DETROIT, MI - JUNE 24: A tv broadcast camera is pictured before the MLB baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies Sox and the Detroit Tigers on June 24, 2024 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Tigers released a full schedule for televised Grapefruit League broadcasts on Friday. However, we’re still waiting on the details for Tigers TV and how and when games will be broadcast on local cable providers. The club thought those details would be finalized this week, but apparently we’re not quite there yet. In the meantime, the televised broadcasts this spring will mainly be free games of the day on MLB.tv, so anyone with an account will be able to watch them without paying for a season package. Most of them will also be on MLB Network, with ESPN carrying a March 2 matchup at home against the Braves.
10 of the remainng 24 games are slated to be MLB.tv free games of the day, so they will be available to anyone with an account, even if it isn’t active, with no home blackouts involved. That amount of broadcasts is pretty standard for the Grapefruit League. Most games will be available via the Tigers Radio Network as always.
On top of negotiating out all the broadcast rights in partnership with MLB, there’s also the matter of producing their own broadcasts, so there are a lot of things that may be holding up the Tigers TV package, which will eventually be available on MLB.tv. The Tigers will produce their own home broadcasts March 1st, 7th, and 21st, featuring the teams broadcasters. That probably means Dan Dickerson running the show for the most part, but Jason Benetti should get in at least one trial run with the new setup when he isn’t busy with national obligations covering March Madness.
So for now, if you don’t already have MLB.tv you should be able to just establish an account without purchasing a package, and watch the free games in March. At some point, the Tigers TV package will be ready for order, and we should find out about cable providers carrying the games in partnership with the Tigers along the way as well. At that point, everyone can figure out what’s best for their home viewing during the season.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - APRIL 07: A general view of fans at Oracle Park during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Friday, April 7, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Loren Elliott/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been checking in all month to get your opinions on various topics around the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general.
But now, it’s time to discuss the most important aspect of McCovey Chronicles, and that is YOU! The wonderful community!
Today’s prompt is less about baseball and more about the community: Who among your fellow community members deserves a shout out for making this community the awesome place that it is, and why?
I’ll be reading through the responses and I’d like to highlight a few next week in a follow up post. So make sure you give your shout outs in the comments below!
Who are your McCovey Chronicles community All Stars?
No TV, no radio. Absolute BS. Baseball teams can afford to take the loss in order to promote the game. But they won’t. And it isn’t going to get better.
For the cost of an NRI longshot or, even better, some minuscule portion of CEO salary, these games could be made available to you and me. But it’s not going to happen, because infectious inimical capitalism is rife. Gordon Gekko might have been talking about sports culture.
Don’t let Rob fool you. He hates baseball. He likes money.
Swanson also singled home another run in the bottom of the sixth. Porter Hodge had another subpar outing. Jefferson Rojas and Pedro Ramirez had good days, and the Cubs took away an 8-6 victory.
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BRADENTON, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Shane Baz #34 of the Baltimore Orioles delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates during a Grapefruit League spring training game at LECOM Park on February 27, 2026 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
The final day of February has arrived. Our long wintery nightmare is nearly over. Today is expected to be a sunny one around Baltimore, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees! And while I don’t want to jinx anything, I may have taken a gander at the ever-inaccurate 10-day forecast and spotted an upcoming day with a high in the 70s. The great thaw has begun.
It’s not just the temperatures that are heating up this week. The baseball is too. What a segue!
Speaking of health, we are still waiting to hear more on Samuel Basallo. The latest there is that the side injury he suffered earlier in the week was not a major issue. Craig Albernaz said the catcher could have stayed in the game, but the team was being cautious. For now, he is not scheduled to get any testing done. He’s just resting it.
But these are the Orioles weren’t talking about. They aren’t known for their transparency on the injury front. We’ll believe it when we see Basallo back in the lineup, and not a moment before.
Maybe he will return to the field this weekend. We shall see! The O’s will play the Braves today at 1:05, and then the Red Sox at the same time on Sunday. Both games will be on MASN and local radio.
Links
Baz shows why O’s traded for him with electric 1st outing of spring | MLB.com If you had to pick one player as “the talk of Orioles camp” it’s probably Pete Alonso, but Shanze Baz might be a close second. All of the reviews of his stuff have been raving, and now he has an impressive Grapefruit League outing under his belt. The Orioles are putting a lot of eggs into the Baz basket, so they need him to pan out.
Orioles appear to catch a break with Basallo | Roch Kubatko The indications on this are good. Basallo is saying he feels good. He is still around the team and smiling. Hopefully there are no setbacks and we see him back on the field in the next few days.
Orioles’ Bradfield on playing for Team Panama in World Baseball Classic: ‘A fun opportunity’ | Baltimore Baseball For players that haven’t made it to the majors yet, the WBC seems like a great chance to play in a competition with elevated stakes and major league-adjacent talent. Bradfield is a player that will probably get to Baltimore sometime this summer, so anything he can do to prepare himself for those slightly brighter lights feels worthwhile.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Mike Milchin turns 58 today. The lefty pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 1996, accumulating a 5.73 ERA over 11 total innings.
Dallas Williams is 68 years old. He had a two-game stint with the Birds in 1981.
The late Dick Kokos (b. 1928, d. 1986) was born on this day. He was on the Orioles team that came over with the organization from St. Louis in 1954. He had spent four seasons with the Browns, but lasted just 11 games with the Orioles.
This day in O’s history
2023 – The Orioles and Pirates play an unofficial bottom of the ninth inning without umpires. The home team Pirates had already won the game, 7-4, and the umpires headed to the locker room. But both teams agreed to play another half inning in order to get more spring reps for their players. Orioles catcher Maverick Handley fills in for the missing officials, receiving the pitches and calling the balls and strikes. No additional runs are scored as Orioles pitcher Ofreidy Gomez allows just one hit before the game ends…unofficially.
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 9: Garrett Whitlock #22 of the Boston Red Sox reacts with Aroldis Chapman #44 of the Boston Red Sox during a Spring Training workout at JetBlue Park at Fenway South on February 9, 2026 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s pitching preview time, ladies and gentlemen. Over the next several days, I’ll be writing 10,000 words or so about everyone you might see pitching for the Red Sox to start the season.We’re done with the rotation options and are moving on to the bullpen. We’ll start at the back, with the high-leverage options.
Aroldis Chapman
Aroldis Chapman is coming off arguably the best season of his career, believe it or not. He posted a 1.17 ERA over 67 appearances. He was so good that it’s almost impossible for him to repeat that performance, and that’s okay. If he’s even 90% of the pitcher he was in 2025, he’s still one of the game’s best closers.
The key for Chapman is throwing strikes. Last season, he posted a career low 6.6% walk rate. I still have a hard time believing that he was able to start locating for the first time in his career because he actaully started aiming, but whatever the reason for his newfound control, it made him virtually unhittable. His fastballs, a four-seam and sinker, are what he’s known for. They averaged 98 and 99 mph, respectively,
He used a fastball and sinker most frequently; they averaged 98 and 99 mph, respectively, and had strike rates of 74% and 67%. The four-seam had a swinging strike rate of 15.6%, while the sinker had an insane 21.5% swinging strike rate. Those two pitches accounted for about 75% of his offerings, with more four-seams early and sinkers late. Ahead in counts, he turned to a slider that was untouchable, returning a 34% putaway rate and a whiff on about one in every three pitches. He also used a splitter that caused hitters to chase at a 42% rate and whiff on one in every four pitches. The stuff is overpowering, and Chapman was in the zone enough to harness it. It’ll be hard for him to post another 1.17 ERA, but he’ll handle the ninth inning as long as he’s healthy.
Garrett Whitlock
As dominant as Aroldis Chapman was in 2025, the mere fact that he’s Aroldis Chapman is inherently nerve-wracking. He could throw nothing but strikes for two months straight, I’d still be slightly afraid he’ll completely lose control and start handing out walks to everyone. With Garrett Whitlock, that isn’t the case.
Whitlock moved back to the bullpen full-time in 2025 and made 62 appearances with a 2.25 ERA. From August 19 through the end of the regular season, he didn’t allow an earned run. I will not be elaborating on what happened in the postseason.
He was equally effective against both sides of the plate, holding both lefties and righties to an OPS below .600. He both struck out and walked more righties, but the differences were negligible. Whitlock is a strike-throwing machine. Each of his three pitches hold a strike rate over 65%, led by his sinker at 70%. The sinker, due to its shape, functions more like a four-seam fastball. It has two-plane movement with high velocity and elite extension that allows it to miss bats at the top of the zone. Righties see his sinker about 50% of the time, while lefties see it about 40%. He utilizes a slider and a changeup as secondary pitches, 31% and 21%, respectively.
Against righties, Whitlock goes to his slider most often, and it was excellent. The two-strike chase rate was 35% while the putaway rate was 30%. He’s also one of the few pitchers on the Red Sox staff who utilizes a changeup against same-handed hitters. They predominantly came with two strikes, but he’d occasionally flip one in early to steal a strike. It was a solid offering and got righties to expand the zone, but was fouled off more than he’d like in two-strike counts. I’m probably nitpicking, but his pitch plot shows he might have been in the zone or too near the zone, costing him whiffs. As I write this, I realize I’m criticizing a pitcher with a 30% strikeout rate. Ignore me.
Alright, focus back up. We’ve still got his approach against lefties to talk about. Lefties swing and miss at his sinker often, though the contact is louder when they do connect. His changeup is his go-to secondary pitch, and it’s mostly great. It generated a chase rate near 50%, an 18% swinging strike rate, and a paltry 20% ideal contact rate. I say it was “mostly” great because of its performance with two strikes. In 54 two-strike counts, he only recorded three strikeouts. Despite good locations, lefties either fouled the ball off or took pitches just off the plate. His changeup is the only pitch he throws away from lefties, so throwing low two-strike fastballs might be able to freeze opponents and make them respect the changeup. Again, I’m nitpicking a 30% strikeout rate pitcher, but it is a place to improve. Regardless of the changeup’s ineffectiveness in putting hitters away, his fastball and slider each pulled their weight. Each pitch had a putaway rate of 25%, allowing him to keep that strikeout rate high.
Whitlock was one of the most reliable relievers in baseball and should continue to be in 2026.
Around the Division
David Bednar (NYY)
David Bednar was born in Pittsburgh and went to high school in Eastern Pennsylvania before moving across the state to play college ball at Lafayette College. He walked out to Renegade by Styx when closing games for the Pirates, and they still traded him to the Yankees. Kinda messed up if you ask me.
Bednar’s arsenal is similar to Craig Kimbrel’s. It’s high 90s fastballs up, and then he’ll pull the string with a 75 mph in the dirt and make you look like an idiot. He struggled for a stretch in 2025 and was briefly demoted to the minor leagues, but was completely dominant upon returning. I’d love to be a fan of his, but he was forced to put on pinstripes, so I’ll wait until 2027 when he becomes a free agent.
Jeff Hoffman (TOR)
Hoffman was up and down in 2025, most notably allowing a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series. His fastball, slider, and splitter each miss bats at a high rate, but the fastball in particular was hit hard in 2025. Walks were an issue as well; Hoffman handed out free passes to 9.4% of hitters. He also surrendered 15 home runs, although his 37.5% home run per fly ball rate should regress to the mean in 2026. While he’s slotted in as the Blue Jays’ closer now, he might be on a short leash to begin the season.
Ryan Helsley (BAL)
Ryan Helsley comes over to the American League East after spending the second half of the season with the New York Mets, where he really struggled. He throws as hard as anyone, but opponents were able to handle his fastball last season. While his four-seam has always allowed some hard contact, 2025 was an outlier in terms of ideal contact rate. His slider is excellent, returning a 23% swinging strike rate. The Orioles paid him like a closer, so the ninth inning is likely his to lose to start the season. He’s a major bounce-back candidate after a rocky 2025 season.
Edwin Uceta/Griffin Jax (TBR)
Pete Fairbanks took off for Miami, so the Rays have an opening at the back of their bullpen. While they likely won’t have a designated closer, Edwin Uceta and Griffin Jax are two names likely to get late-game opportunities. Uceta throws a flat fastball from a near-sidearm release with a crazy delivery that gives hitters a really difficult time, and follows it up with a changeup with great fade. He gets a ton of strikeouts, but was prone to the home run ball in 2025. He also has a lingering shoulder injury that puts his status for opening day in question.
Jax came over from the Twins, and I have no idea why Minnesota let him go. His sweeper and changeup each have swinging strike rates over 20%, while his fastball has a solid shape and great velocity. He leaves the ball over the plate some, which was punished in 2025, but his strikeout numbers are off the charts. It seems that the Rays want to use him in the bullpen, but you could convince me that he could succeed in a rotation. He’ll also represent Team USA during the World Baseball Classic.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels is congratulated by Zach Neto #9 after hitting a solo home run, his 404th career home run, during the first inning against starting pitcher Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. #43 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 28, 2025 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last week, Angels owner Arte Moreno made a bit of a scene by saying that the team’s fans aren’t “overly concerned with winning.” His claim, based on fan surveys, said that visitors to “the Big A” are more concerned about things like affordability at the ballpark. While there’s something to not wanting to spend an arm and a leg just to go to one baseball game, I feel like Angels fans would also like to win, but that’s just me.
That being said, in recent years the team has had Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani — and still employs one of them — but hasn’t really had much to show for it, as one famous tweet points out.
every time I see an Angels highlight it's like "Mike Trout hit three homes runs and raised his average to .528 while Shohei Ohtani did something that hasn't been done since 'Tungsten Arm' O'Doyle of the 1921 Akron Groomsmen, as the Tigers defeated the Angels 8-3"
— ℳatt (matttomic.bsky.social) (@matttomic) May 18, 2021
Their 11-year absence from the playoffs is the longest in baseball and they last finished over .500 a decade ago. Despite all that, there are still people attending Angels games. If Moreno means what he says on the affordability front, this year would be a good one to prove that he cares about that, since I don’t think the winning thing will be changing in 2026.
Los Angeles Angels
2025 record: 72-90 (5th, AL West) 2026 FanGraphs projection: 74-88 (5th, AL West)
As mentioned, the Angels still do have half of their once all-world combination in Mike Trout. While he did appear in 130 games in 2025 having missed a lot of time due to injury in previous seasons, he’s definitely not the Mike Trout you remember. He was still a pretty good hitter, posting a 120 wRC+, that’s a far cry from where he was in his prime, not even factoring in that his defensive ratings have taken a dive. He put up only 1.8 fWAR last year, when the previous season he appeared in over 100 games — 2022 — he put up 6.0. Projections still expect him to be a decent hitter, but he had a hard enough time trying to drag the Angels to the playoffs at his peak, never mind now.
The issue with the Angels’ lineup in general is that, Trout included, they just don’t have a ton of guys you can project to be middle order stalwarts. FanGraphs projects seven Angels regulars to put up a wRC+ over 100 in 2026, which sounds decent. It’s just that the highest of those projections is Trout at 117. That’s lower than what Ben Rice is projected to do for the Yankees, and Rice is not the projected best hitter for the Bombers.
That being said, the Angels do have some possible solid contributors. The likes of shortstop Zach Neto and first baseman Nolan Schanuel have the makings of solid contributors and are both younger than 26. There’s just not much going on in their lineup that makes you really take notice.
Their situation on the pitching front is somewhat similar: they have some guys that could put up solid numbers but no one who looks like a capital-A “Ace.” They did acquire Grayson Rodriguez from the Orioles and Alek Manoah, formerly of the Blue Jays. Both those guys have been top prospects in the not so distant past, so maybe they could mine some gold out of one of them.
Besides Rodriguez and Manoah, the Angels acquired a bunch of “oh hey, it’s that guy(s)” this offseason. Other additions for them in 2026 include Josh Lowe, Drew Pomeranz, Kirby Yates, and Jordan Romano.
One person you will not be seeing for the Angels this year is Anthony Rendon. If you look up the Angels’ roster, you’ll still find Rendon listed — probably with the injured list distinction — but he and the Angels came to an agreement to rework his contract, effectively ending his time with the team, and probably concluding his MLB career.
In order to actually be a good team, the Angels would need to have guessed correctly on a bunch of coinflips. It’s technically possible, just hard to do. That being said, they’ll still probably take two of three over the Yankees in Anaheim in some stupid fashion.
More Pinstripe Alley MLB team season previews can be found here.
PEORIA, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 27: Luis Castillo #58 of the Seattle Mariners pitches during the first inning of the spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Peoria Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Peoria, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s another latercap, brought to you by my charming inability to plan ahead and impetuous decision-making, which has led to me sitting in the parking lot of this Peoria Lowe’s using their free wi-fi to push out a recap of a 3-1 Mariners loss to the Diamondbacks that will be as stale as old coffee tomorrow, but the completist in me insists. Plus, I worry we are already reaching the stage of spring training where the games are boring, and we haven’t even seen all the WBC guys leave yet; that will happen tomorrow or the next day, and the minor leaguers will flood into camp tomorrow, and then we’ll really see from boring.
There was a point today where I was driving through Utah for the eighth or eight hundredth hour and I found myself utterly sick of being overcome by appreciation for the natural world (I believe I said, out loud, in the direction of one particularly comely rock formation, “okay, enough with the striations already, I get it!”). Look, anyone who’s looked at B-roll of Arizona spring training can tell you, it’s beautiful. But you can only look at so many breath-stealing dramatic vistas and sandcastle rock formations carved by an ancient and unintelligible force and marvel at it so many times. That’s a little what it feels like, being sick of spring training games already.
I had good intentions with the cap, I promise. I started from Twin Falls today with the intent of reaching Flagstaff, a hefty chunk of driving but one that would leave me a manageable piece for the final push to Peoria the next morning. I planned to listen to the game, type out the recap post-dinner, sleep in Flagstaff and awake very very early the next morning (Show-up time for the media in Peoria is around 7:30 or 8, always an unpleasant shock to the national writers when they drop in). I assume the Mariners also had good intentions with the game, ones that went quickly awry as Luis Castillo surrendered a three-run home run in his spring debut, and they failed to get anything going against Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson, also making his spring debut. A boring, bad game, but that’s what spring training is for us, too, as fans, right? Get the calibration early for the particular irritation in Rizzs’s voice when he says “the Mariners LEAVE a man.”
Castillo had a good first inning, opening with a strikeout of Jordan Lawler on a four-seamer that lit up the gun at 96.3. He sat pretty consistently in that first inning at 95-96 mph, which is a significant shift from what we’ve seen with the slower-building Castillo in previous years. Unfortunately, that clean first didn’t transfer into the second inning; James McCann got a fastball in he turned on for a single, and then Ildemaro Vargas pounced on a first-pitch fastball that came in at 94.3 and too much on the plate for a hard-hit single. Castillo did rebound by undressing top DBacks prospect Ryan Waldschmidt on three pitches, steadily climbing the ladder with 95 mph heaters, and then looked to have A.J. Vukovich – who I would have sworn up and down was an Athletics prospect – on the ropes in a 1-2 count, but Vukovich battled for seven pitches and eventually was able to get under a sinker above the zone and send it over the fence for a three-run shot.
Meanwhile, Nelson didn’t allow a hit and struck out three in just two innings: he got Rob Refsnyder looking at a perfectly spotted 97 mph pitch at the bottom of the zone that catcher James McCann challenged and won, which, okay, and he also bowled over two of the young guys, striking out Brennan Davis on a cutter and picking apart Cole Young in a three-pitch sequence that ended with him whiffing at a 97 mph fastball right on the plate. Ouch.
Davis and Young would get their revenge later off reliever Taylor Rashi; Davis opened the inning with yet another hard-hit single, punishing a poorly located slider at 108.8 mph. I’m sad to miss all the guys who will be leaving for the WBC literally right as I’m coming in to camp, but I’m very intrigued by what Davis has been doing this spring and look forward to seeing more. He was followed by another post-hype prospect who’s been having a good camp, Will Wilson—on in place of Miles Mastrobuoni, who got the start at third—with another single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Young did put the ball in play, getting the Mariners’ lone run of the day on an RBI groundout, but having also gotten a slider that looked to be well in the zone you’d like to see more than a okay-ish-hit ground ball.
And that was pretty much it for the offense in this game, as the Mariners bullpen did their jobs and hung zeroes, racking up nine strikeouts among them (although two were Castillo’s, two belonged to Gabe Speier making his final appearance before the WBC, and two to Casey Lawrence in a two-inning outing; Vargas, Ferrer, and Zulueta had the other three). But the offense didn’t hold up their part of D-ing the Z, striking out a combined 10 times. One costly mistake from Castillo, and the Mariners found themselves on the short side of the contest, a boring, unsatisfying affair that will certainly be lost to the annals of spring training history.
My own costly decision was made on the heels of a soggy, tissue-paper-crusted pizza and too much time at the table with my atlas (yes I still use a paper atlas, yes I am a dinosaur, leave me alone I like to see a map all at once in a large format). Phoenix wasn’t that far. What if I just did the drive tonight? I could do that. What was another couple hours in the car after I’d already done twelve or so. It’d be fun! Spontaneous! And most importantly, done at night so I didn’t have to see another single stupid red rock with my fully-smacked gob. We are full up on natural wonders here! All good on Earth’s majesty, thank you.
Ah, perhaps you have already spotted the flaw in my plan of not arranging lodging before driving to Phoenix, where it is a) spring training and b) the weekend and c) apparently a gathering of all the world’s bartenders and every single hotel, motel, Holiday Inn within 300 miles is sold out?
Which brings me to the Shell travel plaza in Black Canyon City, which I landed on after being out of options, driving around aimlessly and bored. Maybe I am not the first person to do a five-step Korean skincare routine at 2 AM in the bathroom/parking lot of said travel plaza; not if you judge off the demeanor of the overnight clerk, an affable older woman whose nametag read Nancy and whose wrists jingled with silver bangle bracelets and who I would follow into war. As I walked back to my vehicle, a little woe-is-me-and-my-bad-planning about the prospect of curling up in the backseat for a nap, I heard a rustling in the bushes next to the car and assumed it was a straggler from the road wandering up towards me; city instincts took over, triggering a wariness and watchfulness.
Instead, a gray donkey appeared between the scrub oaks and gazed at me with big, brown unblinking eyes. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a donkey, a real one, not as part of a manger scene. In a petting zoo somewhere? “That is a donkey,” I said out loud and to no one.
I went inside to tell Nancy. “There is a donkey outside,” I announced, because it was important for it to be said again.
Nancy was not as surprised as I was by this information. “Oh yeah, there are packs of them around. There used to be a petting zoo on the other side of the mountain but a bad storm knocked it all over and they escaped and bred and now they kind of live all over here.” She pointed at the token bowl of fruit every gas station keeps by the front door like a totem to ward against the gastrointestinal crimes perpetuated throughout the rest of the store. “Sometimes I get to feed them,” she said, not a little smug.
What a privilege it is, to be bored, when there are donkeys everywhere for those with eyes to see them.
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 26: Taijuan Walker #99 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches during the second inning of a spring training game against the Washington Nationals at BayCare Ballpark on February 26, 2026 in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Mark Taylor/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Today is the last day where all players will be in camp before many depart for the WBC and prepare for the tournament. That means we’re about to see a lot of minor league pitching taking the mound, which could lead to some interesting scores in the upcoming weeks.
Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Richard Fitts (35) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
A week of spring training is in the books and we finally have real life actual Major League Baseball games to talk about. There have been some fun moments with Rainiel Rodriguez doubling in his first at-bat and JJ Wetherholt going yard to dead center yesterday afternoon. I will refrain from caveating observations with spring training small sample size disclaimers. The results thus far certainly don’t mean much, but there are still a few underlying data points that are worth highlighting.
Richard Fitts was impressive in his first spring outing, throwing two scoreless innings. Notably, Fitts’ four-seam fastball averaged 97.6 MPH compared to a 2025 average velocity of 95.9 MPH. If this velocity gain sticks, it will be the continuation of a trend that saw Fitts’ velocity increase over his last six starts of 2025. Fitts’ four-seamer had above-average induced vertical break (IVB) of 17 inches in 2025 and this increased to over 18 inches in his first spring training start. Carlos Martinez is the only Cardinals starting pitcher to have a fastball velocity above 96 MPH over ten or more starts in the Statcast era. With a starting rotation starved for fastball velocity, it is hard to imagine Fitts not breaking camp in the rotation if he stays healthy this spring.
Jose Fermin hit the hardest ball of his career against Miami, clocking one at 111.4 MPH on a single to left. His previous career high was 109 in Triple-A. One batted ball is the definition of small sample size, but it will be worth watching to see if he can increase his damage on contact. I don’t think Fermin needs to change anything to be a productive hitter, but he would become even more interesting if he could increase his power without sacrificing too much contact.
Quinn Mathews has had a rough start to spring training from a results standpoint, walking four batters and hitting two in his first 4.1 innings. Mathews walked over seven batters per nine innings in Triple-A last season, so it goes without saying that he will need to iron out his command before he is given a crack at the St. Louis rotation. On the positive side, his fastball velocity is up to its 2024 levels thus far after losing a tick last season. Mathews spoke at Winter Warmup about refocusing in the weight room over the offseason. He admits that he is not a naturally strong person, so it is critical for him to get his work in to be able to create the force necessary to throw a baseball. Topping out at 96.7, as he did in his first spring start, is a good indication that he is back on the right track. If his command ever does return, having his A-fastball to go along with his devastating changeup and slider will make him a real weapon.
Of the ten or so interesting Class A and Class A+ pitching prospects, Mason Molina was the first to pitch in a spring training game. Kareen Haq, one of the best Cardinals prospect prognosticators, tweeted a summary of his pitch metrics following his one-inning cameo.
Mason Molina’s fastball is sick. He averaged 94 MPH on it today with 21.3” of IVB from a 5.9’ vertical release. pic.twitter.com/mrpi28909C
The highest IVB, which measures the coveted perceived “rising” fastball, last season in all of baseball was 20.9 inches by Alex Vesia of the Dodgers. This is the type of outlier trait the front office has started to target in trades and the draft over the last year. Molina has plenty of warts as a prospect, but his fastball gives him some legitimate upside potential. Molina has 11 High-A starts under his belt, so a promotion to Double-A to start the season would be a bit aggressive, but he will be a player worth keeping an eye on when the minor league rosters are announced.
Jack Gurevitch smoked a ball at 114.1 MPH against the Astros on Thursday. Gurevitch maxed out at 117 MPH in college, but it is still good to see the exit velocity translating with wood bats. Only Jordan Walker and Willson Contreras have max exit velocities higher than 114 MPH the last two seasons for the Cardinals. Gurevitch has been a bit of a forgotten man in a deep Cardinals system, but the team must really like his bat to have spent a third-round pick on a player that is likely to be a first baseman as he moves up the ladder. Alec Burleson and Luken Baker are the only other first basemen the Cardinals have spent a top-three-round draft pick on in the last ten years. As an advanced college bat, he could be a quick mover if he hits well out of the gate.
Minor league camp is now fully underway as well. Games will not begin for another week, but the first bit of news came out on which DSL players would be coming stateside, with 14 players in total making the move. As expected, the talented group of hitters includes Juan Rojano, Sebastian Dos Santos, Miguel Hernandez, Kenly Hunter, and Royelny Strop. I wrote a bit about this group of prospects earlier this offseason, with the only player not making the jump being Yeferson Portalatin. Yaxson Lucena made the jump stateside at the end of last year.
Of the eight DSL pitchers coming to the US, the highest-profile are Branneli Franco and Reiner Lopez. Franco was arguably the top pitcher in the 2024 class, receiving the largest bonus of any pitcher at $800K. He has a fastball that can hit the upper 90s and posted solid numbers last season, albeit in just 16.1 innings. Reiner Lopez has been on the radar even longer after signing for $500K in 2023. Lopez has remained a person of interest because of his towering 6’8” frame. Lopez turns 20 in April and will need to start making progress soon as he is Rule 5 eligible after next season. The Cardinals have given plenty of pitchers from the Florida Complex team opportunities to move up to Low-A in-season, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that either pitcher could make a full season debut this year.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 02: An exterior view of Yankee Stadium before Game Three of the Wild Card between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on October 2, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We’re going straight to the heart of direct fan experience for today’s big Yankees question. The big-league club is still getting ready for the season down in Tampa, but after beginning the 2026 season with a road trip through San Francisco and Seattle, they’ll be back in the Bronx for their home opener on April 3rd against the Marlins.
Reviews on the new (now not-so-new) Yankee Stadium have been decidedly mixed at best since it replaced the beloved old ballpark across the street in 2009. For the youngest generation of fans, it’s the only Yankee Stadium they’ve ever known, but I’ve heard from kids before who remain cool on it. So it’s an odd situation.
Suppose you were made president of ballpark operations, or some other fancy title along those lines. Hal Steinbrenner has given you leeway to make one sweeping change that will begin during the 2026 season. What would it be? My only caveat is that it can’t just be “cheaper prices” because that is too obvious (and the ol’ House of Steinbrenner would never consent to parting with those dimes). I would deeply like that too! But we can think a little bigger. More time-involved projects are OK as well, as we can just imagine the request for one improvement being made earlier than a month before Opening Day.
Would you want Monument Park somewhere more prominent than stuffed below a restaurant in center field? Dramatic dimension changes? No ear-splitting noises from the PA system that play for two seconds between pitches? (That would probably be mine. It’s so bad.) A different ballpark entry system, given recent years’ frustrations? Restricting “God Bless America” to Sundays and holidays like most other MLB teams? Higher-quality food and beverages, considering they play in a city where you can get basically anything at any time? The choices are vast! Make yours and let us know.
This morning, Nick opens up the history books to spotlight Bill Holland—one of the greatest New York Black Yankees pitchers off all-time—in our Yankees Birthday Series. Madison will also answer your mailbag questions, and Matt will preview the ever-backwards Angels. Will Mike Trout ever appear in a second playoff series and first since over a decade ago? It’s exceedingly doubtful. Grim. Blame the Curse of the Rally Monkey, I have no sympathy for Arte Moreno.
It’s been a breath of fresh air in Phillies camp. For the first time in several years, the big-league club is shaping up to include some youthful faces when late March rolls around.
Andrew Painter is expected to break camp as the fifth starter. Justin Crawford is slated to be the everyday center fielder. And the Phillies’ top prospect, Aidan Miller, could reach the bigs in 2026, but is dealing with lower back soreness, with no timetable for his return.
While all eyes are on the headliners, there are other names worth tracking as the Grapefruit League rolls on.
Dante Nori, OF
The Phillies’ first-round pick in 2024 hasn’t generated much buzz yet, but his tools are hard to ignore. For a 5-foot-9 frame, Nori carries a stout, physical build — FanGraphs has drawn comparisons to Milwaukee’s Sal Frelick — and he has elite speed, swiping 52 bases in 2025. His .733 OPS last season at Single-A Clearwater wasn’t eye-catching, but his plate discipline stands out. He posted a 19.3 percent swing-and-miss rate at A-ball per Prospect Savant, and across 537 professional at-bats, he has drawn 91 walks against just 99 strikeouts.
The 20-year-old finished the year at Double-A, tore up the Arizona Fall League and will represent Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He’s not a power threat, but if he stays gap-to-gap and builds on his contact approach, the havoc he can cause at the top of a lineup is there. Nori scorched a double Thursday for his first extra-base hit of the spring.
Keaton Anthony, INF
Anthony has been a hit-machine in the minors, and he’s done it using the entire field. Last season between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, 40.2 percent of his batted balls went the other way. He posted a .402 batting average on balls in play, making him one of just 16 qualifiers out of 1,079 batters (minimum of 300 plate appearances) to eclipse that mark.
The undrafted Indiana native — a similar overlooked path to Otto Kemp — has slashed .324/.402/.467 across 738 career at-bats. He’s not a power hitter by trade, with just 16 professional home runs, but he tallied 31 doubles in 82 games in 2025, which suggests the raw power is there. His chase rate will be something to monitor as he enters his fourth year in the organization and faces more advanced pitching.
Felix Reyes, 1B/OF
Like Anthony, all Reyes did last season was hit. The 6-foot-4 corner bat slashed .331 in 2025, a jump of nearly 100 points from the year prior, with his slugging climbing 200 points. He struck out just 66 times on the year, making him one of six hitters in all of minor league baseball to post a sub-16 percent strikeout rate, a .300-plus average and a .900-plus OPS with a minimum of 400 plate appearances.
The Eastern League batting champion isn’t ‘athletic’, and the Phillies have already begun giving him consistent reps at first base. If he keeps hitting for average and slugging at this clip, Philadelphia will face a decision — whether that’s using him as trade bait or finding a way to get his bat into the lineup in a corner outfield spot.
Dylan Campbell, OF
Campbell’s name surfaced last offseason when the Phillies sent international pool money to the Dodgers in exchange for the outfielder, helping Los Angeles fund the Roki Sasaki signing. A fourth-round pick out of Texas in 2023, his offensive numbers haven’t stood out yet, but his athleticism and baserunning have. He’s posted back-to-back 30-steal seasons.
Strikeouts have been a concern — consecutive 110-strikeout campaigns — but there are reasons for optimism. He’s put together 32-plus extra-base hits and 50-plus walks in each of those seasons, and a swing adjustment carried into the Arizona Fall League with strong results. He blasted four home runs, half his hits went for extra bases, and he posted a team-leading 1.044 OPS. He also appeared at five positions in the Fall League which gives him real utility value on a big-league roster down the line.
Jean Cabrera, RHP
With the Phillies still searching for starting pitching depth, Cabrera will have his share of opportunities this spring. The 6-foot-4 right-hander threw a career-high 137 innings at Double-A Reading in 2025, posting a 3.81 ERA across 26 starts. Command was a concern — his walk rate climbed to 4.0 per nine after consecutive seasons under three — but the underlying stuff is intriguing.
His fastball sits in the mid-90s and touches 97. If the command issues were simply an adjustment to Double-A competition, a strong spring could put him in a position to be called on if the Phillies need a rotation arm. He threw two clean scoreless innings in his first spring start on Friday.
Alex McFarlane, RHP
The Phillies thought enough of McFarlane to protect him from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to the 40-man roster alongside Gabriel Rincones Jr. (injured this spring). The University of Miami product returned from Tommy John surgery last season, moved to the bullpen and touched 101 mph.
He leaned almost exclusively on his fastball-slider combination, using those two pitches 92 percent of the time per FanGraphs, with his splitter sprinkled in at just 8 percent. His starter’s background gives him some versatility, but the Phillies are focused on letting him hone his command in a full-time relief role at Double-A to begin the year.
Seth Johnson, RHP
Acquired from Baltimore in 2024 in exchange for Gregory Soto, Johnson got his first taste of the big leagues shortly after the trade. Last season, he made ten appearances out of the Phillies’ bullpen, striking out 17 and walking just four across 12 2/3 innings. The 27-year-old former first-round pick by Tampa Bay has a high-90s fastball that touches triple digits as part of a four-pitch mix.
A career starter who transitioned to full-time relief at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, his WHIP climbed to a career-high 1.53, making command the priority this spring. He’ll likely begin the year back at Lehigh Valley, but with improved control, an elevation at some point in 2026 wouldn’t be a surprise. Johnson has already made three appearances this spring, and his velocity is already where it needs to be.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Phillies will take on the Blue Jays at BayCare Ballpark on March 21 for the third annual Spring Breakout game, where clubs across baseball will feature their top prospects against one another. Expect some of the names to make an impact.
Will Jesske doubles at Auburn | Nebraska Athletics
This wasn’t a matchup we hadever seen before, Auburn vs Nebraska on the diamond. In fact, going to any SEC team for a weekend series isn’t something we see very often at all. But the way the NCAA Tournament Committee has been rewarding teams that have a tough non-conference schedule, it will probably become a more common sight. And with how good of a game we saw tonight, it would be a welcome one.
For the first time this season, the game had a true Friday night feeling as the teams rolled out top flight starters to begin a series. Nebraska with Ty Horn and Auburn with Virginia Tech transfer Jake Marciano, and they were dueling early on. They combined to strike out 7 batters in the first two innings.
Auburn was the first to strike in the 3rd inning. Mason McCraine singled through the right side of the infield, and stole second base. His brother, Brandon hit a choppy grounder to Husker third baseman Josh Overbeek who was unable to come up with it. A sac fly brought 1 run home. Then Horn slipped covering a bunt, potentially another out awarded to the Tigers. a 3-2 count walk, loaded the bases for Auburn, and back to back singles made it 4-0. In the middle of all that, Horn and Worthley also got crossed up on the pitch call, despite wearing the communication devices. Just a bad half inning all around.
The Huskers would respond in the next half inning. Case Sanderson singled to lead off. Overbeek and Dylan Carey both stuck out on 3-2 pitches, including Sandy, that was 3 batters in a row that got to a full count. DH Cole Kitchens had no interest in working a full count, driving his first pitch off the War Eagle Wall (Auburn’s version of Fenway’s Green Monster) for an RBI double. Nebraska left fielder Will Jesske hammered a ball (on a full count!) to the nearly the same spot, trading places with Kitchens and cutting the lead to 4-2.
Jesske has had a lot of pop in his bat to start the season, the only issue is he has played at some of the biggest and strangest laid out outfield fences you can find. Had Nebraska played all their games in places like Haymarket Park, Jesske could very well be leading the nation in home runs. Could that be foreshadowing?!
Auburn added a run back in the 4th, ending Horn’s day at 3.2 innings pitched, with 4 earned runs allowed, on 5 strikeouts and 2 walks. Things went sideways quick on him, for the first time in quite a few outings, as he was clutch down the stretch for Nebraska last year and had been off to a good start to 2026.
Marciano was able to make it only through 5 himself, as the Huskers were able to work him deep into counts often, and he chased the strikeouts, all 9 of them, but allowed zero walks. Nebraska would strike out 18 times in the 10 inning game, but despite the numerous deep counts, end up with zero walks. That shows you how ready you have to be in the batters box, but also how predictable the pitches can be when they get to a count with 3 balls.
The bullpens led by Cooper Katskee for the Huskers and Jett Johnston for the Tigers took over, tossing up zeros until Nebraska broke through in the 8th. Mac Moyer reached on an error, Case Sanderson ripped a single into center field, and Overbeek loaded the bases by taking a ball to the elbow.
The exact man Coach Will Bolt and Husker fans everywhere would want up for the situation strode to the plate, in Dylan Carey. Despite being 0-3 on the night, Carey worked it to a 3-2 count, and as stated above, got a predicable strike right over the middle of the plate and smashed the 51st double of his career to the War Eagle Wall. Two pitches later Cole Kitchens tied the game with a double into the right field corner. Overbeek scored on thr play, and Dylan Carey may have been able to score the go ahead run, but went back to tag up as the fielder seemed to get close to catching it on the fly from his perspective.
J’Shawn Unger took over on the mound in the 8th for NU, and despite a rocky inning with a walk, wild pitch, and unintentional/intentional walk, Unger was able to come up with a big strikeout to hold the tigers off the board.
After the Auburn closer struck out the side, Unger need only 7 pitches to retire the Tigers and send the game to extra innings.
The 10th started with a bang, as Sanderson collected his team leading 3rd hit of the night, a double into the left field corner. Overbeek hit a ball to the right side to move Sandy over to third and bring up that man again, Dylan Carey. Carey continued his hot streak, hitting a single to left and claiming his 3rd RBI of the night and team leading 15th RBI on the season in only 8 games. Devin Nunez added a base hit putting runners on 1st and 2nd for Jesske. This time Jesske conquered the War Eagle Wall, blasting his 3rd home run of the season and increasing his RBI total on the day to 4, putting his team up 9-5.
Nebraska would need every single one of those runs as they have struggled at the closer position to start the season. Kevin Mannell would be passed over, as the team tried other options. Unger gave up a 1 out single. The runner advanced to 2nd without a throw, then came around to score on a single. Caleb Clark came in to face a left handed batter and surrendered a 3-2 walk. Freshman Jace Ziola replaced Clark and gave up an 0-2 RBI single. A passed ball and 4 pitch walk loaded the bases.
Nebraska then turned to Pryce Bender, who was able to induce a ground ball which Carey snagged at short despite the runner and Overbeek both flashing in front of him. A run did score on the play, cutting the Husker lead down to 9-8. The best hitter for Auburn stepped to the plate with the tying run on 3rd and winning run on 2nd. Bender was able to get him to pop up on his first pitch and secure the win for Unger and a save for himself, albeit in nail-biting fashion.
This was the first Nebraska regular season win at an SEC field since 2014, and their 2nd win over a ranked team in a row. They did it by continually putting pressure on the Auburn pitchers, getting 6 lead off hitters on out of 10. Number of pitches is a big thing, but number of pitches under pressure is just an extra bit of stress on an arm. Nebraska is going to have to cut down on the strikeout numbers on offense if they want to win this series. They should go down a bit, as Auburn did use both of their closers and their top strikeout starter, but the rest of the staff is just as stingy on handing out walks, so get ready!
The Huskers go for the series win Saturday at 2pm CT.
Peoria, AZ - February 22: Sean Boyle #96 of the San Diego Padres throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game on February 22, 2026 in Peoria, AZ. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)
For the third time in the last four games, a San Diego Padres Spring Training game was decided by one run. Unfortunately for the Padres, it was the Colorado Rockies who were at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning and it was Zac Veen who hit a one-out solo home run to center field just to the right of the batters eye to give the Rockies a 3-2 walk-off win at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Ariz. on Friday.
San Diego took the lead early in the game when Manny Machado collected his seventh RBI in to games with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to right-center field to give the Padres a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. San Diego scored its second run of the game in the top of the eighth inning when Samad Taylor hit a two-out a single through the left side of the infield that scored Tirso Ornelas to tie the game, 2-2.
Veen connected on his game-winning home run when Padres reliever Sean Boyle left an 89.1 mph fastball out over the plate on a 1-0 count. Veen took his trip around the bases much to the delight of his teammates and the home field crowd and Boyle and his teammates walked off the field and made their return to Peoria, Ariz.
Jake Cronenworth, Ramon Laureano and Sung-Mun Song were the only San Diego starters to record a hit against Colorado pitching. Taylor had the only other hit for the Padres in the game with his eight-inning RBI-single.
Randy Vasquez started on the mound for San Diego and turned in another solid outing. He finished 2.2 innings and did not allow a hit. Vasquez did issue to walks, but he also recorded four strikeouts.
The Padres return to the Peoria Sports Complex to take on the Seattle Mariners on Saturday at 12:10 p.m. San Diego opened Cactus League play against Seattle on Feb. 20 last time the teams met, and the Padres took a 7-4 loss.
Luis Gil prepares to throw a pitch during the Yankees' Feb. 27 Grapefruit League game.
Observations from Yankees’ spring training Friday:
Bombs away
The Yankees crushed five home runs in a blowout of the Twins, with Jasson Domínguez, J.C. Escarra, Spencer Jones, Paul DeJong and Duke Ellis all going deep.
Challenging
The Yankees ran out of ABS challenges by the bottom of the first inning after right fielder Yanquiel Fernandez and Luis Gil were both wrong in trying to get calls overturned.
Luis Gil delivers a pitch during the Yankees’ 17-5 blowout over the Twins in a Feb. 27, 2026 Grapefruit League game. Imagn Images
Gil later tried to challenge a ball in the second inning (that looked like a strike), but did not have one to use.
Caught my eye
Escarra launched his first homer of the spring off righty Cole Sands, a 413-footer that came off the bat at 109.6 mph — the hardest-hit ball of his career, according to Statcast.
“That means I’m eating well,” Escarra joked.
Saturday’s schedule
Paul Blackburn, who pitched in a piggyback role in his first appearance, will start against the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field, the last game for all of the Yankees’ WBC participants.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Anthony Volpe #11 of the New York Yankees looks on during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 24, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
NJ.com | Bob Klapisch ($): Anthony Volpe’s faced more than his fair share of detractors over the past year, and while he may not be ready to start on Opening Day the shortstop aims to regain a foothold on his starting spot once he’s fully recovered from shoulder surgery. Part of that journey rests on the 24-year-old finding his footing at the plate, and luckily there’s a host of former Yankee greats that love to swing by for the start of spring to impart some lessons onto the next generation. Bucky Dent knows a thing or two about transforming his image in a hurry, and the man whose nickname in Boston isn’t proper to publish wanted to share as much as he could with Volpe to aid in his comeback attempt.
NY Post | Greg Joyce: Barring any last-minute surprises, Randal Grichuk’s quest to make it out of Yankees camp begins today after undergoing a physical with the team on Friday. He’s now clear to begin working out with the team, and should find his way into a lineup before long as the organization envisions a bench/platoon role for the outfielder as their answer to left-handed pitching.
NY Daily News | Gary Phillips ($): Cam Schlittler had one of the few minor injuries of note when spring camp opened, as the phenom starting pitcher worked through a back/lat issue. However, Aaron Boone noted the other day that Schlittler is expected to be ready for Opening Day, and the only consequence is that he likely won’t be fully built up to a regular starter’s workload by then. Instead, Schlittler will probably be capped around 70 pitches by then, as the team aims to get him back into a five-day routine soon and make his spring debut afterwards. The early schedule will aid their attempts to build Schlittler back up to form, but they’ll take everything they can get from the young flamethrower after seeing a taste of what he could offer last year.
FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: The curious case of Jarren Duran’s 2025 season led Jaffe down a rabbit hole of examining players who had one terrific month that carried their year, and then eventually flipped that exercise around to examining consistency overall among the game’s stars. Aaron Judge gets a feature in here as an example of sheer unbelievable consistency, as his worst month of the year in 2025 dwarfed the worst months of all the other notable superstars in his stratosphere. Give it a read, it’s an interesting dive.
