Mets star Francisco Lindor is taking another positive step in his recovery from left hamate bone surgery.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday that Lindor will take live batting practice for the first time since the SS had surgery on Feb. 11. He added that Lindor will face LHP A.J. Minter during the live BP session later in the day.
"Lindor is going through his workout today," Mendoza said. "He'll face Minter, I think he's got a live BP and I think he'll face him. So yeah, normal day for him, full workout."
Mendoza added that he's unsure if Lindor will play in an upcoming Grapefruit League game, but is confident he'll be ready to go for Opening Day on March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.
"Everything is trending toward him playing shortstop for us on Opening Day," Mendoza said.
Lindor played defense only in his first minor league game on the backfields on Monday, and said he felt "really good" after getting in some game-action. He's also been taking swings in the batting cages as he works his way back, Mendoza said on Thursday.
"Yeah, I share his confidence for sure," Lindor said Monday. "Our training staff is really good. They’ve been doing everything possible. … They’re getting me right day in and day out, so I trust them, I trust the process.
"They’ve been through this a lot of times, and when they say I’ll be ready for Opening Day, I believe them. I’m very optimistic. Hopefully everything here goes the right way and we’ll see where we’re at."
Feb 19, 2026; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals outfielder Isaac Collins (1) poses for a photo for MLB media day at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images
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Earlier this week, we asked Royals fans who they wanted to be the Opening Day left fielder with a bevy of options after the guy most of us have assumed would be the guy heading into Spring Training. It turns out, Royals fans haven’t changed their minds.
Isaac Collins – who probably will be the Opening Day left fielder – got 57% of the vote. On retrospect, I guess that’s a pretty obvious call. Royals fans are smart enough not to put too much stock into Spring Training stats, and if Isaac Collins can’t be the guy, the Royals will be starting the year behind the eight ball in the outfield for at least the third season in a row.
What’s perhaps more interesting is how the rest of the results came in. I can understand Lane Thomas is probably better suited to center field instead of Kyle Isbel against the projected starter, a tough lefty in Chris Sale. But Starling Marte could still really hit last year, and while his defense didn’t rate well, the Royals really need a solid bat more than a glove out there. But Royals fans preferred the field of “someone else” rather than Marte. Who are you all putting out there instead of him? Nick Loftin has had a really nice spring, so maybe he would make some sense. I still think I’d take Marte, though.
Regardless, Collins is who Royals fans want and almost certainly who they’ll get. Only two weeks to go to find out if it’s going to work!
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Gage Jump #79 of the Athletics throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Angels in the second inning of a spring training game at Las Vegas Ballpark on March 07, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Angels defeated the Athletics 3-0. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We have a split squad double header this afternoon as the Athletics will once again break the team up 50/50 to go take on two different squads. First one half will stay back to play host of the San Diego Padres, while the other half is set to hit the road across town and visit the Milwaukee Brewers. Who doesn’t love two-for-one days during spring?
A’s vs. Padres
First dealing with the Padres, the Athletics have veteran right-hander Aaron Civale set to get the ball for what will be just his second appearance of camp. The last-minute signee was all but guaranteed a rotation job by the team when he joined up and nothing has dispelled that notion of yet. He looked alright in his first action last time out, reaching 60 pitches across 3 2/3 frames while allowing just a pair of runs. The A’s are hoping for the 30-year-old to be a veteran innings-eater for a young squad. Expect for him to reach or surpass that 60-pitch mark he hit in his first start this spring.
Here’s how the A’s lineup versus the Padres looks this afternoon:
First baseman Nick Kurtz is back atop the lineup and A’s fans are seemingly going to have to make their own inner peace with Mark Kotsay’s decision to have him lead off. We’ll likely be seeing lots of balls fly out of the park this coming season from the lefty slugger’s bat, but there will likely be lots of solo shots instead of two and three-run bombs.
The coaches heavily favored the Padres matchup for their starters, with all but the final two spots in the batting order full of regulars. Behind Kurtz is another slugger in Shea Langeliers, followed by two more in Tyler Soderstrom and Brent Rooker. The on-base guys, Jeff McNeil and Jacob Wilson, will meanwhile be in the middle of today’s lineup. Are the A’s somehow ahead of the curve when they switch their typical middle-of-the-lineup hitters with their on-base machines?
This lineup will be going against Padres righty Michael King, one of their best pitchers. He’s already pitched three times this spring as he ramps up for a possible Opening Day assignment for San Diego.
While the A’s have most of their starters going the Pads are going the opposite way. Shouldn’t be too difficult a matchup for Civale and the Athletics this afternoon.
A’s at Brewers
Meanwhile the other half travels to the Brewers’ complex hoping to do their job on this two-win opportunity kind of afternoon. Taking the ball for the Athletics will be lefty prospect Gage Jump. There’s a bit of chatter going around that Jump could be an earlier-than-expected option for the A’s this year, and he’s done nothing to dispel that notion with a great spring so far. Another big outing for the 22-year-old could further his goal of getting to the big leagues sooner than later, with an outside shot at Opening Day.
Here’s the A’s batting order for the second game today:
Today's lineup vs. Milwaukee – March 13, 2026 at American Family Fields of Phoenix pic.twitter.com/yVMWV7mosI
Of course, with most of the starters in the other game there won’t be any facing off against the Brewers Crew today. We will get a Zack Gelof sighting as he handles DH duties today. Colby Thomas and Andy Ibanez seem like safe-ish bets to break camp with the club but have both struggles this spring, so a big game today would go a long ways for both of them.
Then we’ll also see a pair of top prospects as we’ll see Leo De Vries and Tommy White bat back-to-back in the middle of the order. A sneak peak of a possible future, perhaps?
And here’s Milwaukee’s starting nine for this afternoon:
An interesting opponent on the mound this afternoon as lefty Kyle Harrison gets the ball for the Brewers. He’s yet to reach his potential that was expected of him coming up through the Giants system a few years ago and he’s now trying to establish himself in Milwaukee after a failed stint in Boston. He’s looked solid during camp and with the Brewers battling some injuries, there’s a chance Harrison breaks camp with them in some capacity. He’s going to be going into today’s start with something to lose, which doesn’t bode well for the Athletics’ B-Lineup.
Two weeks to Opening Day. A chance for two wins today! Let’s go A’s!
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 23: Raisel Iglesias #26 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Truist Park on September 23, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves took on the New York Yankees faced off in Northport for a spring training in which Didier Fuentes took the mound in hopes of proving he is ready for a rotation spot.
The game started off with a bang for the Braves. Didier Fuentes looked like seasoned veteran with a 1-2-3 inning while picking two strikeouts, one of which was to former MVP Cody Bellinger. Then, Mauricio Dubón seems to be getting hot with a HR. Mark Bowman said it best:
The Braves continued to roll in the first, scoring four total runs thanks to Ozzie hitting a double, Austin Riley getting a single, a Mike Yastrzemski HBP, Jonah Heim single, and Kyle Farmer single. Of note, Albies may end up hitting second this season against lefties. Before last season he had one of the best splits in MLB against LHP with a wRC+ of 136 or higher in six different seasons to include two seasons above 174. However he struggled by his standards last season with only a 91. All in all, the Braves were able to put up seven runs on fourteen hits.
Didier Fuentes was on fire this game. Through his first eight hitters, he struck out five of them and was perfect through three innings. He consistently hit 97 MPH and reached 98.6 MPH on his fastball, and his sweeper looked absolutely filthy. Unfortunately, we only got to see his 3.0 innings because he was replaced by Dylan Dodd after only pitching forty-two pitches.
Both of Fuentes' strikeouts in the second inning concluded with his sweeper. This was the nastier of the two pic.twitter.com/dWT2tUyAHp
Pitcher List gave us an in-depth look of his outing, showing that he may have been a bit lucky based on his location and stuff, but he did get seven whiffs.
Didier Fuentes (ATL) struck out five over three perfect innings in his second spring training appearance pic.twitter.com/wQZJc5ZZZz
The Braves late inning guys came in the game and looked solid. Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, and Aaron Bummer all combined for 3..1 perfect innings before Bummer was replaced by Frey who gave up a single in the eighth with two outs. Between Fuentes and the three aforementioned pitchers, they combined for 7.1 innings of perfect ball. The only real blemish for Braves pitching was Dylan Dodd giving up a double and single in an inning where he too looked decent with two strikeouts.
The story of this game was that this may have been the best overall output in terms of an entire game from Braves pitching from players who that have a shot of potentially making the MLB roster at some point this season. They had thirteen strikeouts while only allowing two hits and zero walks in 7.1 innings. This includes the numbers from Fuentes because he does have a shot of appearing at some point.
The scoreboard does not show the true dominance because Ian Mejia, who came in to pitch the ninth, gave up five earned runs without retiring a single batter.
In the game thread post, it was mentioned that Kyle Farmer was a player to keep an eye on because he may make the Opening Day roster to start games against LHP. Farmer went 3-3 today, boosting his spring average to .481 and OPS to 1.130. José Azocar continued to fight hard for a spot as well, picking up two hits and raising his average to .393 and his OPS to .950.
The Braves will face the Red Sox at North Port where Bryce Elder is scheduled to start, looking to cement a spot in the rotation. It will be hard for him to top what Fuentes did today.
Ryan Weathers allowed four runs in the first inning and the Yankees' offense produced next to nothing until the ninth inning 7-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday in North Port, Fla.
Here are the takeaways...
- Weathers, whom the Yanks acquired in January for five players, is looking to crack the rotation, but didn’t get the start he wanted as his second pitch was smoked for a 393-foot home run to left field off Mauricio Doubón's bat. The lefty's 97 mph heater went right into the inside corner, and Doubon turned on it easily.
Weathers then allowed a double down the right-field line when a 1-2 changeup up in the zone got poked the other way by Ozzie Albies. He came around to score on Austin Riley’s one-out single up the middle against a drawn-in infield. After plunking lefty-hitting Mike Yastrzemski in the back, Weathers allowed back-to-back RBI singles, the first to left by Jonah Heim and the second to right by Kyle Farmer. A couple of loud outs kept it to just a four-run inning with the Braves sending nine men to the plate.
The 26-year-old bounced back with a 1-2-3 second with a pair of strikeouts and a double-play in the third, but then the first two men reached on singles in the fourth. Weathers then got back-to-back strikeouts to close his day.
His final line: 3.2 innings, seven hits, four runs, four strikeouts, and one HBP on 67 pitches (48 strikes).
- Atlanta starter Didier Fuentes, the hard-throwing No. 3 prospect in the Braves’ system, had no such issues navigating his 42-pitch start. He tallied five strikeouts without allowing a base runner over his three innings, getting Trent Grisham at a sweeper below the zone, Cody Bellinger swinging through a 99 mph heater off the plate, Ryan McMahon swinging at a sweeper off the plate, Oswaldo Cabrera whiffing on a sweeper down-and-in, and Ernesto Martinez Jr. looking at a fastball at the knees.
- Yovanny Cruz, a 26-year-old minor leaguer, showed off some good stuff in the 1-2-3 fifth, getting two strikeouts as he pumped in nine pitches of 100 mph or faster out of 15 total.
- Max Schuemann got the Yanks' first hit with one out in the fourth with a double on a bloop into no-man's land down the right field line. He finished 1-for-3 with a run scored.
- Bellinger ripped an RBI single up the middle off lefty Dylan Dodd in his second at-bat. He finished 1-for-3 with two strikeouts swinging, the second on an up-and-in 90 mph sinker.
- Grisham went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts swinging, the second flailing at a changeup off the plate.
- Randal Grichuk went 0-for-3 with a mile-high pop-out in foul territory to third, a terrible-looking swing on a strikeout on a ball in the dirt, and a groundout to short.
- McMahon went 0-for-3 with a pair of swinging strikeouts, but did put a charge on a ball (106.7 mph off the bat) in his final at-bat to lineout to left.
- The Yanks scored five runs in the top of the ninth, capped by Jonathan Ornelas rocketing a monster, three-run home run: 460 feet and 113.1 mph off the bat.
Curtis Mead is back with the White Sox from the WBC, and back to fighting for his MLB life. | (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images)
If the Cubs are going to snap their losing streak against the White Sox, they’re going to have to do it on the road — and on a Friday the 13th on top of that.
It’s a battle of Martins today, go figure:
Advantage to our Davis, in every way including 2026 Cactus League performance.
For the White Sox, it’s a mix of established lineup and late-spring tryouts. In the latter category sits Everson Pereira at DH, Jarred Kelenic in center, back from WBC Curtis Mead at third base and Dustin Harris getting his first taste of first base. None of them have options left, and not all will make the cut north with the White Sox, so we’ll have some DFAs from this group within two weeks.
As for the Cubs, who cares? They’re traditionally a lousy organization, with insidious ownership. Let’s get another rout, packed with homers, against them.
It’s a dual broadcast, on both CHSN and WMVP, at 3:05 p.m. CT.
SCOTTSDALE — Giants reliever Erik Miller would prefer not to know when he’s going to pitch. He used to get “starter’s anxiety” the night before his spot in the rotation came up, and one thing he has loved about life in the bullpen is the fact that he can be tapped on the shoulder at just about any time late in a game and asked to go throw 97 mph fastballs to a tough lefty.
But spring training innings are mapped out well in advance, and for Miller, that’s particularly important right now.
The left-hander had missed all of camp with lower back tightness, but he returned to game action on Friday and looked like, well, himself. Miller gave up a leadoff single but then struck out three straight Cincinnati Reds in the fourth inning.
Miller will get back out there Monday, and the Giants will try to keep him on a regular schedule in order to have him ready for the New York Yankees — Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm and others — on March 25. After Friday’s spring debut, manager Tony Vitello said he sees no reason why Miller can’t be ready for the opener.
“In my opinion, he does (have time),” Vitello said. “I don’t think there was anything drastic going on. I’m a karma guy, I don’t want to say too much (but) he was in a position where he was able to keep (playing catch) so I think he’s in a good spot and I think he feels that way.”
While there are checkmarks for every reliever to hit in the spring, Miller on Friday looked like someone who is ready for regular-season games. His fastball was up to 97 mph and averaged 96.5, and he got two strikeouts on his slider.
“That’s about as good as I can ask for,” Miller said. “I threw strikes — that’s the main thing. Strikeouts are a benefit but for the most part I was throwing stuff where I wanted to. Yeah, it was good. Obviously, it’s been a long time since I’ve thrown in a big league game.”
Miller’s last appearance against big leaguers was July 2 of last season. He dealt with elbow discomfort throughout the second half and spent all of August and September rehabbing, but the elbow hasn’t been an issue this spring.
Miller said he usually has back problems a couple of times a year, but this spring, the discomfort returned after he thought he had turned a corner. That led to him being delayed until eight days before the Giants fly home, and they can’t afford any setbacks at this point with their top left-handed arm, and a pitcher who could end up throwing in the eighth and ninth quite often.
Miller figures he’ll need at least four or five appearances to get ready, but the early schedule could help. The Giants are off on two of the first five days of the season, giving Miller a bit more time to get fully up to speed.
More Moves
A day after making their first round of spring cuts, the Giants sent relievers Juan Sanchez and Wilkin Ramos to minor league camp. The 25-year-olds are both likely to begin the season with Triple-A Sacramento.
Sanchez briefly seemed to be in the mix for the Opening Day roster before Miller returned and Joey Lucchesi signed. The lefty had a good spring, allowing just two hits in six scoreless appearances. He walked five and struck out seven, and Vitello was impressed.
“I just think he’s got all the things you want out of a guy intangible-wise,” he said last week. “He just needs to be as good as he can be physically, because when he’s at his best it’s pretty good. The deception piece is there and the stuff is good enough.”
Noteworthy
The misters were on at Scottsdale Stadium for most of Friday’s game and it’s only going to get hotter in the coming days. It’s supposed to be over 100 degrees for the final four days of camp, so some teams in the Cactus League are considering moving some 1 p.m. games to the evening next week.
The Giants entered the day with a .296 average as a team this spring, but Rafael Devers is still trying to find his timing after missing time with hamstring tightness. Devers was 0-for-3 on Friday and is hitless in 18 at-bats this spring. Willy Adames is just 4-for-31.
While there are zero concerns with those stars, Jerar Encarnacion looked like he was slumping his way off the roster about a week ago. He has found his swing, though. Encarnacion tied Thursday night’s game with a sac fly in the ninth and went 2-for-4 on Friday with a scorched RBI double.
The Giants could use his right-handed pop off the bench, and there’s a chance he starts the season as the DH if he makes the initial roster and Bryce Eldridge does not. Vitello was especially pleased with Encarnacion’s defense and baserunning lately, noting how hard he is going.
“Jerar is an inspiration right now with the way he’s playing,” Vitello said.
This week, we asked you, fourth months in advance, whether you would draft UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky No. 1 overall in July.
Your answer was yes, overwhelmingly.
“A lot” can change over the course of spring baseball, both at the college and high school levels. But Roch sure seems to be a lock about right now.
There were national questions for you to answer as well, centering on PEDs:
Yes, PEDs are back in the news after Jurickson Profar (older brother of White Sox infield prospect Jurdrick, South Side Sox’s No. 1oo prospect for 2026) was suspended for a full season after his second positive test for banned substances. Overall, most agree the system is working as intended.
Did you miss out on this round of questions? No worry, sign up here to participate in our weekly emailed surveys, and have your White Sox voice be heard!
TEMPE, ARIZONA - MARCH 10: Miguel Andujar #41 of the San Diego Padres walks into the dugout before a spring training game against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium on March 10, 2026 in Tempe, Arizona.(Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images) | Getty Images
San Diego Padres at Athletics, March 13, 2026, 1:05 p.m. PST
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When Phillies fans entered the off-season, most knew long-time right fielder Nick Castellanos was on his way out. The free-swinging, undisciplined and inconsistent slugger never quite gave the Phillies the type of production his five-year, 100 million contract, or his production in previous stops, warranted, and his well-documented off-field friction with Phils coaches and manager Rob Thomson only hastened his exit.
Too often fans watched Castellanos flail at sliders as they dove out of the strike zone and gazed in amazement as he actively avoided taking bases on balls like they were covered with ricin. Clearly the Phillies needed a change, so how did they replace him?
By signing another player with almost the same exact offensive traits.
Adolis Garcia, the former Texas Rangers All-Star who has seen his production drop precipitously since an All Star campaign and magical postseason run made him a household name in 2023, is the new right fielder. He’s coming off his second straight subpar season in which he posted a .665 OPS with 19 homers in 135 games, and out of 120 players with at least 1000 plate appearances over the last two years, Garcia’s .675 OPS is tied for 4th-worst, 117th.
So, why did the Phillies sign him?
Aside from the value he brings with his speed on the bases and above-average defense in right field, Garcia possesses a good deal of power at the plate. When he makes contact, he hits the ball hard, with a 46.7% hard-hit rate a season ago that puts him in the 70th percentile, according to Baseball Savant’s metrics. His 92.1 mph exit velocity is still one of the best in the sport, in the 89th percentile of all big league hitters last season.
So, what’s the difference between his outstanding 2023 and his two worst seasons of 2024 and last year?
When Garcia hit 39 homers, knocked in 107 runs and scored 108 times three years ago, all with an OPS of .836, he walked 65 times in 555 plate appearances. He swung at just 29.5% of pitches outside the strike zone that season, giving him the highest walk rate of his career, 10.3%.
It wasn’t an elite walk rate, but it put him in the 74th percentile of big league batters, which is well above average. More patience means better pitches to hit and more advantageous hitters’ counts in which to feast on fastballs. In 2023, Garcia found himself ahead in the count in 34.6% of his plate appearances. In ‘24 and last season, that number fell to 29.2% and 29.7%, respectively. He found himself behind in the count more frequently, 36.2% of the time last year, 33.1% in ‘24 and 31.4% in ‘23.
One ominous note is the bat speed, which has steadily declined from 73.7 mph in 2023 (72nd percentile of MLB batters) to 72.1 mph last year (49th percentile). In other words, Garcia’s bat speed went from being among the top 25% in the sport, to right around the mid-line. A player rarely gains bat speed as he progresses through his 30s, and with Garcia entering his age-33 season, history tells us he’s unlikely to return to the 75th percentile of hitters in that metric.
The drop in bat speed has resulted in an increasing inability to hit every MLB batter’s bread and butter — the fastball.
In 2023, Garcia feasted on four-seamers, blasting 26 homers with a .527 slugging percentage against them. In ‘24, however, his slugging percentage against four-seam fastballs dropped to .367 and, last year, it was .421. There appears to be a direct correlation between a drop in bat speed and increasing ineffectiveness against the fastest pitches a hitter will see.
If the bat speed is dipping, how can he compensate? Being more selective should help. So far this spring, Garcia has been very patient, drawing a walk in 15.4% of his plate appearances. Granted, he’s only had 26, so we’re talking about an extremely small sample size, some of them against pitchers who will spend most of the regular season in the minors. So no one should be too concerned about his .182/.308/.227 slash line or the fact he has just one extra-base hit this spring (a double).
Aside from a return to “elite” levels from Bryce Harper, the emergence of Garcia as a real power threat from the right side of the plate could be the biggest difference between a dangerous Phillies offense and the inconsistent one we’ve seen over the last few seasons.
Trend lines usually trend in one direction, barring an outside influence that changes the scales. Is Phils’ hitting instructor Kevin Long that outside force? Could moving from Texas’ Globe Life Field, which ranked as the 2nd-worst ballpark for hitters last year, to Citizens Bank Park, ranked 11th-best, do the trick? Garcia’s .675 home OPS was a tick better than his .655 road OPS, so it’s fair to harbor some skepticism about the move to a new park, although there’s no doubt frustration regarding his home park could affect the way he hits everywhere.
Phillies fans hope there’s an answer, because if Garcia’s 2026 season resembled his ‘25 and ‘24 campaigns, the Phils’ outfield will once again feature among the league’s least productive outfields and continue what has been an Achilles heel over the last two years.
St Mirren striker Jake Young is confident the players can shake off the shock departure of Stephen Robinson and deliver a strong performance against Rangers on Sunday.
Robinson and assistant Brian Kerr departed Paisley on Wednesday morning and took over at Aberdeen on Thursday.
The appointment came 10 weeks after the departure of Jimmy Thelin and well after speculation over a move north for Robinson had gone quiet.
Young said: "It was a bit of a shock regardless of that speculation and it did seem to come about quickly.
"Obviously we got through to the [Scottish] cup semi and the manager was speaking about that and moving forward and using it as a platform, so all of that still stands, but I think that shows how quickly it did come about.
"Obviously it's big news, but we have just got to remain professional and it's business as usual.
"We've got a game to prepare for Sunday, we know the situation we're in, we know we've still got a lot to play for.
"It was a bit of a shock, but we had a couple of meetings and just got back to work.
"It's just a time for all of us to come together and stick with it really, and still show what we're here to do."
Young only arrived at St Mirren in January and, after a controversial red card hindered his initial impact, the 24-year-old has scored in his past two games.
He felt he was already improving under Robinson but has plenty of optimism for the coming months, starting with Sunday's visit of Rangers, for which Craig McLeish and Jamie Langfield will act as the caretaker coaching team.
"Obviously it's not ideal," the former Stevenage player said. "Any player that gets brought in by a manager, they want to work with that manager and the short time I've had with him has been great with me, and I already feel like I'm coming on as a player.
"So yes, I'm disappointed on that front, but it's not the only reason I came to the club.
"There's obviously much more attraction than just one thing that brought me here, again starting with the game Sunday against Rangers, you're on TV, we've got a semi-final, there's a lot of other things that I'm here for."
This short article continues my effort to articulate some of the observations I made during my visit to Spring Training, 2026.
Short Topic of the Day
I will start out with showing my bias. I’m a fan of the system. Although I’m an old guy, I tend to like new technology. I’m not a leading-edge adapter, but more the fast-follower type. This tech I like.
Since many of you haven’t seen it, I’ll describe it in hopefully not so many words.
All MLB stadiums are equipped with Hawkeye technology that tracks (in very small increments, it turns out) the flight of the ball. It is tuned to register if the ball passes through the strike zone. In days of yore, when mortal humans calling balls and strikes, the strike zone was an amorphous cube, where umpires would judge if a ball crossed any part of the plate (front or back) while in between the players knees and the letters. Each of these positions is open to some interpretation and judgement.
But now, Hawkeye evaluates 0n a two-dimensional plane. It looks to see if the ball crosses the plate only along a line that runs between the two back corners of the plate. Ergo, a pitch that might look a tad high to the hitter in the strike point (out near the front of the plate) could actually drop in the zone 8.5” later and be viewed by Hawkeye as a strike. The second dimension eliminates knees and letters and now just uses 53.5% of the player height as the top of the zone and the bottom is 27% of the same measurement. So the judgement of strike or ball by the ABS system is two-dimensional, whereas I suspect umpires will still tend more toward a 3-dimensional view that will naturally look more like an egg than a rectangle.
A pitcher, catcher or hitter may challenge, but must do so immediately, without assistance or encouragement from anyone else. They are to tap their head AND verbalize their challenge. Each team gets (theoretically) unlimited challenges during a game but loses the right to challenge if they have challenged unsuccessfully on two occasions during the game. The right to challenge is restored in any extra innings.
The actual challenge is quite interesting and seems to engage the fans a fair bit. The player taps their head, the umpire announces the challenge and all eyes turn toward the scoreboard. The strike zone and the ball location are displayed, along with a measurement of how far into or out of the zone the ball was. I didn’t time it, but I’d guess it takes in the area of 5 seconds or so. Pretty quick. The umpire announces the impact of the ruling (upheld, changed to ball or strike, and revised count). Then play resumes. The fans seem to really get into it. The umpires? If body language means anything, not so much.
For folks who watch the game on their chosen video device, I understand that the strike zone displayed during the broadcast will be one and the same with the two-dimensional Hawkeye view presented on the scoreboard.
I saw one game this past week where CB Bucknor was challenged multiple times and proven right more than not. Wouldn’t it be ironic if ABS informed us that CB is a better umpire than we had imagined? Another umpire went 0-6 on challenges, finally breaking the streak on, ironically enough, the last pitch of the game.
The Cardinals are encouraging their players to challenge during ST. It seems like it will be a good tool for them to learn the edges of the strike zone in real time. I am sure in regular season there will be less freedom to challenge. It would not shock me if only a few hitters are allowed (Nootbaar, for one). Otherwise, the onus might rest mostly on the catcher. I can see hitters having some freedom in crucial points of the game. I forget who, but we saw a hitter challenge a 3-1 call, in the rain, in the midst of a 10-2 game. That probably won’t reach the “crucial” threshold during regular season.
Most of the pitches that got challenged were truly borderline pitches that in the human umpire world could go either way. Several strikes were called on balls that were measures as “less that .1 inches” outside the strike zone. Likewise, you see some balls that get reversed to strikes as they just nick the zone. .1 inches. Wow! Our past time is no longer a game of inches, it is a game of millimeters.
I don’t get the sense that framing will be altered a lot by ABS. Seems like only 4-5 calls per game get challenged, whereas framing can affect the outcome of quite a few more pitches. That is my estimation, but we will have to wait and see.
For those that haven’t seen it, Baseball Savant has an ABS leaderboard page at www.baseballsavant.com/ABS. Take a look.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 08, 2024: A closeup view of an official Major League Baseball being held in a pitching grip prior to a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 08, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Careers are made on a signature pitch. Nolan Ryan’s fastball. Sandy Koufax’s curve. Mariano Rivera’s cutter. Over the years, the Kansas City Royals have had plenty of pitchers with a signature offering that defined their style on the mound.
What Royals pitcher had your favorite pitch? Here are some of my favorites:
Dan Quisenberry’s sinker
Mark Gubicza’s sinker
Tom Gordon’s curveball
Kevin Appier’s forkball
Zack Greinke’s slow curve
Joakim Soria’s curveball
Jason Vargas’ change-up
Wade Davis’ cutter
Greg Holland’s slider
Tell me your favorite pitch from a Royals pitcher!
FORMER CUBS IN MARINERS CAMP: Anthony Kay, Tyson Miller.
DYLAN CARLSON: The non-roster outfielder is making his case for the Opening Day roster. In 12 games this spring he’s batting .360/.529/.440 (9-for-25) with two doubles and seven walks. He’s played well in the field, too.
Riley Martin will start for the Cubs. The Cubs are having another bullpen game. The list of other Cubs pitchers scheduled today was not available at posting time.
Davis Martin will start for the White Sox. Other White Sox pitchers scheduled today: Sean Newcomb, Jordan Hicks and Jordan Leasure. The White Sox are a split squad today.
Today’s game will be televised by the White Sox channel CHSN. There will also be a radio broadcast via the Sox flagship station, WMVP/ESPN 1000.
Please visit our SB Nation White Sox site South Side Sox. If you do go there to interact with Sox fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 3 p.m. CT and 4:35 p.m. CT.
These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.
Detroit Tigers assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves watches practice during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
In a sense, spring warm up is just ending now and something like the actual competition for the final roster spots ramping up over the final two weeks of Grapefruit League action. The first weeks are mainly just stretching out into game shape and getting rhythm and timing going, both at the plate and on the mound. For players assured a roster spot, there’s really no rush and the trick is to conserve energy and avoid injury while slowly getting up to game speed just in time for Opening Day.
We’ve talked about the position side quite a bit. The main questions haven’t changed. Kevin McGonigle is going to see a lot fewer fastballs to hit over the next two weeks as the big league regulars stretch out and there are fewer minor leaguers getting reps on the mound. He’s done everything the Tigers could’ve asked to prove he’s ready for the starting shortstop job so far, but the big test is seeing a lot more spin and offspeed, from pitchers who can throw strikes without making too many big mistakes. His track record says this won’t be a problem, but it may be an adjustment.
So we’ll be watching him closely like everyone else, with the center field job really the other main positional question to answer.
The rotation is set. Will Vest, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Holton, and Drew Anderson are all locks for the bullpen. That’s five of the eight man bullpen locked in. Three spots remaining.
The Tigers picking up Enmanuel de Jesus’ contract suggests he’ll be in the Opening Day bullpen, though it’s not certain. The club may prefer to take Brant Hurter as the second lefty, or to take both.
Brenan Hanifee is on the 40-man roster already. So is Beau Brieske, whose rib cage discomfort has abated and should return to action soon. Sawyer Gipson-Long and lefty Bailey Horn are on the 40-man but dealing with hopefully minor injuries. Troy Melton is on the 60-day IL. Dylan Smith and lefty Drew Sommers are on the 40-man but already optioned to minor league camp along with Keider Montero, who is still with Team Venezuela currently.
Anyone else in camp, whether Tanner Rainey, Burch Smith, Jack Little, Sean Guenther, Ricky Vanasco, or players already moved to minor league camp like Tyler Mattison, Cole Waites, or Tyler Owens, will require a 40-man roster move.
In theory there are three spots. One of them will go to a left-hander, whether De Jesus, Hurter, Sean Guenther, or some combination of them. If you’re A.J. Hinch, which three relievers in camp are you taking?
