Category: MLB

Thank you for the warm reception from my debut article. I’m sure I’ll have missteps along the way, but I’m aiming to live up to the high standard VEB has set. Expect to see me weekly going forward. I’ll see you in the comments!

This season is the year of reckoning for Jordan Walker. He comes from a seemingly endless line of Cardinals prospects over the years to never live up to the expectations put on them from a “draft and develop franchise.” Let’s rip the bandaid off and mention some names: Carlson, Reyes, Luke Weaver, Delvin Perez, even Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty to a certain extent. The Cardinals lost their way in prospect development in the same way if Walmart turned into a real estate company – you have to nail the stated mission if it’s going to be your stated mission.

This leads me to ask the ultimate existential question about the career of Jordan Walker: on this Easter weekend, is the resurrection of his career that we all want so bad even possible? Is there any historical precedent for becoming a productive hitter after essentially being the worst hitter in Major League Baseball? Or, have Jordan Walker and the Cardinals tag teamed this like Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber and wrung the head off a career that had so much promise?

Before I get into the historical precedents (kind of sounds like a journey through important Supreme Court cases – honestly it’s approaching that level of importance for the Cardinals), Jordan Walker deserves some praise for the early, early, early, early, (yes it’s early!) returns from this season. After struggling mightily in spring training and being banished to the hitting lab to adjust, Jordan Walker seems to have, well, adjusted. At the time of this writing, Walker is running a cool .294/.400/.538 line, good for a 180 wRC+. I can’t remember the last time he had a five game stretch that was this awesome. Here’s the kicker though, despite a recent rash of strikeouts, Walker is running a 15% K rate with a 15% walk rate. Those are Wetherholtian numbers (wow does that guy look electric!).

Yes it’s early, early, early, early, early (yes I’m still aware), but he has talked about his approach changing and simplifying the mental game. The Cardinals tried to change his launch angle (which did need to be fixed), and like a golf swing that needs work, opened up 2-3 other crisis level issues which combined to make him The Worst Hitter in Baseball (the capitals felt right for that distinction). If he can maintain this performance on a simplified track, perhaps there is hope. We discussed this further on our last episode of Redbird Rundown If you’d like more coverage and audio/visual is your thing. (Apple and Spotify links!)

Now, to tackle the original question of the article. Can we have an Easter resurrection of Jordan Walker’s career? Yes, it’s mostly been a crown of thorns so far, but is there any hope? I went searching for players in their age 21 to 23 seasons with an OPS+ between 60 and 80 and at least 500 PA. The results came back with 118 players – a ton of guys have struggled in their first attempts at Major League Baseball!

Let’s not pull any punches. Jordan Walker is dancing on a knife’s edge. The list is littered with guys that never made it offensively. In fact, from the list of players who met those statistical measures, a vast majority of them never made it. You didn’t need me to tell you that Jordan Walker’s career is on life support, but the historical record helped check him right into the ICU. But, we’re simply looking for what’s possible here, so where’s the resurrection hope? It exists on this list, too.

There are several hall of fame players (and hall of very good players!) populating the early-struggler list: Ron Santo, Carlos Gomez, Carlon Beltran, and Pete Rose among them. But a few specific results really stood out to me if we’re interested in rolling away the stone from the tomb of Jordan Walker’s career.

Mike Schmidt put together a .196/.324/.373 line as a 23 year old with a 30.7% K rate and no power to speak of – we all know how his career turned out. Aaron Judge didn’t even play in the MLB from age 21 to 23, and at age 24 came up for a cup of coffee and struck out 44.7% of the time. Byron Buxton appeared to be a spectacular failure as the number one prospect in baseball and then ran wRC+ lower than Walker in his first two partial season before it came together for him.

I want to make sure and drive home an important point here though: The last two paragraphs were me cherry picking the absolute best case scenarios for the resurrection of Jordan Walker. It’s possible, but it’s not likely. Don’t get me wrong, I’m rooting for him to finally figure it out. With apologies to cleanup hitter Masyn Winn, we could use another power bat right in the middle of the lineup for years to come. The extremely early returns are encouraging thus far in 2026, but the hole that has been dug is quite deep. It turns out though, there is still hope for a resurrection from the historical record.

Let me know what you think in the comments! It was interesting to do this deep dive on Walker. If you’re interested in more thoughts and analysis live during games you can find me on twitter @mksmith86 or tons more in-game analysis and commentary from our podcast twitter @redbirdrundown2. 

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Diamondbacks fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

We’ve now had the chance to see every starting pitcher take the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks – twice, in the case of Zac Gallen. The results have been somewhat mixed. On Opening Day, Gallen was undone by the prototypical “one bad inning,” but rebounded yesterday against Detroit, with six shutout frames. Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt also caught a severe case of OBI-itis. But Eduardo Rodriguez and, even more of a surprise, Michael Soroka (top) were both excellent. Soroka’s outing was, arguably, the best ever by any starting pitcher making their debut in a D-backs uniform. Did not see that coming.

The team should get Merrill Kelly back shortly, and it’s then going to be an interesting decision as to who gets booted to work long relief out of the bullpen. While Soroka would have been the man in that role, if Kelly was healthy for his planned Opening Day start, his dominant first outing throws that into some doubt. Pfaadt is probably the one on the shortest leash immediately, but we will certainly have another turn around the rotation before anything has to be decided. Kelly could be activated as early as next Wednesday, but that’ll depend on how he gets through his rehab start with Reno on Friday .

Further down the pipe, we will be getting theoretical staff ace, Corbin Burnes back. If he returns to the form he showed before getting injured last year, that will certainly be a significant boost to the rotation. All told, there are a lot of moving parts, and we are still very much in the part of the season where it’s a very small sample size. But who do you think will be the team’s most valuable pitcher this year? I’d probably suggest going with the average of bWAR and fWAR, since they do measure things in slightly different ways. But it’s really up to you, how to define the term. Of course, please explain your choice in the comments.

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It’s a light slate on the diamond with just three games gracing the MLB schedule, but there's still plenty of value to uncover in today's MLB player props.

My top picks include a pair of RBI props: one for a batter riding a hot start, and another for a hitter looking to break out of an early-season slump.

Find out more in my MLB picks for Thursday, April 2.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Taj Bradley	Over 15.5 outs recorded	-108
Corbin Carroll	Over 0.5 RBI	+170
Heliot Ramos	Over 0.5 RBI	+200

Taj Bradley Over 15.5 outs recorded (-108)

Minnesota Twins starter Taj Bradley struck out nine batters in his first start of the season against Baltimore, but he lasted just 4 1/3 innings. He walked three and quickly drove up his pitch count, leading to an early hook.

Today, the hard-throwing righty faces the Kansas City Royals, who don’t strike out as often — something that could result in quicker outs.

With an above-average leash on pitch count, a few more efficient innings should help him clear this prop.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MLB Network

Corbin Carroll Over 0.5 RBI (+170)

Corbin Carroll is off to a great start for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and I’m betting that continues when he digs into the batter’s box against the Atlanta Braves. 

The two-time All-Star enters this game hitting .333 with a 1.162 OPS through the early part of the season. He’s also been productive as hell, driving in eight runs, all coming in the D-backs' last four games.

Although Reynaldo Lopez is coming off a strong start where he allowed just one run on six hits against Kansas City, Carroll was very dangerous against righties last season, getting to them for a .918 OPS.

Lopez also struggled a bit with his command in his first start of the season, so I love Carroll to drive in another run at this price.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: ESPN Unlimited

Heliot Ramos Over 0.5 RBI (+200)

It’s been a slow start to the season for Heliot Ramos, but the San Francisco Giants outfielder is a strong hitter who consistently makes hard contact, and tonight’s matchup with the New York Mets should help him get back on track.

The Mets will start David Peterson. The lefty didn’t allow a run in his first outing of the season, but he got a bit lucky, giving up six hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings.

Ramos also has solid career numbers vs. Peterson, going 3-for-8 with a .376 expected batting average and a .624 expected slugging.

• Time: 9:45 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SNY, NBC Sports Bay Area

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

As we close in on the second Opening Day in the minor leagues, the one where all of the full season levels beyond Triple-A get started, the Augusta GreenJackets have released their first roster of the season. There are a few surprises, but none too big. Let’s take a closer look at this exciting young roster for the Atlanta Braves Low-A affiliate.

Pitchers

The pitching staff doesn’t have any of the Braves biggest prospects, but Landon Beidelschies, Ethan Bagwell, and Luis Arestigueta are among the intriguing prospects on the roster. Beyond them there are guys like Davis Polo, Aiven Cabral, Zach Royse, Cristobal Abreu, and Logan Forsythe who are among the arms of note on a pitching staff that is filled with prospects, even if there isn’t a true premium prospect here for the first time in what feels like forever.

Bagwell may be the biggest surprise of the pitching staff, as he was excellent here last year. Injury limited him to just 10 starts, but he posted a 2.88 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 50 innings, though with only 30 strikeouts. Beidelschies is also a bit of a surprise, as the sixth round pick out of Arkansas is used to facing tough competition in the SEC. He made two starts here after signing last year. Arestigueta made 12 decent appearances here last year, though saw his season end in early-July. Those three are easy bets to be in the starting rotation, with Aiven Cabral, an 18th round pick from Northeastern who is yet to make his pro debut, and potentially Davis Polo as the other two. Polo has received some attention as a prospect, but due to injury hasn’t pitched since 2024. He was up and down here that year in 15 appearances, but was just 19 at that time. Kendy Richard will also be a candidate after splitting last year between Augusta and the FCL, and making six starts among his 10 appearances with the GreenJackets a year ago.

Among the other options are Cristobal Abreu, a talented arm who hasn’t pitched since 2024 due to injury. Abreu has flashed big stuff, but his results in 35.2 innings in the DSL and FCL for his career don’t match the stuff. Logan Forstyhe was the team’s 13th rounder out of Louisiana Tech last year, and the former Mississippi State reliever has huge stuff, but still needs to improve his feel for command. Zach Royse (7th), Carter Lovasz (8th), Mathieu Curtis (14th), and Ryan Heppner (19th) were all drafted last year, and made little to no appearances after signing. Royse and Heppner in particular were starters in college, and could be candidates to start here.

Two undrafted free agents from last year, who were once thought of as bigger prospects earlier in their careers, Drew Christo and Jaylen Paden, are also here. Christo passed up big money out of high school, but never quite developed at his hometown school in Nebraska. Paden was once thought to be a big arm at Georgia Southern, but after a series of injuries and a transfer to Georgia Tech, has seen his stock fade a bit. Derek Vartanian was also an undrafted free agent, though he signed in 2024 and hasn’t pitched since due to injury. Lewis Sifontes is back after closing his 2025 season here with three appearances out of the pen late in the year. Styven Paez is making a full season roster for the first time, and returned last year after missing all of 2024.

Catchers

The headliner here is Nick Montgomery, as the overslot pick from 2024 tries to rebound from a disappointing 2025 season where he posted a .524 OPS. Manuel Dos Passos and Tanner Smith are also here. Dos Passos may sound familiar because he was just included on the Spring Breakout roster, after the now 19-year-old posted a .687 OPS in the FCL last year. Smith signed as an undrafted free agent out of Miami last year, formerly Oregon State, and hit two homers in five games before a quick three game stint in Rome at the end of the year.

Infielders

This is maybe the most exciting group on the team with Tate Southisene, Alex Lodise, and Jose Perdomo, leading the way, plus Luis Sanchez, Cooper McMurray, and Joe Olsavsky. Lodise is the biggest surprise, as the second round pick from Florida State went right to Rome for 25 games last year. It’s likely the Braves want him to work on his approach with the Augusta coaching staff before a quick promotion back to Rome. Southisene was the team’s first round pick last year, and spent 15 games here posting a .539 OPS – though he did look better in spring action, including the Spring Breakout. Perdomo was the team’s big international signee two years ago, but injuries have limited his time and performance in his first two years of pro ball. He showed up to camp in great shape, and we can only hope to see the guy who drew strong reviews from scouts two and a half years ago.

McMurray was also an undrafted free agent last year, and the former Auburn slugger is starting off here after struggling in a 21 game look with Rome last season. Sanchez is back after splitting last year between Augusta and Rome, plus one game for Gwinnett, posting a combined .580 OPS. Olsavsky is a versatile infielder who split last year between Augusta and Rome, and he posted a .797 OPS in 49 games with the GreenJackets.

Outfielders

The bigger story is the fact Diego Tornes is not here. He wasn’t really expected to open in full season ball, but it was seen as an outside possibility based on his skill set. Conor Essenburg, Luis Guanipa, Junior Garcia, Dallas Macias, and Caden Merritt are here however. Essenburg was the overslot fifth round pick last year, and the former prep two-way star has impressed after signing despite not yet making his pro debut. Guanipa is back here for the third year in a row, as injuries have really kept him from seeing the field much in each of the past two seasons. Garcia is back after seeing 40 games here last year, then spending all of last year in the FCL. He is still just 20-years-old, and is hoping for a better run in Augusta than what we saw in 2024. Macias was the 15th round pick out of Oregon State last year. He had been seen as a guy capable of going about ten rounds higher, but struggled his way through the season in both college and after signing with the Braves. Merritt is a speedy outfielder who signed as an undrafted free agent out of high school last year, following a stint in the MLB Draft League.

Stay tuned for the Rome Opening Day roster release and also check out the Columbus Clingstones roster release as well.

Trevor Bauer will pitch in the United States again this month.

The 35-year-old former Cy Young winner, who hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2021 after a lengthy suspension stemming from sexual assault allegations he has consistently denied, has signed with the Long Island Ducks, the team announced Thursday.

Bauer will start on opening night for the independent team on April 21 at its home park in Central Islip.

“I’m looking forward to competing in front of U.S. fans again this season,” Bauer said in a release.

“The Ducks have had some incredible players come through their organization, and I’m excited to be part of that tradition.”

Bauer spent the last three years pitching in Japan and Mexico.

“We are excited to welcome Trevor to Long Island,” Ducks president Michael Pfaff said in the release.

“His talent and knowledge will be important additions to our ballclub, and we are happy to offer him this opportunity to showcase his talents to MLB clubs while giving fans unprecedented access to Ducks baseball.”

While he was pitching for the Dodgers during the 2021 season, Bauer was placed on administrative leave after a woman accused Bauer punching and choking her during sex.

Bauer said that his encounters with the woman were “wholly consensual.”

Though he never faced charges, Bauer was suspended a record 324 games by MLB in April 2022 under its domestic violence policy.

After Bauer appealed, the suspension was reduced to 194 games in December 2022.

One week into the MLB season, the ABS challenge system is proving effective and adding drama while quietly fixing missed calls.

Baseball has spent the better part of the last decade trying to drag itself into the present. Pace-of-play tweaks, pitch clocks, bigger bases – all necessary, all debated, all eventually accepted in a sport known for honoring tradition. And now, just one week into a new season, the sport may have stumbled into its most polarizing change yet.

The new automated ball-strike system is here in MLB. And whether you love it, hate it, or just don’t fully trust it yet, it’s already doing exactly what it was designed to do. It’s working.

Let me explain.

Through the opening stretch of the season, ABS hasn’t turned games into some robotic, soulless version of baseball. It hasn’t slowed things down to a crawl. It hasn’t sparked chaos the way traditionalists feared. Instead, it’s slipped into the background while quietly fixing one of the sport’s most persistent problems – getting calls right when it matters most.

And here’s the part that might surprise you: It’s barely being used. Across MLB through Monday, there were 227 challenges in 62 games played for an average of just 3.7 per game. We’re talking about a system that players can tap into at any moment – a quick signal, a split-second decision – and yet, they’re showing restraint. That alone tells you something. This isn’t being abused; it’s being respected.

But when it is used, it’s impactful.

ABSOLUTELY EMBARRASSING: Eugenio Suarez uses ABS on CB Bucknor on back-to-back pitches 😂 #Redspic.twitter.com/K6wbsRGrAV

— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) March 28, 2026

There have already been games where multiple calls behind the plate were overturned, flipping counts, changing at-bats, and forcing everyone involved — pitchers, hitters, and yes, umpires — to adjust on the fly. The Orioles even made history with it, too, when catcher Samuel Basallo became the first player to end a game on a successful ABS challenge, overturning a ninth-inning ball call into a strike to seal Baltimore’s win.

And that’s kind of the point. For years, the strike zone has lived in a gray area, shaped as much by reputation and framing as it was by the rulebook. Now, there’s a safety net, a correction button, accountability in real time.

That doesn’t humiliate umpires; it modernizes the job.

Because here’s the reality: No one turns on a game hoping the conversation afterward is about a missed call in the seventh inning. ABS doesn’t eliminate the human element; it just raises the floor. Umpires still call the game; they still manage it. But now, the most egregious misses don’t linger. They get fixed, instantly, in front of everyone.

And the ripple effects are already showing up in strategy. Take the following from MLB’s Senior Data Scientist, Tom Tango, for example.

“On average, an overturn run for a random bases empty situation is 0.08 runs … On average, an overturn run for a random bases loaded situation is 0.60 runs. In other words, you can get over SEVEN times the payoff on a flipped 3-2 pitch as you would from flipping a first pitch. When you have that kind of a payoff, you need to be very careful on challenging first pitches and very aggressive on challenging 3-2 pitches.”

Catchers can’t rely solely on elite framing to steal strikes that aren’t there. Pitchers can’t live on the edges and hope for generosity. Hitters, meanwhile, have a layer of protection they’ve never truly had: the ability to challenge a moment that could define their at-bat. It’s subtle, but it matters. Over time, it’s going to reshape how the game is played on a pitch-by-pitch level.

Perhaps above all else, though, fans are into it.

There’s a jolt of energy every time a challenge is initiated. A pause, a collective lean-in, then the reveal. It’s quick, definitive, and adds a layer of drama that baseball doesn’t always naturally produce in the middle of a random Tuesday night game in April.

Of course, there will be pushback. There always is. Baseball, more than any other sport, clings to its traditions, sometimes to its own detriment. The idea of “robot umps” has been a lightning rod for years, a symbol of everything purists fear about the game losing its soul.

But here’s the thing: This isn’t replacing the human element; it’s refining it. The same way that replay reviews didn’t ruin the game. The same way the pitch clock didn’t destroy it. If anything, both made baseball sharper, cleaner, and more watchable, and ABS is trending down that same path.

Early returns don’t guarantee long-term success. There will be tweaks, moments where the system isn’t perfect. But one week in, the early signal is clear – this isn’t a gimmick. It’s an upgrade.

And if baseball is serious about balancing its history with its future, that’s exactly the kind of change it needs.

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If I were to say the words “October baseball” to you, you would instantly be able to picture it in your imagination. You know exactly how October baseball looks, feels, and sounds. You see the bundled-up fans in the stands, you see the FOX score bug on the screen, you hear the crowd roar for a two-out double that plates a run in the bottom of the first.

If I were to say the words “August baseball” to you, you’d be able to picture that, too. And that’s the case even though October baseball and August baseball are near polar opposites — the former cold, tense, loud, urgent; the latter hot and languid, pleasant background noise to the dog days of summer.

The baseball season has its own unique rhythm. And each phase it passes through is integral to the composition as a whole. You wouldn’t want every game to feel like October — that would be far too stressful. Nor would you want every game to feel like August — you need to get the blood flowing every now and then. But the two months complement each other. You need them both. The baseball season is a story that unfolds in a familiar and necessary pattern.

You need May baseball, which is what I would call Settling-In Season. May is when you finally get used to the new faces on the team and when the team starts to define itself. You need June baseball, aka Porch Season, when summer kicks on and the fireflies flutter at dusk and the novelty of the new season wears off, allowing baseball to assume its rightful place as part of everyday life. You need July baseball, when, thanks to the All-Star Game and the increased trade chatter, you start to focus a little bit more on the rest of the league — which superstar is on pace for a historic season, which slow-starting team is revealing itself to be merely a bad team, and which surprising team is going to make itself a fixture of your MLB.TV routine for the rest of the summer. And, of course, you need September baseball, Pennant Chase Season, the aficionado’s October, when scoreboard-watching becomes as intense as watching the game itself.

This brings us to the current month, to April baseball. And there’s no question what April Baseball is. It’s Freak-Out Season. These are the days when everything is magnified beyond all reason or rationality. Luxuriating in the euphoria of baseball’s return, we hang onto every pitch in a way that will seem obsessive and weird in just a few weeks time. We marvel at some hot-shot rookie and wonder if he’s going to single-handedly change the complexion of the playoff race. (What’s up, Chase DeLauter!) We wonder whether a team we assumed would be dominant is actually fatally flawed. (Hello, 2018 Dodgers!) We can’t believe that a young and unpedigreed reliever-turned-starter has thrust himself into the Cy Young race. (I haven’t forgotten you, 2024 Tanner Houck!)

And here’s the thing about Freak-Out Season: it’s fun as hell! Even if we know that Chase DeLauter will not shatter the single-season home run record, that the Dodgers will not finish several games under .500, that Tanner Houck will come back down to Earth, it’s fun to imagine the most extreme possibilities. And this applies to both the good and the bad.

These April freak-outs become the things we remember and laugh about a few months or even years later. Remember the closer-by-committee disaster of April 2003? Remember when the Yankees opened up a launching pad of a ballpark that would prove to be even worse than Coors Field in April 2009? Remember the hilarious torpedo bat freak-out of just last year?? Twelve months ago I was freaking out because I was genuinely convinced that the delicate balance between hitter and pitcher had been forever altered. What a silly, naive fool I was! Thanks a lot, Anthony Volpe!

April baseball is novelty — new players, new ballparks, new rules — and we don’t always know how to handle it. And that’s fine. Freaking out is what the calendar demands of us. And even if you yourself don’t want to freak out, let other fans enjoy this time in their own way. You may be correct that Garrett Crochet will not throw a dud in fifty percent of his starts this year and that Caleb Durbin will not go 0-for-the-next-six-months. But you don’t actually get anything for being right about baseball on the internet and policing other fans’ behavior is lame as hell.

So go ahead and enjoy the extremes of Freak-Out Season, just as you enjoy the extremes of winter. Call for Alex Cora to be fired for failing to properly prepare the team for the ABS era. Demand Caleb Durbin be sent down to AAA. Declare Ranger Suárez to be the worst free agent signing in team history, non-Sandovalian division. Do these things not because you will be proven right (you probably won’t) but because fandom demands and emotion and because the calendar calls on you to do so.

There is a time and a place for taking a measured and considered view of baseball, for reminding yourself of just how long a baseball season is and for staying calm. That time is called August and we don’t need another one. This is April. And in its own, chaotic, fevered way, it’s great. Embrace it.

The Pirates’ home opener Friday has some extra buzz.

Pittsburgh is promoting MLB.com’s No. 1 overall prospect, 19-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, for Friday’s contest against the Orioles, the team announced Thursday via a video tweet.

Griffin’s arrival provides a jolt to a franchise in need of a spark in its attempt to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015, and perhaps provides an offensive star to complement ace Paul Skenes.

This is a meteoric rise for the No. 9 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft since Pittsburgh drafted him out of Jackson Preparatory School in Mississippi.

Prep prospects are not usually fast-risers due to their age, but Griffin stood out last year in the minors while spending time in Single-A and Double-A.

He slashed a combined .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases across 122 games.

Griffin did not perform to those capabilities in spring training, although he still managed a .749 OPS and four homers in 20 games, and started the year in the minors.

After hitting .438 with a 1.196 OPS in five Triple-A games, the Pirates deemed him ready.

The franchise hopes he can become the offensive cornerstone and perhaps help eventually end what is now a 10-season drought without playoff baseball.

The Pirates have a solid if not good rotation headlined by perhaps the sport’s best pitcher in Skenes, but their offense lacks young talent that can anchor a lineup.

Bryan Reynolds is a capable veteran, but former Giants top pick Joey Bart hasn’t developed as expected and 2021 No. 1 pick Henry Davis has a career .555 OPS.

By promoting Griffin early in the year, the Pirates possibly can possibly gain a premium draft pick due to the league’s newish promotion rules.

Should Griffin spend 172 days on the active roster, Pittsburgh has a three-year window to benefit.

Griffin would need to finish in the top three in the NL Rookie of the Year voting this season or in the NL MVP race from 2026-28 to gain an extra pick.

The Pirates (3-3) started the season losing two of three to the Mets at Citi Field before taking two of three form the rival Reds.

Friday starts a six-game homestand that includes three with the Padres next Monday through Wednesday.

Gwinnett’s monopoly on Minor League games being played is coming to an end as the rest of full season ball begin to ramp up. Let’s take a look at the roster and see whats in store for the Clingstones.

Starters

• Brett Sears, RHP
• Owen Murphy, RHP
• Ian Mejia, RHP
• Herick Hernandez, LHP
• Drue Hackenberg, RHP
• Garrett Baumann, RHP

By the looks of the roster Columbus starts the season with six starters headlined by Owen Murphy, who looks to continue his strong work following his return from Tommy John surgery. After making stops at four different levels last season, Brett Sears starts the year in Columbus after making 15 appearances there last season before he was promoted to Gwinnett to finish the season. 26 year old Ian Mejia begins his fifth season of professional baseball and will return to Columbus after he made 24 appearances (17 starts) last season to the tune of a 2.62 ERA. Also included on the roster is the dynamic Herick Hernandez who put together another enormous strikeout rate season (11 K/9) season thanks to his 24” IVB fastball, and slider combination. Rounding out the rotation will be Drue Hackenberg who looks to rebound after a very difficult 2025, and Garrett Baumann who showed a massive increase in velocity in last season, and opened some eyes during Spring Training.

Relievers

• Blane Abeyta, RHP
• Ryan Bourassa, RHP
• Jack Dashwood, LHP
• Blayne Enlow, RHP
• Elison Joseph, RHP
• Tyler LaPorte, RHP
• Jhancarlos Lara, RHP
• LJ McDonough, RHP
• Shay Schanaman, RHP
• Samuel Strickland, LHP
• Luis Vargas, RHP

There is a ton of velocity located in the backend of this pitching staff. Jhancarlos Lara, Elison Joseph, and Luis Vargas lead the charge – all capable of sitting 97+ on the mound in pure relief roles. Blane Abeyta surprisingly returns to Columbus after a very strong 2025 with the Clingstones (2.29 ERA in 43 appearances). After 8 strong appearances in Columbus for Ryan Bourassa (0.82 ERA, 11 innings), Ryan starts the season in Columbus as well. Tyler LaPorte, LJ McDonough, Shay Schanaman, and Samuel Strickland add some unique release points and stability to his talented core of players. Jack Dashwood and Blayne Enlow are the two new additions to the organization.

Catchers

• Archer Brookman, RHB
• Tyler Tolve, LHB
• Adam Żebrowski, RHB

Columbus return a pair of catchers who were with the team last season in Adam Zebrowski, and Tyler Tolve. Tyler played in just 29 games last season, two with Columbus, while Zebrowski had a .638 OPS in 87 games for the Clingstones. Joining them will be the recently signed Archer Brookman who hit .230/.289/.299 in A+ ball last season for the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Infielders

• Drew Compton, S
• Cal Conley, S
• Lizandro Espinoza, RHB
• Jordan Groshans, RHB
• David McCabe, S
• Keshawn Ogans, RHB
• Ambioris Tavarez, RHB

Shortstop is the name of the game in the infield as the Clingstones boast five shortstops on the roster. Drew Compton, and David McCabe are the two first basemen on the roster, with David likely slotting in at DH. Jordan Groshans joins a group of players that have been with the Braves since they were acquired in Lizandro Espinoza, Keshawn Ogans, and Ambioris Tavarez.

Outfielders

• Patrick Clohisy, LHB
• Tristin English, RHB
• Kevin Kilpatrick, RHB
• Ethan Workinger, RHB

The outfield in Columbus is a mix of speed and power as Patrick Clohisy and Kevin Kilpatrick will roam the outfield catching everything in sight while Ethan Workinger and newly signed Tristin English look to provide Columbus with some sorely missed power.

We will have posts coming on Rome and Augusta later today, so stay tuned for that.

The Milwaukee Brewers, coming off a strong 5-1 homestand featuring a sweep of the White Sox and a series win over the Rays, will look to continue their momentum on the road against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have also gotten off to a solid start, as they’re 3-2 entering Thursday’s series finale against the Twins.

The Brewers are still without a few key players, as Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio are both out for a few weeks with hand injuries. Quinn Priester (May), Rob Zastryzny (on rehab assignment), and Craig Yoho (mid-April) are also on the IL, while outfielders Steward Berroa and Akil Baddoo will likely be sent to Triple-A whenever they’re ready to return (Berroa in April, Baddoo in June).

Kansas City is without closer Carlos Estévez, who suffered a left foot contusion on a comebacker in the ninth inning last weekend. Infielder Michael Massey is also out with a calf strain, while pitchers Stephen Kolek, James McArthur, and Alec Marsh are also shelved (Marsh likely for the season).

Through two series, the Brewer offense is led by Brice Turang’s nine hits, while Jake Bauers and Gary Sánchez have each slugged a pair of homers to lead the team. Sánchez, despite playing in only three games (six at-bats) is hitting .500/.625/1.500 with those two homers and a pair of walks. Turang has added a homer and a team-best four doubles, and David Hamilton leads the team with four steals. Christian Yelich and William Contreras are the other key contributors, while Sal Frelick has gotten off to a slow start. As a team, the Brewers are hitting .279/.378/.448 (.826 OPS ranks third in MLB) with eight homers (tied for fifth), 45 runs scored (tied for first), and 15 steals (first).

Kyle Isbel leads Kansas City’s offense with two homers thus far, as he’s hitting .571 on the season with a team-best eight hits in 14 at-bats. Maikel Garcia is hitting .313/.429/.375 with five hits, while Bobby Witt Jr. and Jac Caglianone have also added five hits apiece. Salvador Perez is still a threat offensively, and the Royals also feature former Brewer Isaac Collins, Jonathan India, Carter Jensen, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Lane Thomas. As a team, the Royals are hitting .244/.319/.400 (.719 OPS ranks ninth) with six homers (tied for 14th), 22 runs scored (tied for 22nd), and six steals (fifth).

Grant Anderson and Aaron Ashby lead the Brewer bullpen with four appearances each. Anderson hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out six over five frames, while Ashby has allowed one run (a solo homer) and struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings. DL Hall, former Royal Ángel Zerpa, Jared Koenig, and Abner Uribe have also held opponents scoreless, while Trevor Megill and Jake Woodford have the only other blemishes for this bullpen with one run allowed each. As a staff, the Brewers have a 2.83 team ERA (tied for fourth), including a 4.45 starter ERA (21st) and a 1.05 reliever ERA (second). They’ve struck out 76 batters (tied for third) over 54 innings.

Lucas Erceg is one of the few bright spots in Kansas City’s bullpen so far, with three scoreless outings spanning 2 2/3 innings with a pair of saves. Former Brewer Nick Mears, Matt Strahm, and Steven Cruz are the only other relievers to not allow a run, totaling just 4 1/3 innings between them. Bailey Falter (five runs in 3 1/3 innings), Alex Lange (two runs in 1 1/3 innings), Daniel Lynch (three runs, but only one earned, in two innings), and John Schreiber (one run in two innings) have all had a rough go of it early in the season, though Schreiber does have the team’s other save. As a staff, the Royals have a 4.36 team ERA (23rd), including a 1.98 starter ERA (third) and an 8.44 reliever ERA (28th). They’ve struck out 40 batters (27th) over 43 1/3 innings.

Probable Pitchers

Friday, April 3 @ 6:45 p.m.: RHP Chad Patrick (0-0, 2.08 ERA, 5.02 FIP) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.34 FIP)

Patrick had a pretty meh start of the season, throwing 4 1/3 innings in Saturday night’s win over the White Sox. He allowed just one run but gave up five hits and a walk with four strikeouts. Patrick made his first MLB start against the Royals almost exactly one year ago, on April 1, when he allowed no runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings.

Wacha, 34, is in his 14th MLB season with his sixth MLB team. This is his third year with the Royals, who he has a 3.54 ERA and 3.61 FIP over 61 starts with. In his season debut last weekend, he went six scoreless frames against the Braves, allowing three hits and a walk with seven strikeouts on just 80 pitches. A familiar opponent for Milwaukee, Wacha has faced the Crew 17 times (16 starts), with a 4.16 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 84 1/3 innings. This is his first start against Milwaukee since 2023, when he was with the Padres.

Saturday, April 4 @ 3:10 p.m.: RHP Brandon Sproat (0-0, 21.00 ERA, 18.17 FIP) vs. RHP Seth Lugo (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.22 FIP)

Sproat got off to a rough start in his Brewer debut on Sunday, as he allowed seven runs on six hits (including three homers) and four walks with three strikeouts over just three innings. Luckily, Milwaukee’s offense bailed him out to deliver a late comeback win. This will mark his first career start against Kansas City.

Lugo, 36, also had a scoreless start against the Braves last weekend, though he has a win to show for it. The 6’4” righty went 6 1/3 innings in that one, allowing five hits and no walks with three strikeouts. The AL Cy Young runner-up in 2024, Lugo has made 10 appearances (two starts) against Milwaukee, with a 2.31 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 23 1/3 innings, including 6 2/3 innings with three runs allowed (two earned) and five strikeouts while with the Royals in 2024.

Sunday, April 5 @ 1:10 p.m.: LHP Kyle Harrison (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 3.17 FIP) vs. LHP Kris Bubic (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 5.50 FIP)

Unlike Sproat, Harrison had a solid Brewer debut on Monday night against the Rays, despite the fact that Milwaukee lost that one. He allowed just one run (a leadoff homer by Yandy Díaz) on four hits and a walk while striking out eight. His lone appearance against Kansas City came last year while with the Giants, a relief outing that spanned 1 1/3 innings with one run allowed and a pair of strikeouts.

Bubic, 28, is in his seventh MLB season, all with the Royals. An All-Star last year, he got off to a solid start once again this season, allowing one run on a pair of hits and three walks while striking out four against the Twins on Monday. He’s made three career starts against Milwaukee, allowing no earned runs (one earned) over 17 1/3 innings with 19 strikeouts, including six shutout frames with eight strikeouts in a win last season.

How to Watch & Listen

Friday, April 3: Exclusively on Apple TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Saturday, April 4: Brewers TV, nationally on FS1; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Sunday, April 5: Brewers TV; listen via radio on the Brewers Radio Network (620 WTMJ in Milwaukee)

Prediction

This is a tough battle, with Milwaukee’s younger arms going up against three veterans for Kansas City. The Royals are a pretty evenly matched team on paper, so I’ll give them the edge at home and say K.C. wins two of three this weekend.

LOS ANGELES — While the offense wasn’t much to write home about in dropping two of three games to the Cleveland Guardians, the Dodgers did get pretty good starting pitching in the series. And made history in doing so.

Roki Sasaki started Monday and was so-so, fighting command to get through four innings and managed to allow only one run. Not the best of starts, but compared to his spring training he looked markedly improved. Shohei Ohtani has his sights set on a strong, full pitching season this year, and got that ball rolling with six scoreless innings on Tuesday. Yoshinobu Yamamoto took the loss on Wednesday, but you’d take two runs allowed in six innings every time out from him.

In total, the trio against Cleveland allowed three runs in 16 innings, with 12 strikeouts and six walks. The Dodgers became the first team in Major League Baseball history to start a Japanese pitcher in three consecutive games, per Elias.

“These are three great men. They are all different. This is a special time in Major League Baseball, certainly with the Japanese players we’re fortunate to have, and around the league,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “It’s an honor to know that I managed these three guys.”

This is the second year all three have been Dodgers teammates, but the timing never worked out in 2025 for all three to be in the rotation at the same time. Ohtani was rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery and didn’t get into a game until mid-June. Sasaki went on the injured list in May and didn’t return until September, and by then there was only room for him in the bullpen.

Fourteen Japanese players were on opening day rosters this season, matching 2010 for second-most in a season, behind only the 16 Japanese players on 2008 opening day rosters.

Having three Japanese starting pitchers on the same team in any season is rare enough, as only 35 pitchers born in Japan have started a game in MLB. Yamamoto, Ohtani, and Sasaki are only the third such trio in major league history, joining the 2001 Montreal Expos (11 starts by Masato Yoshii, 10 by Tomo Ohka, and three from Hideki Irabu) and 2003 Dodgers (33 from Hideo Nomo, 27 by Kazuhisa Ishii, and two by Masao Kida).

Yamamoto, Ohtani, and Sasaki combined for 52 starts last season, tied for second-most in a season by Japanese pitchers on one team.

Most starts by Japanese pitchers on one MLB team

• 2003 Dodgers 62 (Nomo 33, Ishii 27, Kida 2)
• 2014 Yankees 52 (Kuroda 32, Tanaka 20)
• 2025 Dodgers 52 (Yamamoto 30, Ohtani 14, Sasaki 8)
• 2002 Expos 51 (Ohka 31, Yoshii 20)
• 2004 Dodgers 49 (Ishii 31, Nomo 18)
• 1998 Mets 45 (Yoshii 29, Nomo 16)

The Royals will have $15,954,000 to spend on draftees this summer, the sixth-largest draft bonus pool in baseball. The Pirates will have the most money to spend, with a record pool of $19,130,700. The Royals benefit from being selected for the sixth pick through the MLB Draft lottery, the measure instituted to discourage tanking.

The MLB Draft bonus pool is essentially a capped spending system that limits how much each team can spend on signing its draft picks. Each draft slot position is assigned a dollar value, and the slot values for the first ten rounds are added to comprise each team’s “bonus pool.” The Royals will also receive a Competitive Balance pick in Round A due to being a small market team. They will pick sixth only in the first round, the remaining rounds are determined by reverse order of last year’s standings.

• 1st round (#6 overall) – $7,746,100
• Competitive Balance Round A (#30) – $3,190,500
• 2nd round (#56) – $1,721,700
• 3rd round (#91) – $872,900
• 4th round (#119) – $651,500
• 5th round (#151) – $476,900
• 6th round (#180) – $367,600
• 7th round (#209) – $289,900
• 8th round (#239) – $233,400
• 9th round (#269) – $207,900
• 10th round (#299) – $195,600

Teams that exceed their bonus pool face a penalty. Clubs that outspend their allotment by 0-5 percent pay a 75 percent tax on the overage. At higher thresholds, teams lose future selections: a first-rounder and a 75 percent tax for surpassing their pool by more than 5 and up to 10 percent; a first- and a second-rounder and a 100 percent tax for more than 10 and up to 15 percent; and two first-rounders and a 100 percent tax for more than 15 percent.

Teams are not required to spend the slot value on a particular draft pick, but can allocate the bonus pool as they see fit. Many teams will skimp on some picks, in order to offer other picks money well over slot. Having a larger bonus allows a team more flexibility in their strategy. If a player does not sign, the team loses that bonus slot value from their pool. You can find complete slot values and each team’s bonus pool here.

The 2026 MLB Draft will begin on July 11-12 in Philadelphia as part of the All-Star Week celebrations.

Before I begin, I should let you know that this article is mostly just venting. Major League Baseball hasn’t listened to me when I’ve written on this topic before and I’m pretty sure they’re not going to listen now.

Nevertheless, I persist.

March 26 is too early to play baseball in northern cities. Period, full stop. I’m sure those of you who live in the Chicago area are familiar with this meme. This version was posted eight years ago, but is still absolutely relevant:

No question, we are somewhere between “spring of deception” and “third winter,” and after all the rain we’re about to get over the next few days, it will definitely be “mud season.” (The White Sox called off their scheduled home opener Thursday because of a forecast of heavy rain; they rescheduled for Friday.)

“Spring of deception” was in evidence Monday evening at Wrigley Field, when the game time temperature was 77 and more than 36,000 paid to see the Cubs defeat the Angels. I was told that there were thousands of walk-up tickets sold that night, and given that the paid crowd Tuesday was about 26,000, that tracks. Even with that 77-degree temperature, the average game-time temp for the six-game homestand just ended was 51.5 degrees. That’s barely tolerable for this time of year, and take that day out and the average for the other five games was 46.4. Yuck.

Further, Wednesday afternoon’s game was played in 39-degree weather with a reported sustained wind speed of 21 miles per hour, blowing in. That was just the 10th game in Wrigley Field history (where there’s officially recorded weather data) with both a temp that low and a wind speed that high:

While we were watching Chris Sale beat the flu and the Athletics, the 2026 MLB Draft pools were released. The draft order was finalized in December, now we get the pools. The Braves will receive a pool of $15,870,800 for the picks in July’s Rule 4 Amateur Draft. That’s up from $9,081,100 from last year. So that 6.8 million dollars more. Having a lousy injury-plagued season and receiving a Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick by promoting Drake Baldwin, last year’s Rookie of the Year, has its benefits.

The Braves will have the seventh highest pool in 2026. Teams almost always outspend those allotments by 5 percent, which is the maximum that teams can spend until incurring penalties. So that would give the Braves $16,664,340 to work with. They have three picks in the top 50 by owning the 9th, 26th, and 48th. That Prospect Promotion Incentive Pick was pushed forward 5 picks due to competitive balance tax infractions by the Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Dodgers. For example, the Dodgers will have less than 4 million to spend on this year’s draft, but I don’t know that they care.

The minor league staff willl have a much better idea of who the Braves will be able to take. My understanding is that the juiciest position player position are typically found in the top ten. The Braves pick ninth, but waiving around that PPI pick money might lure a better prize than that pick location might suggest. So if you’ve been pining for a hot position player prospect, this might be your year.

Info on all the teams is here, and the order of the draft pools is below. But it’s exciting news, and maybe the Braves will find a new star come July.

Draft pool amounts:
Pirates: $19,130,700
Rays: $19,009,300
White Sox: $17,592,100
Twins: $16,929,600
Cardinals: $16,612,300
Royals: $15,954,000
Braves: $15,870,800
Rockies: $15,557,600
Giants: $14,080,400
Athletics: $13,840,300
Astros: $13,712,700
Diamondbacks: $13,603,100
Orioles: $13,114,000
Guardians: $12,573,900
Nationals: $12,278,300
Marlins: $11,960,100
Angels: $11,755,400
Reds: $10,758,500
Rangers: $10,219,200
Cubs: $9,644,100
Padres: $9,479,000
Tigers: $9,165,100
Red Sox: $8,219,200
Mariners: $8,218,200
Brewers: $8,042,900
Phillies: $7,773,000
Yankees: $7,342,800
Mets: $6,730,900
Blue Jays: $5,543,100
Dodgers: $3,951,900