PHOENIX, AZ - MARCH 21: Josue De Paula #95 of the Los Angeles Dodgers is tagged out at home in the third inning during the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch on Saturday, March 21, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Tulsa Drillers, the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate, announced its preliminary roster to start the 2026 season on Tuesday, two days before the Drillers play their first game on the Texas League schedule.
Top prospects Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope headline the roster, with those two likely flanking 100-steal man Kendall George in the all-21-year-old outfield. All three were non-roster invitees this spring and saw considerable playing time in camp, with Hope playing in 22 games, De Paula 15, and George 13.
De Paula and Hope were promoted to Tulsa for the final week of the 2025 regular season, and also played in the Drillers’ playoff series. Both were named to top-100 prospect lists entering this season by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, ESPN, FanGraphs, and The Athletic, with an average ranking across those six outlets of 18.5 for De Paula and 37.5 for Hope.
Left-hander Adam Serwinowski, acquired by the Dodgers from the Reds as part of the three-team Hunter Feduccia-Ben Rortvedt trade last July, also got a small taste of Double-A in the final week of last season, allowing five runs (three earned) in three innings in a start last September. Serwinowski across High-A had a 3.89 ERA with 136 strikeouts and 53 walks in 108 2/3 innings between Dayton and Great Lakes, with a 28.7-percent strikeout rate. He turns 22 in June.
BRADENTON, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 23: Bubba Chandler #36 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees during a Grapefruit League spring training game at LECOM Park on February 23, 2026 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Location: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, SportsNet Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Pirates are on the road today against the Cincinnati Reds looking to grab a win at Great American Ball Park.
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SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 04: Pitcher Jacob deGrom #48 of the Texas Rangers looks on from the dugout during the World Baseball Classic exhibition game against Team Brazil at Surprise Stadium on March 04, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There’s a pretty good chance of rain this evening in Chicago (weather forecast link below). Here’s the local radar to keep handy.
Tuesday notes…
TWO-OUT RUNS: The Cubs scored five of their seven runs last night with two outs, raising their season total to 14 such runs, which is 56 percent of all 25 runs they have tallied. Last season, they scored 36 percent with two down, 286 of 793. Those 286 were an average of 1.77 per game. So far this year, they are averaging 3.50. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
THAT OTHER LEAGUE: A win tonight will be the Cubs’ 300th against American League teams since interleague play began in 1997. They have lost 277, for a winning percentage of .519. Only the Dodgers have fared better in interleague play among National League teams, at .548 (326-269). The Braves (311-292) and Brewers (288-270) are tied for third, at .516. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
CALLING ALL ANGELS: The Cubs are 17-10 all-time (since 2004) vs. the Angels, including 9-5 at Wrigley Field. They swept the Angels in Anaheim last season and took two of three games from them at Wrigley Field in July 2024.
EARLY STATS: The Cubs are third in MLB with six steals so far in 2026. No Cub has been caught stealing yet. They rank tied for sixth in runs with 24 (three teams with 24 or more have played one more game than the Cubs have). And, they rank fifth in walks with 21 (three of the four teams ahead of them have played one more game than the Cubs have).
Jameson Taillon had a horrid spring: 17.55 ERA, 10 (!) home runs allowed in 13.1 innings, also nine walks. Awful.
He also had one very good outing for Canada in the WBC during that time. So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
In any case, I don’t expect those spring results to carry over. His last start against the Angels was Aug. 24, 2025 in Anaheim — five innings, three hits, one run (a solo homer by Taylor Ward, who isn’t on the Angels anymore), no walks.
I’m expecting something more like that.
José Soriano was the Angels Opening Day starter. I daresay he wouldn’t have had that role for most other teams. He’s good, no question, but that good?
Soriano did throw six shutout innings vs. the Astros on Opening Day, so there’s that.
His last start against the Cubs was July 7, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He allowed three runs in five innings. No current Cub has more than three at-bats against him.
Soriano’s pitch selection chart below is from his one start this year. Taillon’s is from 2025.
Please visit the Angels site Crashing The Pearly Gates. If you do go there to interact with Angels 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.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - MARCH 6: Jonny Farmelo #98 of the Seattle Mariners swings the bat during a Spring Training game against the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium on March 6, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers, announced their 2026 roster, highlighted by the inclusion of the Mariners’ two top pitching prospects, Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan. That unfortunately doesn’t leave a lot of frontline starter talent for High-A Everett, but the AquaSox will still boast five of Seattle’s Pipeline Top 30 prospects, and three of the top ten.
OF Jonny Farmelo (#6) returns to Everett after battling an ACL tear in 2024 and a related stress reaction in his ribs in 2025, both of which curtailed his plate appearances in his first two professional seasons. Farmelo got a long look with the big-league club this spring, making up for some of those lost plate appearances, and showcased his top-of-the-scale speed at times, motoring around the bases and showing why he has the nickname “Jonny Ferrari.” Farmelo has a solid sense of the zone, running double-digit walk rates anywhere he’s played, and immense raw power, but needs to work on his bat to ball skills.
Another Mariners prospect who has dealt with health issues in his young career is SS Felnin Celesten (#7), who also returns to Everett. Like Farmelo, his primary goal will be staying on the field consistently, and to continue refining his approach in the box: the switch-hitter’s strikeout rate spiked to over a third in his brief time at Everett last year, and the raw power he flashed at times in the California League got swallowed up in the heavy upper-Northwest air. Celesten has made improvements in his fielding and now looks like someone who could stick at short full-time; he’s not immune to making a blunder at the six, but this spring he was reliably making the routine plays and black diamond-level ones.
MLB Pipeline’s #8 prospect for the Mariners will also join Everett, this one a newcomer in catcher Luke Stevenson. Stevenson is young for a college player, just 21, but has experience commanding a staff and could be a quick mover, especially if the team wants to reunite him with Anderson and Sloan in Double-A. The problem is there are still lingering questions over what kind of player Stevenson will be, as the soft-spoken, painfully earnest catcher is weirdly a divisive prospect among scouts. Some scouts see a whiff-prone average defensive catcher who sells out for power, and others see a potential power/defense threat at a premium position reminiscent of a young Cal Raleigh (it’s me I’m others). Similar to Raleigh, Stevenson tore up the Cal League, although at a lower level now; this year he’ll have a chance to try to match Raleigh’s otherworldly numbers at High-A, and shift the national conversation around his prospect potential, much like Cal did in 2019.
Other Pipeline Top-30 prospects at Everett include OF Carlos Jimenez (#21) and RHP Lucas Kelly (#29). Jimenez makes his High-A debut after being with Modesto the past two years. Kelly, a sidearm reliever drafted in 2025, is well-known to AquaSox fans, punching out a hitter for the final out of Everett’s championship-winning Game 4 against the Eugene Emeralds. The ASU product only pitched in a half-dozen games in Everett, so he returns to the AquaSox, but could be a quick mover so long as he keeps pounding the zone.
Here’s the complete roster:
Post-hype prospect to watch: RHP Walter Ford
It sucks to put one of the Mariners’ own post-hype prospects here rather than a reclamation project from another org, but sadly, Ford’s career hasn’t taken off yet after he was drafted with some fanfare in the competitive balance rounds in 2022. The stuff just hasn’t really taken off, and while he commands the zone well, the upside is starting to look much lower than it did. But hey, maybe now that he’s the only prospect in the system named Ford he’ll get some Highlander, there-can-be-only-one power back.
Will be ranked on the Top 30 before the end of the year: Christian Little
He didn’t have very long at Everett last season, but we at the site are buyers of the former pre-draft hype prospect. Little has the pedigree, the size, and the stuff, and this year will be huge for his development. Read John’s prospect writeup on him and get yourself out to Everett to see him and judge for yourself.
Sleeper prospect: RHP Casey Hintz
This is cheating because Hintz has been talked up by everyone from Justin Toole to Justin Hollander this spring, but witness him anyway: the former Arizona sidearmer is exactly the kind of prospect who moves quickly through this system. If he’s throwing strikes, expect to see him in Arkansas soon.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - MARCH 13, 2026: Andrew Painter #76 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch during the second inning of a spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles at BayCare Ballpark on March 13, 2026 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
The Phillies lost their third straight game on Monday night, and each loss has seemed to get progressively uglier. They’ll try to turn that around on Tuesday behind rookie starter Andrew Painter making his major league debut.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 30: Jackson Merrill #3 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Petco Park on March 30, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With momentum from Saturday’s win against the Detroit Tigers, the San Diego Padres felt poised to take the series opener against the division rival San Francisco Giants.
Sadly, it was not to be.
After getting shutout for eight full innings by a combination of starter Landen Roupp (6.0 IP), Matt Gage (1.0 IP) and Keaton Winn (1.0 IP), the Friars attempted a late rally off Ryan Walker.
Jake Cronenworth led off the inning with a walk and got to second on a Manny Machado groundout. With two outs, Jackson Merrill launched a payoff slider into left field for the Padres’ first runs of the game.
Now, with the tying run at the plate, Xander Bogaerts stepped into the box and promptly grounded out, ending what might have been.
Taking the mound
Logan Webb (SF) v. Germán Márquez (SD)
San Diego struggled to score in the few opportunities it had. The Padres will need to flip that script today against ace Logan Webb.
Webb looked mostly solid in his Opening Day start against the New York Yankees, but he was ambushed for five runs in the second inning. After that he mostly settled in.
If the Padres can hammer his mistakes like the Yanks did, they’ll be able to push him out of the game quickly. If not, they’ll have an even harder time than they did last night against Roupp.
For Márquez it marks a debut in the Brown and Gold. After Buehler had a solid (though uninspiring) debut (4.0 IP, 3 ER), the former Colorado Rockies ace will seek to top his back-end counterpart.
Batter up!
Jake Cronenworth looked mostly solid in his first time batting leadoff on Saturday. He did not look that way last night.
With that being said, it’s a small sample size of only two games. So he could still leadoff today. My guess, though, is that the lineup looks something more like this:
Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
Jake Cronenworth, 2B
Jackson Merrill, CF
Manny Machado, 3B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Ramón Laureano, LF
Miguel Andujar, DH
Gavin Sheets, 1B
Freddy Fermin, C
It’s still early, so manager Craig Stammen could experiment more than that, but it seems likely Merrill moves up to the third spot in the order.
Backup catcher Luis Campusano struggled at the plate, so Fermin will probably start.
It’s also probable that Andujar gets the DH start after Nick Castellanos failed to reach base last night. Andujar got a pinch-hit opportunity late in the game but grounded out.
Relief corps
Good news for San Diego: almost all of the high-leverage guys are available.
The only one of those to be used last night was righty David Morgan. Beyond him, Wandy Peralta (1.0 IP) and Ron Marinaccio (2.0 IP) were used. The three combined to put up five scoreless innings after Buehler exited the game.
So that leaves Jeremiah Estrada (seeking to rebound after his blow-up on Friday night), Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez, Adrian Morejon and closer Mason Miller.
Miller’s only been used to close games, and the Friars have only entered the ninth with the lead once (March 28). They’ll seek to give him a lead he can work with tomorrow night.
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 29: Texas Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran #20 is shown during the game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers on March 29th, 2026 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for March 31, 2026 against the Baltimore Orioles: starting pitchers are Jacob deGrom for the Rangers and Zach Eflin for the Orioles.
Texas looks to extend their winning streak to four games this afternoon. Josh Jung, who has started the season on an 0 for 17 streak, is on the bench. Ezequiel Duran is starting at third base.
Lineup:
Nimmo — RF
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Burger — 1B
Pederson — DH
Smith — 2B
Jansen — C
Carter — CF
Duran — 2B
5:35 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -130 favorites.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: Fans of the New York Yankees receive autographs prior to the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The New York Yankees are off to as good a start as you can ask for in the 2026 Major League Baseball season. After a series sweep of the San Francisco Giants on the road, they travel up the west coast and play the Seattle Mariners for a three-game series before a day off and their first home series of the year against the Miami Marlins.
With the strong start and some excellent performances from the necessary players to steer this ship toward a World Series, there was certainly some optimism among the Yankees fanbase coming out of opening weekend (also with the understanding that the Giants are a team still trying to find their footing in the National League West). However, according to a recent article in The Athletic, Yankees fans were generally less optimistic about the 2026 season and its potential results. In fact, they were about as optimistic as a few teams firmly within the rebuild territory.
More than 11,000 fans participated in our fifth annual MLB Hope-O-Meter.
Overall, 72 percent reported they are optimistic about their favorite team this season, compared to 66 percent in 2025. pic.twitter.com/ywvrqQAsGs
The first observation from the optimism survey is precisely that: the Yankees, a team that tied for first in the American League East with 94 wins and made it to the American League Divisional Series (even though that’s not nearly the standard that has been set), are sandwiched by the Chicago White Sox, who finished last year with 102 losses — the second-most in all of MLB — and the Miami Marlins, who finished four games below the .500 mark. They’re also only three spots higher than the St. Louis Cardinals, who finished six games under .500 last year and have made it pretty clear that they’re in rebuild territory.
Suffice to say, for a team that finished with such a good placement in the standings last year and had a legitimate chance of making it back to the World Series, it was unexpected to see them surrounded by those other franchises.
Below are the Yankees’ finishes in the “Hope-O-Meter” polls in other seasons and how their final results turned out.
2025: 68.1 percent (17); 94-68, T-1st in AL East, lost in ALDS to Toronto Blue Jays 2024: 80.7 percent (11); 94-68, 1st in AL East, lost in World Series to Los Angeles Dodgers 2023: 71.1 percent (18); 82-80, 4th in AL East, Did not make playoffs 2022: 48 percent (21); 99-63, 1st in AL East, lost in ALCS to Houston Astros
Within these results there is a little bit of correlation here — the highest finishing year being the year where they made it to the World Series, the third-highest being when the team tied for first and made it to the ALDS — but the other two years showcase that just because the fans aren’t optimistic doesn’t mean that the plan of attack will or won’t work out. Yankees fans in 2022 finished 21st (one spot above where they are for 2026) and made it to the ALCS after winning the division with 99 wins. The year following, they finished 18th and went almost .500.
While the Yankees did take a more unpopular approach to the offseason moves they made this winter, it’s important to note that it’s a lot easier to look at your house and say it’s burning when you’re looking for every tiny ember versus not looking nearly as closely at all the other houses around you that are burning or have the potential to do so. And, of course, it’s important to remember that the entire attitude around the Yankees organization is “championship or bust.” It’s a noble concept in practice. Everyone wants their sports franchise to be run that way. But it can provide a bit of a “rose colored glasses” view of how a team operates relative to the others around it.
The Hope-O-Meter is not a predictor of results, and it never has been. Instead, it’s more of a fun experiment done by an outlet that lets fans voice their feelings (good or bad) about where they believe their franchise is heading into the season. And while Yankees fans were clearly not thrilled with how things were handled over the offseason and heading into the regular season, there’s a reason they play the games.
Mar 29, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Mike Yastrzemski (18) slides into second base after hitting a double against the Kansas City Royals during the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Braves will be going for the series win against the A’s behind Jose Suarez, in a matchup of fringy starting pitchers with the opportunity to give Chris Sale a chance to secure a sweep tomorrow. The Braves are running with what is probably their best possible lineup on true talent available on the active roster, facing the righty in Civale, as Mike Yastrzemski bats fifth and plays left field. Walt Weiss continues to be comfortable stacking Baldwin and Olson at 2 and 3 in the lineup, despite them both being lefties. At the back of the lineup, Dominic Smith rejoins the lineup at DH and Mauricio Dubon plays shortstop once again.
On the other side, the A’s shuffled their lineup a bit, as Nick Kurtz drops to third and Jacob Wilson takes the leadoff spot. Former Braves first round pick Shea Langeliers catches for the A’s and bats second.
Tonight’s game is on BravesVision and Gray TV at 7:15 PM ET. This may be a game high in runs scored, given the pitching matchup and offensive talent, so let’s hope the Braves can bring the lumber.
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 17: Brandon Williamson #55 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches in the first inning during the game between the Atlanta Braves and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kareem Elgazzar/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s been since September 17th, 2024 since Brandon Williamson has taken a mound in a professional baseball game at any level, let alone at the big league level. His grind back after having Tommy John surgery on the UCL in his left arm, though, is finally complete.
Williamson will start for the Cincinnati Reds tonight at home in Great American Ball Park with the Pittsburgh Pirates in town, the second game of this three-game set between the NL Central rivals. The Reds took home the first game of the series last night behind an excellent start by Chase Burns and a rock solid effort from some inexperienced arms in their bullpen, and Williamson will hope to lead the charge tonight that gets them a second straight series victory.
The lefty looked good all through Cactus League play, eventually earning his way onto the team’s Opening Day roster despite a positional battle with former 1st rounders like Burns and Rhett Lowder. After Nick Lodolo’s blister issues flared up, though, the team’s ‘six for five’ plan with their starters was reduced down to a five-man rotation that needed Williamson to be a starter from the outset.
That’s what we’re going to see for the first time tonight.
Spencer Steer will be the odd-man out of the starting lineup for this one after having started each of the team’s first four games of the year, the team’s utility-man extraordinaire sure to make an appearance at some point later in the game. Will Benson will slide over and start in LF with RHP Bubba Chandler on the mound for the Pirates, while Noelvi Marte is back in the starting lineup in RF after getting last night off.
Here’s how the Reds have stacked their lineup for the evening:
Opening Day at Petco Park (Photo by Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
Every Major League Baseball team begins Spring Training with one goal in mind: to win a World Series title. The San Diego Padres are chasing the same goal, as their desire to win has never wavered.
Disappointing opening series does not define season
The opening series loss to the Detroit Tigers was disappointing and felt like a setback. A sputtering offense can turn a festive environment into an eerily quiet ballpark. It reminded everyone of the Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs last October. The lineup could not plate runs and that shattered everyone’s dreams of this being a long playoff run.
However, a 162-game regular season is a marathon, and stumbles of this nature rarely define a team’s final record. The Padres can still set a tone for 2026.
The Friar Faithful will have to take their anxiety level down a notch, but they’re tired of the excuses for empty Octobers. The absence of another run-producing bat, starting rotation injuries, and having a frugal payroll are no longer acceptable excuses for postseason failures.
It is time to change the narrative because the Padres’ roster is too talented and postseason-ready to fizzle out in the first week of October baseball.
Padres team leaders can change the narrative
Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. are the undisputed team leaders, who have become hardened by crushing playoff losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies. Both are tired of receiving pats on the back for their outstanding play and are determined to change the results.
Some within the organization would like to base the Friars’ success on their pitching staff and move past last season’s offensive struggles to score runs. Randy Vasquez showed over the weekend why he is a prized pitching talent. He could conceivably be the Padres’ ace by season’s end.
Possessing the game’s best bullpen, the Friars can shorten the contest to a five- or six-inning affair. Shutting down the opposing team’s bats does mask the club’s offensive flaws.
Thankfully, the bats showed up to salvage the final game against the Tigers. The lineup has several question marks, but the group did have moderate success on Saturday night. The hope is that more productive at-bats will return everyone to form and lead to more baserunners crossing home plate.
2026 can become a promising season
Setting the tone never guarantees a team will make the playoffs. Professional athletes rarely need tangible reminders about their goals for the coming season. They aim to hit their stride just in time for October baseball.
A couple of bad days should never reflect how a baseball team would fare in the regular season. It further confirms how unpredictable the sport actually has become. The 2026 Padres have high expectations, and losing the first home series is just a blip on their radar.
The roster has enough talent to secure another postseason berth. If the Friars get into the dance, all bets are off on how far they can go.
Mar 10, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the scoreboard showing an ABS ball and strike challenge call being confirmed during the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As I was recapping Saturday’s extra-inning loss to the Reds, my thoughts and emotions ran the gamut when it came to ABS, umpiring, and the intersection of the two. I touched on a few of those in the recap itself, but the broad outlines were this:
The ABS system (officially, the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System) brought a level of fairness back to the game, in that some clear mistakes were overturned
The home-plate umpiring on Saturday was awful and a challenge system overall goes some way toward ameliorating that, when it happens
There was heightened drama in the game, and it didn’t all stem from Wilyer Abreu’s two-out, ninth-inning heroics, or the intensity of extra innings
I had some other thoughts about ABS that I didn’t include in the game recap because it felt just a little out of scope for that format. Keeping in mind that this Red Sox season is still getting off the ground, so the sample size is currently miniscule, here’s me poking around this topic a little bit more.
Pros
CB Bucknor, the home plate umpire for Saturday’s game, was not on point in any way, shape, or form. He simply didn’t have it. It is objectively true that his ball-strike calls were off the mark, proven by six challenges (out of eight total) that overturned his initial call. (He was also far from on-point, but within his rights, in his missed check swing call on Trevor Story. Let’s come back to that.)
Eugenio Suárez struck out twice in the sixth inning with two outs and the bases loaded, on called strikes and on successive pitches. (What a weird sentence to write, but it is factually correct. We live in strange times, my friends.) Suárez challenged the call each time and prevailed. This was way more exciting, and important, than Roman Anthony using up the remaining Red Sox challenges in the first at-bat of the third inning, when the stakes were low. Ultimately, the Suárez reversals didn’t matter because the Sox retired him anyway, but it restored to the Reds their rightful opportunity to proceed with the inning and hopefully capitalize.
This is important and is certainly the point of the whole ABS system.
Something I wasn’t expecting was the additional excitement the challenges added. You could see and hear the crowd’s reaction when the result of each Suárez challenge was revealed. They went wild. The cheer that went up was as loud as if he had hit a home run. It was a high-stakes moment, as discussed, and Suárez is a batter who can turn on the power, so anything seemed possible. And for it to happen twice! Unprecedented.
In-game excitement, yes, count me in. Is it also possible that some of the fun comes from rebelling against authority in some small, albeit sanctioned, way? For me, I think that might be true; I felt it also when Roman Anthony won his initial challenge. In a world where computer programs monitor my keystrokes to let coworkers know that I’m not actively tapping away at the keyboard…where cameras track my nearly every movement, through my neighborhood, my city, my workplace…where Rob Manfred, Sam Kennedy, John Henry and more are trying to get more money from me while investing increasingly fewer resources of their own, generally speaking…little wins can take on a bigger profile. Maybe this is one of those micro-wins, one minuscule way to enjoy the feeling of beating the system, even for just a moment? I don’t know, but my therapist may have additional thoughts on the subject.
Cons
This isn’t really a con of the ABS system but it can’t be left out of the discussion of Saturday’s game: the call that arguably could have mattered was Story’s controversial strikeout on a checked swing in the eighth inning. It hurt because the Red Sox had some momentum going, with batters on first and second with two outs, in a one-run game. But this was a situation not governed by ABS, nor was it subject to challenge at all.
Lou Merloni mentioned several times that Bucknor did not consult with the first base umpire on his decision. Quick rules review: because Story was deemed to have swung and a strike subsequently called, there was no possibility of appeal. If Bucknor had called a ball (having decided Story had not swung), an appeal would have been possible, most likely from the Reds’ catcher, or the manager. In this case, it could have been appealed and then Bucknor would have been required to ask for a ruling from a corner base umpire (first base, in this case, since Story is right-handed) who has a better angle. With a strike call in this situation, there is no possibility for appeal (see Rule 8.02 (c) of the Official Baseball Rules (and please don’t ask me why I can order the bound and printed 2026 version, but MLB itself posts the 2025 rules on their website. It is what it is. See what I mean about micro-wins?). Could Bucknor have asked for assistance before making that strike call? Yes, if he thought he didn’t see it. Based on his quick ejection of Alex Cora, he seemed more than willing to double down, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect him to say he didn’t see, wasn’t sure, or needed help. This is veering into pop psychology territory but is all a way of saying that ABS righted several umpiring wrongs on Saturday even though it didn’t come through for the Red Sox where it felt like it might have counted. Of course, this is all a what-if game because even if the opportunity was restored to the Red Sox to proceed with the at-bat, who says Story would have executed?
Aside from Story’s at-bat, introducing checked swings into a discussion on ABS isn’t totally out of nowhere. Check swing challenge testing has been underway. Could this make a difference in the future? Perhaps, but first MLB may need to actually define a checked swing; there is currently no definition at all.
Here’s a true con, but one which was within the Red Sox control: Roman Anthony wasted a challenge. So did Carlos Narváez, for that matter, and they each did it in extremely low-stakes situations. In the first inning of the second game of the season, to me, Narváez’s challenge felt like a new toy. He lost his challenge, but Anthony’s first challenge generated a fuck yeah! adrenaline boost in me for proving the umpire wrong. Maybe Anthony felt the same. But by the very next pitch, when he challenged again, the novelty had already worn off. It was the third challenge of the day by the Sox, and it was only the first batter of the third inning. It was a 3-1 pitch, for godsakes. Anthony was wrong, the Red Sox were out of challenges far too early in the game, and that will serve as a strategy lesson.
I also wonder if ABS lengthened the time of the game. It will take more games and data to see if that’s true, but it feels true about Saturday’s game. Sometime during that game, I wrote “3 hours???” in my notes, well before it went to extra innings. The 2025 nine-inning average game time was 2:38; the final game time for Saturday was 3:32. This game didn’t spend an hour in extra innings, so it was empirically a long game through nine. Was it a coincidence that there were also multiple ABS challenges? It’s completely anecdotal at this early stage of the season. But I have to ask: is ABS at odds with one of baseball’s central goals of increasing engagement and interest in our beautiful sport by keeping game times manageable?
I find myself, for now, in support of ABS, in that it can restore opportunities that were wrongly taken away, but it also tried my patience on Saturday. Red Sox hitters will need to develop ABS discipline to match their plate discipline, or turn off their egos, or whatever in order for the team to use this tool to their advantage. These are quick thoughts on a big subject that will continue to play out in the 2026 season.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 25: Logan Webb #62 of the San Francisco Giants pitches his 1000th career strikeout during the game at Oracle Park on March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Suzanna Mitchell/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants continue their series against the San Diego Padres tonight from Oracle Park.
Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Logan Webb, who finished the 2025 season with a 3.22 ERA, 2.60 FIP, with 224 strikeouts to 46 walks in 207 innings pitched. His last start was on Opening Day, in which he allowed seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with seven strikeouts and a walk in five innings.
He’ll be facing off against Padres right-hander Germán Márquez, who finished the 2025 season with a 6.70 ERA, 5.47 FIP, with 83 strikeouts to 48 walks in 126.1 innings pitched. This will be his first start of the 2026 season.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 04, 2026: Lazaro Montes #99 of the Seattle Mariners bats during the fifth inning of a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium on March 04, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
Lazaro Montes, perhaps the single most powerful bat the Mariners have had in their minor leagues this decade, is a polarizing player within the scouting community. While many see his thunderous bat that launched 32 homers last season across two different levels and liken him to some of the great sluggers of our time, others are concerned about his contact rates and lack of positional versatility, positing he won’t ever hit enough to make his power play in game action. Regardless of where you align yourself on the spectrum of outcomes Laz ultimately arrives at, Montes is undoubtedly one of the best prospects in this entire system and deserves his flowers after an excellent 2025 season.
It won't make highlight reels, but Lazaro Montes quietly had a very good Spring Breakout game, going 3-for-3 with three singles, driving in two of the Mariners' three runs, and stealing a base. Nice controlled swing on a curveball here to gap a single. pic.twitter.com/qdoOYZNm8C
The calling card here is the power. With some mammoth home runs under his belt, his lefty swing is catered for lofting balls over the outfield fence, and thanks to his hulking frame (he’s listed at 6’5 210lb, but as someone who has stood next to him, I can assure you he’s bigger than that), he accomplishes that goal with regularity. The exit velocities are loud, and because he’s able to elevate the ball so frequently, they lead to tangible results on the field.
An interesting tidbit for Montes that gets underrated by most public outlets, Montes seems to have a better innate handle for the bat than many give him credit for. He’s shown stretches of time where he is very obviously avoiding the “sell out for power” mentality, poking singles the other way and making more contact with the ball. There’s a happy medium in there somewhere, and if he’s able to achieve a sustainable balance of contact and dynamic power, Montes quashes a lot of the concerns evaluators have around his offensive game.
Outside of the bat, Montes profiles as a corner outfielder at the next level, with a massive arm suited for right field. His speed, though perhaps a hair underrated, is still below average and won’t be a major part of his game, but what he lacks in footspeed he makes up for with incessant hustle. He is constantly giving max effort everywhere on the field, and it’s incredibly fun to watch as a fan. There’s never a doubt Montes deeply cares about doing his best for the team in any way he can, and it’s a refreshing style of play that fans naturally gravitate to.
Montes draws more extreme comps than just about any prospect in this system, and while a player with his skills is typically clumped into one bucket of corner outfielders or another, it’s doing Montes a disservice to remove all nuance from him as a player. Yes, the strikeouts are very high, and yes, he does not make a lot of contact, but how much of a concern is it if a then 20 year old is producing in Double-A? At what point does production reign supreme? To say Montes is a perfect prospect would be a lie, but to discount Montes’ accomplishments and cite only his worst trait as a universal dealbreaker is equally flawed. The risk associated around him is why he’s at sixth in our overall rankings, but with a supremely talented top of the farm, Montes was neck-and-neck with the next prospects on our list and still sits within our upper echelon of premium prospect talent.
