who hasn’t yet gotten out of rookie ball, but our No. 77 prospect a year ago (then a starter, repeating the DSL and killing it) made a successful adjustment Stateside. He’ll return to starting in 2026, likely getting his feet wet in Arizona and getting a promotion to Low-A in the second half of the season.
Ryan Galanie First Baseman Age 25 2025 high level Birmingham (AA) Age relative to high level +1.3 years Overall 2025 stats (High-A/AA) 119 games ▪️ 11 HR ▪️ 94 RBI ▪️ .276/.327/.422 ▪️ 14-of-17 (82.4%) SB ▪️ 35 BB ▪️ 79 K ▪️ .995 FLD%▪️ 1.1 WAR
It’s been a slow but steady climb for this 13th-rounder in 2023. The good news here is, with the caveat that Galanie has always competed older than his level, Galanie has found some footing. While his power/slugging numbers are merely OK, he drove in 94 runs in 2025. He disappeared a bit in the playoffs for Birmingham (just four hits in six games, with five walks as well) but started every game in the march to a second consecutive Southern League title for the Barons.
Jairo Iriarte Right-Handed Relief Pitcher Age 24 2025 SSS Top Prospect Vote Ranking 19 2025 high level Charlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -4.3 years Overall 2025 stats (Rookie/AAA) 3-3▪️ 1 SV ▪️ 37 games (5 starts, 9 finishes) ▪️ 48 IP ▪️ 7.13 ERA ▪️ 50 K ▪️ 37 BB ▪️ 1.917 WHIP ▪️ -0.8 WAR
The 2025 season was an utter disaster for Iriarte, who went from prospective South Side rotation member to lost in space. The righty, who made his brief debut in the majors in 2024, both lost the plate and misplaced his strikeout power. The Brian Bannister Pitching Lab has its work cut out here, for sure.
Javier Mogollón Shortstop Age 20 2025 high level Kannapolis (Low-A) Age relative to high level -1.4 years Overall 2025 stats 51 games ▪️ 5 HR ▪️ 19 RBI ▪️ .220/.347/.387 ▪️ 15-of-21 (71.4%) SB ▪️ 30 BB ▪️ 56 K ▪️ .971 FLD%▪️ 1.0 WAR
An ascending star just one year ago, we have to tap the breaks a bit on Mogollón after a lackluster first full season of minors ball. While still young for his level and managing to keep his head above water in a new league every season of his career, Mogollón’s undeniable hitting in Rookie ball fell off significantly with the Cannon Ballers. However, how much of that was due to battling injury is undetermined, as Mogollón was shelved for what turned out to be the season on July 2.
Yobal Rodriguez Right-Handed Starting Pitcher Age18 2025 high levelDSL White Sox (Rookie) Age relative to high level -1.5 years Overall 2025 stats0-3 ▪️ 13 games (10 starts) ▪️ 30 1/3 IP ▪️2.97 ERA ▪️ 33 K ▪️ 13 BB ▪️ 1.022 WHIP ▪️ 1.2 WAR
Rodriguez is a rare DSL pitcher, not for his relatively light innings load, but as a primary starter — and at just 17 years old (Yobal turns 18 on February 9). Inasmuch as it’s tough to project anyone out of the DSL, especially pitchers, you could hardly have hoped for more from him in his pro debut.
Tyler Schweitzer Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Age25 2025 high levelCharlotte (AAA) Age relative to high level -3.3 years Overall 2025 stats (AA/AAA) 8-2 ▪️ 27 games (10 starts) ▪️ 99 2/3 IP ▪️4.61 ERA ▪️ 81 K ▪️ 41 BB ▪️ 1.344 WHIP ▪️ 0.8 WAR
Schweitzer relieved in most of his games in 2025, but he remains a starter in our eyes given he was consistently paired with Tanner McDougal in Birmingham Barons starts. And in Birmingham, Schweitzer was divine: 1.27 ERA that included a long scoreless streak leading to a Charlotte promotion, 0.946 WHIP. However, everything the southpaw did as a Baron, he undid as a Knight (7.92 ERA, 1.740 ERA). While other gilded arms (Drew Thorpe, Grant Taylor) get to skip Charlotte entirely, Schweitzer was not so lucky. And that luck could prevent him from ever seeing the majors.
Round 24 of voting was the last of 2023 (we did not do an actual wrap for the voting, but Jordan Sprinkle ended up being our final pick), and the full archive.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they have activated defenseman Ryan Graves from injured reserve.
Graves has not played for the Penguins since their Jan. 21 contest against the Calgary Flames with an upper-body injury. However, now that he has been activated off injured reserve, he is officially an option for the Penguins again.
Graves has appeared in 19 games this season with Pittsburgh, where he has recorded one goal, 15 hits, 35 blocks, and a minus-2 rating. The 6-foot-5 defenseman also has two goals, seven assists, nine points, and a plus-6 rating in 13 games this season with the Penguins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
In 150 games over three seasons with the Penguins, Graves has recorded five goals, 14 assists, 19 points, 162 hits, 250 blocks, and a minus-7 rating.
