Category: MLB

The 2026 season for MLB minor league affiliates begins today with some Triple-A teams starting their schedules. The El Paso Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres, plays their first game on the road versus the Sacramento River Cats. The roster features multiple players who played with the major league team during spring games with right-handed starter J.P. Sears, relievers Garrett Hawkins and Alek Jacob and infielder Mason McCoy all on the Padres’ 40-man roster.

Infielder Will Wagner is starting the season on the IL with an oblique strain.

The Double-A affiliate San Antonio Missions and Low-A affiliate Lake Elsinore Storm both begin their seasons on April 2. The High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps begin play on April 3. The rosters for these teams have not been released and likely won’t be available until next week.

New rules for 2026

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is the testing ground for the new rules that the MLB is discussing for the major league side. There are multiple new rules being implemented this year in order to evaluate if they should be installed in MLB.

• Moving second base – The second base bag will be placed within the perimeter of the infield diamond. The bag will be closer to home plate and be approximately nine inches closer to first base and third base. The hope is this encourages more base stealing, which has diminished significantly and was also encouraged by enlarging the size of the bases. The bags will only be moved in the International League and during the second half of the season.
• Swing rules – Starting May 5, the Pacific Coast League will have a Check Swing Challenge system with players allowed to appeal an umpire’s call on whether the player swung at a pitch. Bat-tracking technology will be used and a swing will be a strike when the angle between the bat head and the bat handle is greater than 45 degrees. Teams will start a game with two challenges and can be used for either ball/strike or swing/no-swing calls.
• Hitter pitch clock regulations – Due to the increase in game time last season (2 hours and 38 minutes average) from the season before (2 hours 36 minutes), new rules are coming for the pitch clock. Batters will be limited in timeouts called during an at-bat. For Single-A: no timeouts except for special circumstances (equipment issues, brush back, dirt in the eye). In High-A time can be called with runners on base. In Double-A and Triple-A, time can be called but the umpires will not wait for the batter to be ready before restarting the clock. Hitters have to be ready before the clock hits eight seconds.
• Pitcher clock regulations – In Triple-A, if a pitcher claims a Pitch-Com issue this will be called a mound visit. If the team is out of mound visits then a pitcher will have a violation charged. In Double-A, the disengagement limit will be decreased to one from two. All mound visits will be timed and everyone who is not the pitcher has to be off the mound by the end of the time or a violation will be charged to the pitcher. This will be at all levels of the minors.
• Pitchers returning to game – The rule commonly seen in Spring Training, with the pitcher removed in one inning and then returning the next inning, will be implemented in the Arizona Fall League, Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. The pitcher must throw at least 25 pitches in the original inning in order to be removed and returned the following inning.

Players to watch in Padres minor leagues

There are a handful of players that bear watching more closely this season as they are returning from injury or transitioning in their careers. Gaslamp Ball will again have weekly reports covering the Padres minor league teams and players.

Catcher Ethan Salas, returning to play after missing most of 2025, has added bulk and mental reps while out of commission. He will be the primary catcher for Double-A San Antonio and seems determined to show that he is still an upper-level prospect for MLB.

LHSP Kruz Schoolcraft, the high school pitcher drafted in the first round last year, will begin with the Low-A Lake Elsinore Storm in the rotation. His development could be quick and lead to a promotion mid-season. He is considered an advanced prospect at 18 years old.

RHSP Kannon Kemp, could have a breakout this season after being fully recovered from shoulder issues that plagued him early in his career. He gained some velocity last season as he worked back from his injury and will hopefully turn the corner this season.

RHSP Michael Salina, had Tommy John surgery before being drafted by the Padres in 2025. He should be with a team (probably Lake Elsinore) this May or June. He highlighted significant velocity before his injury.

RHP Lan-Hong Su, impressed in his one inning in the Spring Breakout game, throwing strikes with a 96-98 mph fastball and his curveball and changeup were also effective. He throws a slider to round out his pitch mix. Due to his lack of any previous work in the system he will likely be in extended Spring Training for evaluation before being assigned.

RHP Triston McKenzie, was seen in multiple spring games and featured increased velocity (up to 98 mph) but was unable to command any of his pitches consistently. He seems to be a project that could be an interesting investment should he be able to return to the pitcher he was prior to his multiple arm injuries.

Infielder Jorge Quintana, has also added bulk this offseason and is a switch-hitter. He should show more of what he is capable of this season and turns 19 on the first day of the Lake Elsinore season. He might be the star of that roster and should be watched as his skillset develops. He was the top International signing for the Brewers in 2024, earning a seven-figure bonus, before being traded to the Padres.

Outfielder Kale Fountain, has prodigious power to go with his size (6-5/225) and begins the season fully healthy after returning last year from Tommy John surgery. The Padres are moving him from the infield to the outfield now that he is rehabbed from the TJ and a knee injury last season. He should start with Lake Elsinore and might still get work in the infield despite playing outfield all through spring camp.

First baseman Romeo Sanabria, opened eyes in Spring Training while playing in some major league games. He led the team in RBI and hit three doubles and two home runs to go with his 11 RBI. He has had some ups and downs while playing last season and worked on conditioning during the offseason to maintain endurance. The potential is there and he needs to maintain consistency through a whole season. After playing last year with the Double-A Missions, he will likely return there to start 2026.

Outfielder Ryan Wideman, was drafted in 2025 and got a brief debut with Lake Elsinore last summer. He has a high-upside profile but significant swing-and-miss risk. If he can cut down his chase rate and improve on his contact skills, his defense and speed profile as a top centerfield prospect.

Hours before Opening Day 2026, the Atlanta Braves announced a multi-year agreement with DIRECTV to carry their new network, BravesVision, making Atlanta Braves games available through the satellite provider within the Braves’ home markets. That region includes Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and western North Carolina.

BravesVision can be found on channel 645 and will be available for Opening Day. On U-verse, it is on 1730.

DIRECTV was one of the last major traditional satellite or cable providers with whom the Braves had not announced and agreement for BravesVision. An agreement with Fubu was announced earlier today.

For more information on how to watch Braves games this season, read this post.

The Mariners announced today that RHP Carlos Vargas is going on the 15-day IL, retroactive to March 24, with a right lat strain.

The lat issue must have cropped up suddenly, because Vargas was on a relatively regular schedule this spring, appearing every 3-4 days. His last appearance was in the spring training finale against San Diego, when he hurled a clean 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout. However, Vargas apparently wasn’t available for the season opener, leading to manager Dan Wilson having to use the two other lower-leverage relievers – Casey Legumina and Cooper Criswell – in the eighth and ninth innings of a 6-4 loss to Cleveland.

To replace Vargas, the team is calling up RHP Cole Wilcox, who was rotation-mates with Mariners pitcher Emerson Hancock while the two were at Georgia. The Mariners acquired Wilcox, the last remaining piece of the Blake Snell trade, from the Rays for cash in early November. Wilcox was a standout this spring, featuring eye-popping velocity on his fastball and sinker, easily touching 97 and pairing that with a slider/sweeper combo.

It’s easy to see why Wilcox is the Mariners’ first option out of a group of pitchers in Tacoma that has multiple intriguing options. Wilcox has big stuff and the potential for both swing-and-miss with an elevated fastball and the ability to generate weak contact on the ground when he’s locating well with his heavy sinker. It’s that second bit that’s the tricky part, though. Wilcox’s velocity has finally rebounded from where it was before his TJ surgery and recovery (2021-22), but his command remains a work in progress. He’ll now have an opportunity to keep working with the big-league pitching coaches while Vargas is recovering. For now, expect Wilcox to slot into Vargas’s spot in the ‘pen alongside the other lower-leverage arms Criswell and Legumina, although perhaps as the one with the highest upside.

The Mets lost lefty Bryan Hudson on Friday, as he was claimed off waivers by the White Sox. 

Hudson actually landed with New York in a deal with Chicago this offseason. 

He seemed like a strong early-season insurance policy as A.J. Minter continued working his way back from a lat injury, but ended up struggling mightily during Grapefruit League play. 

The southpaw allowed six runs on five hits and three walks over just 3.1 innings of work. 

New York ultimately decided to bring back Richard Lovelady to fill the final spot in their bullpen instead, and Hudson ended up being DFA'd ahead of Opening Day.

Now he lands back with the White Sox, where he'll look to carve out a role in their bullpen.  

The Mets' other two final roster cuts did, however, remain in the organization as catcher Ben Rortvedt and versatile infielder Vidal Bruján cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A. 

When Nationals fans saw the lineup card yesterday, many of them scratched their heads. It was an unconventional alignment, with Andres Chaparro hitting second and CJ Abrams hitting sixth. Buckle up because this is not going to be the last time we see an odd looking lineup. Blake Butera is going to shuffle his lineup around based on the matchup a lot this season.

Tinkering with lineups and bullpen usage is going to be part of the Nats new philosophy this season. Honestly, Davey Martinez had started to tinker with his lineups more in the last couple years, but we will see it taken to an even more extreme degree this season. CJ Abrams was almost always the leadoff man and James Wood was usually right behind him. This year, we are not going to have as good of an idea as to what the lineup will look like.

That is both cool to see, but I am sure it will be frustrating at times. You want to play the matchups, but at the same time you do not want to out think the room. At the end of the day, you want your best hitters at the top of the lineup. However, who your best hitters are can vary depending on the matchup.

When I saw Andres Chaparro in the two hole, I was a bit bemused at first. Sure, he hits lefties well, but that was not who I would have expected to hit second. If you gave me five chances to guess who was hitting second, Chaparro would not have been in my top five. However, Butera put him there and the move worked, with Chappy collecting two hits.

This has been the case the last few seasons, but more than ever, the Nats lineup will look very different depending on whether the pitcher is righty or lefty. The Nats platooned plenty under Davey, but usually guys like Wood and Abrams stayed at the top of the lineup. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time CJ Abrams hit lower than 4th in a lineup.

Abrams is not even a total liability against lefties, Butera just thought guys like Chaparro and Joey Wiemer matched up better against Matthew Boyd. I am curious to see what the lineup looks like tomorrow against a right handed pitcher. Presumably Chaparro and Wiemer will be out of the lineup, but what will the alignment look like?

Luis Garcia Jr. is likely to be the first baseman and hit pretty high in the lineup. However, I have no clue who will DH assuming the outfield is Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and James Wood. My best guess would be one of Jose Tena or Jorbit Vivas, but neither screams DH to me. It will also be interesting to see if the switch hitting Nasim Nunez stays in the lineup. He always provides value with his feet and glove, but he is a better hitter as a righty. 

There will also be more that goes into consideration besides platoon splits though. I am sure the Nats are plugging in all sorts of numbers and seeing which combination is the best. This numbers based system will lead to plenty of surprises as we head through the season.

Lineups are not the only thing that will be different though. We saw yesterday that Blake Butera had a quick hook with Cade Cavalli. Butera asked the bullpen to get 16 outs and they rose to the occasion yesterday.

One thing I think we will see a lot more of is Butera weaponizing multi-inning relief arms. Both Brad Lord and Ken Waldichuk are well equipped to go multiple innings. Butera is going to want at least one of those guys available most of the time. 

We saw Lord get the Nats 7 outs yesterday and that was huge. The Nats are going to lean more on their bullpen this year and that is good because I think this unit will be better than expected. 

Another unknown after yesterday is who the Nats closer is and if they will have one at all. If I had to guess, I would have predicted that Clayton Beeter would be the Nats closer. However, Butera used him in the 8th inning of a 4 run game. Cionel Perez was in for the 9th, but at that point the Nats had blown the game open.

Like with the lineup, the Nats are going to mix and match with their high leverage arms. The Nats are going to have a few guys who are designated as high leverage arms, but I do not think any one of them will be “the closer”. 

Some nights it will be Beeter, some days it will be Cionel Perez and other times it could be Cole Henry. As the season goes along, other names could establish themselves as high leverage arms as well. The Nats are going to be a very different baseball team this year and it is refreshing.

Blake Butera is going to follow a script for most games, but that script can change radically from game to game. Yesterday, his unorthodox moves paid off and he looked like a genius. However, there will be nights where these big brained moves back fire. That is just baseball. Hopefully, Butera’s big moves pay dividends more often than not.

The Cubs officially announced the long-term signing of Pete Crow-Armstrong by press release late Thursday. As is the team’s custom, they did not announce the terms, though it has been reported as a six-year, $115 million deal with no opt-outs that will begin next year.

That binds PCA to the Cubs through 2032. Late Thursday, news broke of the extension of Nico Hoerner on a similar six-year deal, though we do not know the terms yet. Presuming Nico’s deal also begins in 2027, both these players will be with the team through 2032.

Given that and the long-term deals for Dansby Swanson (through 2029), Alex Bregman (through 2030) and Michael Busch not being eligible for free agency until after 2029, that makes a five-player core for this team for at least four more seasons (including 2026).

That’s a pretty good core that Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer has built, I’d think.

PCA met the media Friday afternoon for the first time since the signing was announced. Before I tell you about that, though, I would commend you to read three articles:

• The Chicago magazine profile of PCA that came out earlier this month
• This Players Tribune article by Bregman, in which he describes how his son and PCA hit it off
• This Paul Sullivan article in the Tribune, describing the “growing up” PCA has done

In the Players Tribune article in particular, you can see how PCA is just really an overgrown big kid, having fun playing baseball. I love that attitude and it’s one of the biggest reasons PCA is so popular among Cubs fans. That is certainly one of the reasons the team wanted him locked up long-term, as it’s always good for a contending team to have a “face of the franchise.” For the World Series era Cubs, it was Anthony Rizzo — you could see that in the reaction he received when he threw out a ceremonial pitch on Opening Day. PCA’s the same kind of charismatic individual who will be great in that role.

Now, here are a few highlights of PCA’s presser Friday afternoon.

First, PCA being PCA — wearing a fancy tuxedo-style jacket. I would have expected nothing less. The presser began with Hoyer noting how great PCA is with kids, thanked his parents and assistant general manager Jared Banner, who was with the Mets when they drafted PCA. Hoyer said Banner pushed hard at the 2021 deadline to make the deal. Jed also thanked PCA for being the kind of person he is.

For PCA, he thanked both his parents, especially for “all the hours they put in” and said he’s hoping to move them to Chicago full-time now that he’s signed long-term. He also thanked the Ricketts family and is proud to represent the entire organization, saying he’s loved all the time he’s spent in Chicago.

To Banner, PCA said he was “glad he didn’t hold it against me for showing up late the first day of Mets camp” and said that began an excellent relationship with him.

Hoyer said, “This was a player we anted to make a commitment to. Five years wasn’t enough, from a playing standpoint and a brand standpoint, Pete is a very easy person to invest in.” I do think that was a key part of this, knowing that PCA is the kind of person and player who’s perfect to be that “face of the franchise.” Hoyer made a point of noting that PCA’s jersey is among the top 10 sellers in all of baseball, and PCA himself noted that he saw some of that support outside Chicago last year in Tokyo. But he also added, “I’m most excited about being in Chicago for the next six-plus years, very lucky to be in an amazing city and around the people here.”

He added, “This is one of the most unique baseball cities in the world, I would argue that it’s the best. It was the coolest thing for me to learn about Cubs fans and the attention they pay. They’re not quick to turn things negative. It really helps us as players to play in front of people who want to win, but are also just happy to be at the ballpark and watch baseball.”

PCA was asked about something I noted earlier in this article, about his interaction with young fans. He said, “If I treat them well, they will associate those kinds of memories when they think about baseball. Young fans will continue the game, so it’s good to look out for the greater good of baseball. But just treating people with kindness is the most important thing.” This is a 24-year-old (indeed, he just turned 24 two days ago) who really has some keen insights about people in general.

Asked about manager Craig Counsell, PCA said his presence is “big” but “mild-mannered.” He called Counsell very thoughtful and that he cares about players as people and njoys playing for him every day.

Lastly, I was amused when PCA said, “This (referring to the presser) is more nervewracking than standing in center field.”

Fortunately, we all know he’s got the confidence to play amazing defense in center field. Hopefully, his 2026 season — and the six after that — will be, at the plate for PCA, more like last year’s first half.

Cristopher Sanchez was phenomenal during Thursday’s season opener against Texas. Seeing him put up six innings of shutout baseball is more and more becoming the normal expectation for a start of his, a mark of not only an exceptional player development success, but also the work put in by Sanchez to get to that point.

The Phillies have seen this work and rewarded it, giving him an extra two years on his original deal due to his excellence the past year and a half. It continues a trend of theirs to obtain, develop and extend starting pitchers in their organization. Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo – all show that the team is fearless when it comes to giving starting pitchers what they as a team believe to be something important to their organization. Yet the question I asked was if it was a wise use of resources, the allocation of a significant amount of their payroll resources to the starting rotation. The results?

That’s a resounding affirmation from the fanbase that what they are doing is a good decision. While putting that much money (~$101 million) into the starting rotation would scare off a lot of teams, the Phillies have made it a pillar of their team building and it has helped them get to the postseason the past four years. We can also thank whatever training and rest/recovery regimen they have, but the pitchers are the ones that are doing the work.

This article brought to you by FanDuel.

Last year the Braves suffered their first losing season since 2017, dropping 86 games amid a myriad of injuries. New manager Walt Weiss is hoping for better health this year, but the team is already missing catcher Sean Murphy, infielder Ha-Seong Kim, and pitchers Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Joe Jiménez to begin the season. Still, PECOTA projects them for 89 wins, and they still feature a team with some big boppers and solid arms.

Kansas City Royals (0-0) vs. Atlanta Braves (0-0)

Royals*: 4.02 runs scored/game (26th in MLB), 3.93 runs allowed/game (4th)

Braves: 4.47 runs scored/game (13th), 4.53 runs allowed/game (20th)

*-All numbers from 2025

The Braves offense was in the middle of the pack last year in runs scored, although they fared better in the second half of the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley each missed significant time with injury last year, but are capable of providing All-Star numbers. Matt Olson was 11th among National League hitters in fWAR, and tied for 13th in the league with 29 home runs. Michael Harris II became the 12th player in Braves history to put up a 20/20 season.

The team added former Royals outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who hit very well down the stretch in Kansas City last season. He will have to make up for the loss of Marcell Ozuna, who left for the Pirates, and Jurickson Profar, who will serve a year-long suspension for PEDs. Slick-fielding Mauricio Dubón takes over at shortstop, and the team filled out the roster with non-roster invitees Dominic Smith and Kyle Farmer.

*-All numbers from 2025

The Braves pitching staff has been hit hard with injuries over the last year, but 2024 Cy Young winner Chris Sale is healthy enough to get the Opening Day start. The 36-year-old has a 13-10 record against the Royals in his career with a 2.66 ERA in 189.2 innings.

Reynaldo López missed most of last year after a shoulder injury that required surgery, and there is concern he may not be right after some low velocity numbers in spring training. He had a 1.99 ERA in his first year with the Braves in 2024, earning an All-Star nod.

Grant Holmes is recovering from a partially torn UCL and a flexor strain that ended his season prematurely last season. He throws his slider 35 percent of the time, and opponents hit just .183 against it last year.

*-All numbers from 2025

Robert Suarez led the National League with 40 saves in San Diego last year. He will set up Braves closer Raisel Iglesias this year, giving them one of the best 1-2 bullpen combos in baseball. The Braves bullpen had a 4.19 ERA last year, but was awful down the stretch as injuries piled up. This year’s pen gets thin quickly, with former Royals reliever Joel Payamps winning a spot, along with rookie Didier Fuentes.

*-All numbers from 2025

This will be just the sixth visit to Atlanta for the Royals, but they took two of three against the Braves last year in Kansas City. The Braves are a good team, but injuries have exposed them a bit. The Royals have a chance to get the season off to a good start if they can get the bats going early.

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The Detroit Tigers will try to make it two in a row as Framber Valdez takes the mound for them against the San Diego Padres tonight.

Detroit looks to have a major pitching advantage in this one, which is why I’m taking it to win outright in my Tigers vs. Padres predictions.

Keep reading for my full MLB picks for Friday, March 27.

Tigers vs Padres predictions

Tigers vs Padres best bet: Tigers moneyline (+110)

Framber Valdez will make his Detroit Tigers debut tonight, and Detroit is expecting him to deliver the same performances he put together in Houston for the past few years.

Valdez has been one of the game’s best ground-ball pitchers, getting batters to hit it on the ground 61.5% of the time in his career.

The San Diego Padres will counter with Michael King, and should be concerned with his recent struggles. King threw to a 10.19 ERA and 1.868 WHIP this spring.

Unless he turns things around instantly, the Tigers should jump on King and win tonight.

COVERS INTEL: The Padres struggled against left-handed pitching in 2025, hitting just .244 with a .690 OPS against southpaws for the season.

Tigers vs Padres same-game parlay (SGP)

I’m backing the Tigers to win, and I’m pairing that with a couple player props to form a same-game parlay for tonight.

First, let’s take Valdez to hit the Over on his strikeout total. Valdez is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings, and hit the 5+ strikeout mark in 20 of his 31 starts last year.

I’ll also take Riley Greene to pick up his first hit of the year after taking an 0-for-4 in the season opener. Greene was one of Detroit's most important hitters in 2025, producing 36 homers and 111 RBI. 

Tigers vs Padres SGP

• Tigers moneyline
• Framber Valdez Over 4.5 strikeouts
• Riley Greene to record a hit

Tigers vs Padres home run pick: Spencer Torkelson (+450)

These are generous odds on Spencer Torkelson to get off the mark with his first home run on Friday.

The Tigers 1B matched his career-high with 31 homers in 2025, and all signs are that his power was still there in spring training. 

The longball played a big part in King’s struggles in the preseason, where he allowed nine homers in 17 2/3 innings of work. If that’s not entirely worked out as we move into the first weeks of the season, it makes King a great target for HR props.

Tigers vs Padres odds

• Moneyline: Detroit +110 | San Diego -130
• Run line: Detroit +1.5 | San Diego -1.5
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 | Under 7.5

Tigers vs Padres trend

The Padres were 4-7 straight up in King’s last 11 starts of the 2025 season. Find more MLB betting trends for Tigers vs. Padres.

How to watch Tigers vs Padres and game info

Tigers vs Padres latest injuries

Tigers vs Padres weather

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.

Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter shined in his regular-season debut in Cleveland’s 6-4 win over the Mariners in Thursday’s Opening Day matchup at T-Mobile Park.

His family and his girlfriend, Isabella Fitzwater, couldn’t contain their excitement when DeLauter hit his first career home run in the top of the first inning to give Cleveland an early 1-0 lead.

But before they could celebrate, they had to make sure the hit was legit.

Chase DeLauter's family wanted to be sure it was a homer before they started celebrating https://t.co/XBf71RV4u9pic.twitter.com/QpyEJdjPxf

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2026

The broadcast focused on DeLauter’s family standing and waiting for the umpire to signal his finger in the air and circle it — and when he did, they began cheering, as seen in an X video by MLB.

The 24-year-old DeLauter went 3-for-5 with two home runs to become the first player in Cleveland franchise history to hit multiple home runs in his regular-season debut.

The broadcast showed his family again cheering during his second homer to right field at the top of the ninth inning, which gave the Guardians a 6-4 lead over Seattle.

DeLauter became the seventh player in MLB history to hit two homers in his first regular-season game, and the first since Trevor Story in 2016, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

A 2-HR game for Chase DeLauter!

His first two homers in the Majors pic.twitter.com/Cgx9ETs5jL

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2026

His girlfriend praised him in an Instagram Story post.

“AN OPENING DAY HOMERUN!!!!!” Fitzwater wrote, including a few teary-eyed emojis and a photo of him blasted on the scoreboard. “@chasedelauter you never fail to amaze me.”

View this post on Instagram

After his second homer, she wrote, “ARE WE SERIOUS @chasedelauter the most deserving I love you.”

DeLauter’s dad, his stepdad, mom, brother, best friend and his best friend’s mom were all in attendance, according to MLB.com.

He shared that his dad flew to Seattle from back home in West Virginia and had not flown in a while.

“It’s unbelievable,” his dad, Jason, said. “I know the debut in the playoffs, he was super excited about that. We were blindsided by it, to be able to get called up like that. He’s just worked. He’s continued to work. None of this was guaranteed.”

The Guardians and Mariners face off again Friday night at T-Mobile Park.

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

ReadingYankee asks:I can’t possibly be expected to keep so many streaming services for the sake of watching a handful of baseball games in a season. Will all of this streaming of baseball games have a point where it stops expanding? Or, perhaps a better question is will we ever go back to a one-stop service where an out-of-market family can watch ALL the games in a season?

Everyone is looking ahead to the 2027 season and the labor dispute that’s sure to boil over into a lockout, and with good reason, but the media rights landscape that MLB is navigating may just be the second-biggest issue facing the sport right now. The league is pushing streaming heavily these past couple of years, securing deals with Apple, Amazon Prime, and now Netflix among the biggest names to get a foothold on covering regular season games. They’re hardly the only league to be doing so, but MLB faces the dual issue of being a more regional broadcast sport compared to the others in the North American big four, and those regional networks are struggling right now. Turnover from bankruptcy has seen the likes of Bally Sports and the FanDuel Network already come and go in a lot of places, leaving many franchises in a bit of a bind with their day-to-day broadcasts.

The Yankees haven’t felt this side of the issue as much, thanks to the success of the YES Network freeing them up to be one of the few flagship stations that’s thriving. However, that success then gets cut into by the league forcing a foothold for streaming, because any media rights deal is going to demand to see a premier franchise like the Yankees on their site. This leads to a massive headache for the fans, and at the same time isn’t even pulling many new eyes towards the league — but it is bringing in a wave of revenue. I don’t know how they can remedy these issues, but one thing is for sure: the league isn’t slowing down on this front anytime soon, unfortunately.

Russo Radio asks: Why are we holding onto Blackburn as a sure ‘pen member? What am I missing? It looks to me like he gave up basically five runs a game for years and still does the same now!

The simple answer is that bullpen depth is bullpen depth, and the team sees enough in Paul Blackburn to give him some room to throw in the bottom of the ‘pen — at least to start the year out. He’s only been with the team since the back-half of last year, but his numbers largely showed improvement since coming over from the Mets: his strikeout rate spiked from 16.4 percent to 24.6 percent, his walk rate dipped a bit to 6.2 percent, and while his ERA remained high at an unsightly 5.28 his FIP was a much more manageable 4.39, while his expected rates were significantly lower than that mark at 2.92 and 3.54 respectively. That’s enough to showcase room for tinkering with Matt Blake and company, so while the early reserves of the pitching staff are being used to support the starting rotation with three regular members still out, Blackburn can stick around and work with the mop up role. There’s the potential that he earns his way into some middle leverage, but at worst-case the Yankees move on once pitchers start to return and push the fringe starters back into the bullpen.

treatycity asks:This applies to Winquest. Drafted as Rule 5 player the Yanks must keep him on their MLB roster the entire season, so he’s on their 40-man. Let’s just say that he stays on their 40-man the entire season, would he have three options available starting next season, if they need/want to use them?

To clarify, it’s not enough for Cade Winquest to sit on the 40-man roster all year — he has to stay on the active 26-man roster, barring IL stints, all season in order for the Rule 5 restrictions to be lifted. Should he accomplish that, and log more than 90 days on the active roster in the case of a long-term IL trip, then he’ll be freed up to the larger 40-man roster and regain the options in his rookie contract starting next year.

Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves is finally here and they will actually be playing a home game. The last time they had a home game to open the season was back in 2022 against the Cincinnati Reds where Max Fried gave up five earned runs, resulting in a loss.

Today they will be taking on the Kansas City Royals and their ace Cole Ragans. Ragans had a hard year last season with a groin injury and a rotator cuff injury which shortened his season to only thirteen starts. In 61.2 innings he struggled to a 4.67 ERA, but had a solid WHIP of 1.18.

Ragans is good example where a small sample size hurt his ERA. According to Statcast he had an expected ERA (xERA) of 2.67, which would be in the best 4.0 of MLB. He also struck out 38.1 percent of the hitters he faced, which is good for top 3.0 percent of all qualified pitchers. Hitters only had an expected batting average of .187. Needless to say, he showed many signs of his ERA dropping over time, even in an injury riddled season. The Braves may have their hands full trying to squeak out runs today, which is why it is odd that as of right now Jonah Heim is slotted to start.

Kyle Farmer is second on the ream with eleven at-bats against Ragans and has struggled to an OPS of .606, albeit with a .273 average. This may be why Heim is in the lineup and Farmer is not.  Mauricio Dubón leads the team with twelve at-bats and has been successful against Ragans with a .333 average and .916 OPS. He could be the key to winning this game.

Of all the other players that will start, no one has more than two at-bats. Austin Riley hit a two-run HR in his only at-bat against Ragans and Michael Harris had a double in one of his two at-bats. Everyone one else is hitless. Ragans’ lone appearance against the Braves was in 2023 as a member of the Rangers where he came in as a long reliever to pitch 3.0 innings and surrendered four ER.

Chris Sale will be getting the ball as the Opening Day starter for the Braves yet again this season. This is seventh time in his career to get that honor.  Three with the White Sox, two with the Red Sox, and two with the Braves.

Of the players that Sale will likely face today, no one comes close to the number of at-bats that Salvador Perez has against him. Perez has faced him an astonishing sixty-eight times. No one else on the Royals has faced him more than seven. In those sixty-eight at-bats Perez has one HR with a .265 average and .628 OPS. Lane Thomas and Starling Marte have each faced Sale seven times and have an OPS of .679 and .572 respectively.

With the Braves’ rotation being as depleted as it is, every Chris Sale start will have even more importance. Today is only the first game of many this season, but it would be encouraging to get a Chris Sale dominated start and prevent on the first day this season what happened last season when the Braves got swept to start the season.

The first pitch is at 7:15 EDT at Truist Park.

Game Notes

Time: Friday, March 27 at 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Ga

TV: BravesVission, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.TV audio

Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan

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Reigning division champs collide again at T-Mobile Park as the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners lock horns — and it’ll take some special hitting to top last night’s home run blitz.

These teams combined for six dingers in yesterday’s season opener, with Cleveland picking up a 6-4 win, and my Guardians vs. Mariners predictions expect Jose Ramirez to lead the charge for the visitors in this rematch.

Get the lowdown on this clash with my free MLB picks for Friday, March 27.

Guardians vs Mariners predictions

Guardians vs Mariners best bet: Jose Ramirez Over 1.5 total bases (+140)

If you’re in the market for consistent production, look no further than Jose Ramirez. His hit totals for the past four seasons read: 168, 172, 173, 168 – and there’s no sign of decline for the wily veteran.

Ramirez thumped a two-RBI double last night to turn the contest in the Cleveland Guardians favor, and he’s had success against Seattle Mariners starter George Kirby to the tune of a 6-for-12 record, with three doubles and a homer.

When the Mariners go to the bullpen, it’s worth noting that Ramirez also has a pair of hits against key relievers Gabe Speier and Andres Muñoz.

COVERS INTEL: George Kirby allowed a .264 average to left-handers last season, and that lines up nicely for the switch-hitting Ramirez and the other lefties in the Guardians lineup

Guardians vs Mariners same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll take the run line with a pesky Cleveland offense that’s packed with lefties, while trusting that Gavin Williams – coming off a 3.06 ERA last year – can match Kirby.

The visitors, and they’ve got a real lead-off weapon in rookie Chase DeLauter, who marked his first regular season outing with two solo dingers last night.

Then it’s all about the elite hitting on show. Ramirez has already opened his RBI account for 2026, and Julio Rodriguez can point to three career hits against Williams. J-Rod went 0-for-4 yesterday, but he finished with 174 hits and 95 RBIs in 2025.

Guardians vs Mariners SGP

• Guardians +1.5
• Jose Ramirez Over 0.5 hits
• Julio Rodriguez Over 0.5 hits

Guardians vs Mariners home run pick: Cal Raleigh (+290)

After a magical run last year, Cal Raleigh didn’t do himself any favors during the WBC, but look for his bat to do the talking tonight. Another regular season with 60 homers might be a stretch, but I’m wagering on The Big Dumper to mash his first long ball of the year here.

Guardians vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Cleveland +143 | Seattle -158
• Run line: Cleveland +1.5 (-150) | Seattle -1.5 (+130)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-105) | Under 7 (-115)

Guardians vs Mariners trend

The Over is 7-3 in the past 10 meetings between these teams. Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Mariners.

How to watch Guardians vs Mariners and game info

Guardians vs Mariners latest injuries

Guardians vs Mariners weather

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