Worldwide Sports News

Thursday marks exactly two weeks from opening day for the Dodgers, and technically 51 players remain in big league camp. Let’s categorize all those players to figure out what actual decisions need to be made to get down to 26 active players on March 26.

Starting on the shelf

Evan Phillips is already on the 60-day injured list as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery last June, as is Kiké Hernández, who had left elbow surgery in November. I didn’t count there two players in the 51 players remaining in camp.

Blake Snell hasn’t yet faced hitters this spring after a slow offseason, and will begin the season on the injured list. Same for Tommy Edman as he returns from right ankle surgery.

Gavin Stone missed all of last season after shoulder surgery. He made one start this spring before getting shut down with shoulder soreness.

Brusdar Graterol is being slow-played after missing last year following shoulder surgery. Brock Stewart had shoulder surgery in October, but has been throwing bullpen sessions already. Neither will be ready by opening day. Same for Bobby Miller, who has been sidelined this spring by shoulder soreness.

That’s six players who won’t be ready for opening day, effectively leaving 45 other players at least nominally vying for a roster spot.

A nice showing

A group of non-roster invitees have been active nearly everyday during Cactus League play. Zach Ehrhard and James Tibbs III are two outfielders a little older and further along in the minors than the quartet of top-100 outfield prospects. Zyhir Hope is the last of those top-100 prospects still kicking in camp, his combination of performance at the plate and actual competence in the field keeping him around longer than his fellow prospects.

Noah Miller has played nearly every game at shortstop and impressed in the field enough to be able to see a major league future, even though he hasn’t really hit much in the minors. Miller last year at age-22 had a 73 wRC+ for Triple-A Oklahoma City. For comparative purposes, Miguel Rojas at age 22 had a 75 wRC+ and to that point had played only 75 games in Double-A, yet to reach Triple-A.

Catchers Eliézer Alfonzo and Seby Zavala have played a ton as well.

Veteran Nick Senzel has seen time at second and third base plus designated hitter this spring. Outfielder Jack Suwinski was claimed off waivers on February 21, then cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A on March 2, knocking him down to non-roster invitee status. He has yet to appear in a game this spring.

It’s not a stretch to say none of these nine players are going to make the opening day roster, trimming the group down to 36 players.

Roster locks

Aside from Edman, the Dodgers lineup is basically set, with Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Tucker, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernández, and Andy Pages all secure in their positions.

Miguel Rojas and Dalton Rushing will be active, as will non-roster invitee Santiago Espinal, filling the current vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow are comfortably atop the starting rotation. Roki Sasaki will be in the rotation come hell or high water.

Edwin Díaz, Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, and Jack Dreyer are bullpen fixtures.

That’s 19 locks, leaving is with 17 more players vying for seven active roster spots.

Last arms standing

The two rounds ofspring roster cuts so far has trimmed the non-roster pitchers the most, going from 17 down to only four such arms remaining.

Cole Irvin is the starting pitcher of the group, in case the Dodgers need to fill a spot in the rotation at some point — spoiler alert: they definitely will need to fill spots — whether that’s on opening day or later in the year.

Chris Campos is the prospect of the group, now 25 years old and impressing in relief after four professional seasons as a starting pitcher. He’s pitched five scoreless innings in his four appearances, striking out nine of his 20 batters faced with no walks.

Ryder Ryan has allowed three runs in his nine innings, with eight strikeouts and two walks, including two innings in each of his last three appearances.

Antoine Kelly has arguably been the most impressive non-roster pitcher in camp, hovering around 96 mph and touching 99 mph with his fastball. The southpaw has allowed two walks and one hit in his six innings, with seven strikeouts in his 20 batters faced. He faces tough competition to crack the Dodgers bullpen, even before considering whether they’d want a fourth left-hander.

Position-player battles

With Espinal among the locks above, there are 11 position players set and two spots to fill. Hyeseong Kim and switch-hitter Alex Freeland are in the mix for a potential left-handed side of a second base platoon. Kim impressed early in camp but has been away at the World Baseball Classic.

The other position players on the 40-man roster previously unaccounted for are outfielders Alex Call and Michael Siani. That’s four players for two spots here, with the extra outfielder choice coming down to whether the Dodgers prefer offense or defense with this bench spot.

Pitching spots to fill

After the non-roster arms remaining and the 40-man position players still around, that leaves nine pitchers among those vying for five roster spots on the opening day roster.

After Yamamoto, Glasnow, Ohtani, and Glasnow, two rotation spots remain. Justin Wrobleski has looked great thus far, and could easily make the roster even if he’s not starting right now. Emmet Sheehan had the inside track on a rotation spot but was sidelined by illness earlier in camp. Sheehan pitched 2 1/3 innings last time out and has time for two more build-up starts before the season. River Ryan has impressed greatly in his three outings and is built up to three innings. The only question is whether the Dodgers will play things cautiously with Ryan after missing all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery. Landon Knack is still in camp.

For the three other bullpen spots, 40-man roster options include Ben Casparius likely ticketed for short relief after a hybrid role last year, Will Klein looking to build on his October heroics, Edgardo Henriquez looking better after early spring struggles, the 6’10 Paul Gervase could give the Dodgers an advantage in basketball scrimmages, and Kyle Hurt has struck out nine of his 21 batters faced (42.9 percent) this spring after missing all of last season.

This will all get sorted out over the next two weeks.

The regular season is right around the corner for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With just a couple of games left in Spring Training, Pittsburgh has been playing well with a 12-6 record, but are those results going to be the real Pirates in the regular season ? 

Their offense has been really solid so far, with first-year Pirates Ryan O’Hearn leading the team with 8 RBIs. Young shortstop Konnor Griffin and Yordany Los Santos are tied for the team lead in home runs with 3. Center fielder Jhostynxon Garcia leads the team with 12 hits. The Pirates as a team rank 11th in overall offense so far in Spring Training.

The pitching has shown some promise too with Mitch Keller and Carmen Mlodzinski both throwing well in their three games pitched. Keller has 9 strikeouts with just 1 ER and has a 1.23 ERA. While Mlodzinski also has nine strikeouts, he has also allowed two ERs and has a 2.45 ERA. The right-handed pitcher also leads the team with two wins. Their pitching is ranked 14th in overall rankings, with an average ERA of 4.18.   

I have really liked what I have seen from the Bucs during Spring Training so far. I understand that this is just Spring, and they are not facing off against elite pitching yet or the best hitters in the league, but what is really exciting is the young players who are playing while for them. 

I have been pretty optimistic about Pittsburgh after they made their offseason moves. For a while, I have felt like this team has the potential to break the playoff drought. The Pirates have the pitching to do so lead by former Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.

They also have an improved offense from last season and we are already seeing the young bats show up like Griffin, Los Santos and Garcia. 

I don’t think the success we are seeing for the Buccos right now is a fluke. I believe with the young arms in the rotation and the underrated bats that the Pirates have that Pittsburgh will continue this success into the regular season. 

Let us know in the comment section if you believe the Spring Training results are the real Bucs. 

The Rays gave up quite a bit to acquire Ben Williamson this offseason. They parted ways with a 4th OF profile in Colton Ledbetter and a Comp B pick. Coming into Spring Training, the expectation for Williamson seemed fairly straightforward: compete for a utility infielder role. That likely meant coming off the bench to spell whoever is starting at shortstop, taking the short side of a second base platoon with Gavin Lux, and occasionally giving Junior Caminero a rest day at third base.

That may still be the most likely role for Williamson, but he has answered a few key questions about his defense so far this spring that suggest there may be a bit more upside in the profile than initially expected, although we probably shouldn’t read too much into it…..yet. Despite the strong production in a small spring sample, Williamson’s underlying offensive profile still looks largely similar to what he showed last season.

Defense at SS

Williamson needed to show that he could handle shortstop at the major league level. He hadn’t played there regularly since college, but that lack of recent experience isn’t immediately obvious when watching him.

His arm strength translates well to the position, and both his range and lateral quickness look strong enough. At this point, he appears capable of providing above-average defense there, with the main area still developing being his work around the second base bag on double plays. That’s a detail that typically improves with repetition.

Williamson still projects as the third-best defensive shortstop on the Rays’ 40-man roster behind Taylor Walls and Carson Williams, but it’s clear he’s capable of filling in there when needed.

Defense at 2B

Second base is likely where Williamson would see the most playing time if he makes the Opening Day roster, and he has looked comfortable at the position so far.

The plays where he ranges to his right – toward the second base bag – are understandably less polished. But the underlying tools are evident. His range and arm strength both grade as clear positives, and with more reps his footwork around the bag should continue to improve.

Given those traits, there’s little reason to think his defense at second base won’t settle in as above average.

Impact potential

One of the more interesting developments this spring has been a small but notable increase in Williamson’s raw power indicators. His 90th percentile exit velocity currently sits at 104.9 mph, up from 103.7 mph across Triple-A and the majors last season.

That jump isn’t massive, but it does hint that Williamson may be tapping into average raw power rather than the below-average raw power he showed previously. It’s an encouraging sign, even if the spring sample is still far too small to draw firm conclusions.

Where things become more complicated is translating that raw power into game impact.

Last season, Williamson had some difficulty lifting and pulling the ball in ways that typically produce damage. He ran a 42.7% line drive plus fly ball rate and pulled the ball less than 30% of the time, both slightly below his minor league norms. His average hard-hit launch angles of 7° in Triple-A and just 2° in the majors suggest he had difficulty converting his raw power into optimal contact.

So far this spring, there are some positive signs. Williamson’s LD+FB rate has climbed to 50%, and he’s pulling the ball closer to 40% of the time. Those are the types of directional changes that could eventually help him unlock more offensive impact if they prove sustainable over a larger sample.

However, one number still stands out: his average hard-hit launch angle is just 3°. That suggests he may still be working toward consistently elevating the baseball when he squares it up. In other words, while the raw power indicators look slightly improved, it’s still uncertain how much of that power will show up in games over a full season.

Ignore the OPS and wRC+ for now; the spring performance is best viewed as progress rather than a definitive change in Williamson’s offensive profile.

Hit tool

What has consistently carried Williamson’s offensive profile is his bat-to-ball ability. He has posted plus contact rates at every level of professional baseball, and that trend has continued this spring.

His swing decisions have been a bit more uneven. Throughout most of his minor league career he showed roughly average swing decisions, but during his time in the majors last season he chased more often than expected and was somewhat passive in the strike zone. That combination of chasing too much while swinging too little at strikes can make it difficult to generate competitive at-bats.

So far this spring, he appears more comfortable controlling the strike zone. He’s chasing less frequently and showing a slightly better balance between patience and aggression, but he’s still relatively passive in-zone – which may continue to limit how much of that power shows up in games.

Overall outlook

When you put the pieces together, Williamson’s profile starts to make sense.

He brings defensive versatility, plus contact ability, and potentially average raw power. That combination can be quite valuable on a good roster, even if the offensive ceiling remains somewhat limited with his batted ball profile.

Even with the encouraging spring performance, Williamson’s overall profile still points toward a valuable utility role. If the changes to his batted-ball profile hold over a larger sample, there may be room for a bit more offensive impact than originally expected.

For now, though, the safest takeaway from Williamson’s spring is that he looks increasingly capable of filling an important supporting role on a contending team.

The St. Louis Cardinals will play host to the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida for the Spring Training game on Thursday, March 12. According to MLB.com, Michael McGreevy will get the start for the Cardinals while Sean Manaea will take the mound for the Mets. The game is scheduled to be watchable on Cardinals.tv.

Making his debut in our prospect rankings at #11, Dickerson and Tuesday’s entry Yorger Bautista were actually tied in our initial run through of our scoring system, though we opted to give the edge to Dickerson upon tie breaker. Last year’s fifth rounder, the former Indiana Hoosier is yet another high-upside play for the Seattle system that could easily turn into one of the bigger draft steals of last year’s class. With a tantalizing toolkit to tap into, look for Dickerson to be one of the more prominent features in Everett’s lineup to start the season.

Signing at slot value last July, Dickerson had one of the loudest starts to the year of any singular player in college baseball, crushing opposing pitchers to all fields and posting ridiculous exit velocities. He cooled off a hair in Big Ten play, but still managed an OPS north of 1.000 on the season and kept the K% south of 20%, a promising sign for a player that’s biggest slight is definitely the pure bat-to-ball ability. His excellent power numbers coupled with premium defense in center field had many evaluators excited by his upside on draft day, and despite essentially every public outlet having him as a top 100 prospect in the 2025 draft class, he slipped to 152 and the Mariners capitalized.

He doesn’t come without concern, however. The aforementioned hit tool warts, while not terrible, are certainly present. Dickerson approaches the plate looking to attack the fastball and routinely does so when he gets one to hit, but he’s been inconsistent with adjusting to spin in the past and he can get in between pitches when his approach starts to slip. Additionally, he’s prone to expanding the zone and had firmly below average chase rates amongst the collegiate ranks last season. He’s able to get to those out of zone pitches at a respectable level, but tightening his zone recognition should help his in zone contact rates, walk rates, and power numbers across the board.

Dickerson’s hit tool issues, though present, are not at a level where alarms should be sounding. An excellent athlete that’s shown he can consistently find the barrel is a lot less scary than someone purely swinging for the fences and hoping for the best, and there are signs in his profile that indicate the adjustability at the plate is trending in the right direction. His plus defense in center already gives him a relatively high floor as a prospect, and given his promising results despite limited playing time (he’s got just one season of college baseball under his belt), it’s not much of a leap to think Dickerson just needs more reps against high-quality pitching to get things figured out. Though the hit rate on major league talent in the fifth round is low, Dickerson’s got as good of a shot as any to break the mold and emerge as a prospect with legitimate big league aspirations. One of five 2025 draftees in our top eleven, hopefully the newcomers are able to live up to our lofty expectations and kick off the next wave of elite Mariner talent.

Jacob Webb is another well-traveled veteran reliever, having had stops with the Braves, Angels, Orioles, Rangers, and now the Cubs. He’s 32 years old, was drafted by Atlanta in the 18th round in 2014, and has been pretty dependable, throwing to ERAs in the threes for the most part.

He walks a few more people than one would prefer, but his stat sheet at BBRef looks like a right-handed Caleb Thielbar, which is to say, not bad at all. He’s amassed a lifetime 3.1 bWAR (1.4 fWAR) and throws 50 or 60 innings in middle relief.

He throws a four-seam, sweeper, and change, with his FB topping in the mid-90s but sitting about 93.5. Webb has only thrown three innings so far this spring and his fate is unknown. He might head to Chicago or he might be let go — odds are that he’ll make the team.

He does have that profile that Jed and the Cubs braintrust seem to like — Jameson Taillon is one of his comps. Even if he is waived, the Cubs might try to negotiate a minor-league deal for him, for a break-glass emergency.

Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees

Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Joker Marchant Stadium – Lakeland, FL
SB Nation Site:Pinstripe Alley
Media: Tigers Radio Network

The Jays are playing the Phillies today. The game is free on MLB tv. I don’t see that it is on Sportsnet.

Lineups: