Category: Baseball

Today is the day where Columbus and Augusta get their seasons underway, meaning all four levels of the Atlanta Braves system are now underway. With that in mind I decided to make this guide for following where our Top 30 prospects, and honorable mentions, will open the season.

Below you will find the players in order of their rankings in the Battery Power Top 30 Braves prospects, followed by where they will open the season as well as the positions you can expect them to play. At the bottom you can find a guide on which prospects are a part of which team.

1. Cam Caminiti – A+ Rome, LH Starting Pitcher
2. JR Ritchie – AAA Gwinnett, RH Starting Pitcher
3. Didier Fuentes – AAA Gwinnett, RH Starting Pitcher. Note Fuentes also was a part of the Atlanta Opening Day roster, but was sent down to stretch out as a starter
4. Owen Murphy – AA Columbus, RH Starting Pitcher
5. Diego Tornes – Extended spring training. Tornes will likely open with the FCL club next month playing mostly center field.
6. Tate Southisene – A Augusta, SS/2B/3B/CF
7. Briggs McKenzie – Extended spring training. McKenzie will likely open as a starting pitcher with the FCL team when that season begins.
8. Luke Sinnard – Extended spring training. Sinnard wasn’t included on any of the rosters, meaning he will start in Florida. He will likely move to Columbus, or possibly Rome, once he is ready.
9. John Gil – A+ Rome, SS/3B/2B
10. Alex Lodise – A Augusta, SS/2B/3B
11. Jhancarlos Lara – AA Columbus, RH Reliever
12. Garrett Baumann – AA Columbus, RH Starting Pitcher
13. Luis Guanipa – A Augusta, CF/RF
14. Conor Essenburg, A Augusta, RF/LF/1B
15. Isaiah Drake – A+ Rome, CF/RF/LF
16. Cody Miller – A+ Rome, SS/2B/3B
17. Owen Carey – A+ Rome, CF/LF/RF
18. Blake Burkhalter – Extended spring training. Burkhalter will likely move to Gwinnett shortly after his return and pitch in relief.
19. Lucas Braun – AAA Gwinnett, RH Starting Pitcher
20. Herick Hernandez – AA Columbus, LH Starting Pitcher
21. Jose Perdomo – A Augusta, SS/3B/2B
22. Rayven Antonio – TBD. Antonio is on the roster for Augusta on the website, where he spent all of last year. However he wasn’t named in any of the roster tweets for the four affiliates.
23. Raudy Reyes – N/A. Reyes is out with Tommy John surgery according to his social media.
24. Eric Hartman – A+ Rome, CF/LF/2B
25. Ethan Bagwell – A Augusta, RH Starting Pitcher
26. Dixon Williams – A+ Rome, 2B/3B
27. Cade Kuehler – A+ Rome, RH Starting Pitcher
28. Hayden Harris – AAA Gwinnett, LH Reliever
29. Carter Holton – A Augusta, LH Starting Pitcher
30. Drue Hackenberg – AA Columbus, RH Starting Pitcher

Honorable Mentions

• Jeremy Reyes – A+ Rome, RH Starting Pitcher
• Brett Sears – AA Columbus, RH Starting Pitcher
• Juan Mateo – A Augusta, SS/3B/2B. Will open on the injured list
• David McCabe – AA Columbus, 1B/3B/DH
• Landon Beidelschies – A Augusta, LH Starting Pitcher

By Team

Triple-A Gwinnett

2.JR Ritchie

3.Didier Fuentes

19.Lucas Braun

28.Hayden Harris

Other Prospects of Note: Rolddy Munoz, Jim Jarvis

Double-A Columbus

4.Owen Murphy

11.Jhancarlos Lara

12.Garrett Baumann

20.Herick Hernandez

30.Drue Hackenberg

HM.Brett Sears

HM.David McCabe

Other Prospects of Note: Elison Joseph, Ambioris Tavarez, Patrick Clohisy

High-A Rome

1.Cam Caminiti

9.John Gil

15.Isaiah Drake

16.Cody Miller

17.Owen Carey

24.Eric Hartman

26.Dixon Williams

27.Cade Kuehler

HM.Jeremy Reyes

Other Prospects of Note: Cedric De Grandpre, Ian Mejia, Logan Braunschweig

Low-A Augusta

6.Tate Southisene

10.Alex Lodise

13.Luis Guanipa

14.Conor Essenburg

21.Jose Perdomo

25.Ethan Bagwell

29.Carter Holton

HM.Juan Mateo (IL)

HM.Landon Beidelschies

Other Prospects of Note: Cristobal Abreu, Luis Arestigueta, Davis Polo, Zach Royse, Nick Montgomery, Junior Garcia

Extended Spring Training

5.Diego Tornes

7.Briggs McKenzie

8.Luke Sinnard

18.Blake Burkhalter

22.Rayven Antonio

23.Raudy Reyes

The Phillies’ ninth inning comeback and extra inning win on Wednesday afternoon shifted the narrative of the early season. While a 3-3 homestand is a disappointment, it feels so much better than 2-4.

The Phillies will now head on the road for the first time all season as they visit Coors Field, a stadium that has largely vexed them over the years. However, most of that vexing came when the Rockies were a quality – or even halfway competent – baseball team. The 2025 Rockies were about as far from quality as a team could get, and perhaps not coincidentally, the Phillies did much better when they visited Coors last year.

And from the looks of things, the Rockies of 2026 are not much better than the 2025 edition.

Colorado Rockies

Record: 2-4, Fourth place in National League West (2 games back)

The last time they met

As mentioned, the Phillies used to seem to save some of their worst games for Coors Field, but that didn’t matter when facing a team as uncompetitive as the 2025 Rockies were. The Phillies visited Colorado for four games in May 2025, and won all four, finishing off a 7-0 season sweep of the Rockies.

The finale was a 2-0 win, closed out in dominating fashion by Jordan Romano, during that split second when it looked like he might be getting his act together. (I’m serious, Romano really did have a good stretch last year.)

What’s the deal with the Rockies?

They’ll likely be better than they were last year, but aside from clearing that exceptionally low bar, the Rockies aren’t expected to be very good this season. They didn’t bring in a lot of free agents expected to make much of an impact and are hoping that some of their younger players can develop.

As far as the actual talent on hand, Hunter Goodman might be the best catcher in the National League, and WBC hero Ezequiel Tovar looked like a burgeoning star in 2024 before injuries cost him almost half the season last year.

The pitching situation is dire, with Kyle Freeland and Michael Lorenzen being the team’s best starters. They added a reliable veteran in Joe Quintana in the offseason, but he was recently placed on the Injured List and will miss this series.

Featured Rockies player: Kyle Karros

Justin Crawford will face off against another young second-generation player this weekend. Second year third baseman Kyle Karros is the son of former Rookie of the Year Eric Karros.

After being drafted in 2023, Karros rose rapidly through the Rockies system, making his major league debut in 2025.

Karros is regarded as a plus defender at third base but didn’t wow anybody with his bat in his rookie season, putting up a .585 OPS in 43 games. He’s fared even worse in 2026, going 4-19 with just one extra base hit. The Rockies first six games have been on the road, so it’s possible that playing in Coors Field could help his numbers. However, he had a higher OPS on the road in 2025.

The one good thing about a rebuilding team is that they can have plenty of patience with their young players. If Crawford were to struggle as the year progresses, the Phillies might start looking at trade candidates for the stretch run.

Remembering a guy who used to play for the Rockies

David Nied was the Rockies’ first pick in the 1992 expansion draft. At the time, it wasn’t clear what effect the thin Denver air would have on pitchers, so the Rockies were trying to stockpile power arms. Taking a top 50 prospect from an elite Atlanta Braves farm system seemed like a decent proposition.

Nied joined the Rockies in 1993 and didn’t immediately excel with a 5.17 ERA in 16 starts. He showed some improvement the following season, but injuries soon took their toll. He pitched in just eight games over the next two seasons, and his career was essentially over.

What about the Phillies?

It’s been a strange first six games for the Phillies. They’ve looked very bad for stretches and have gotten some bad luck (The Nationals certainly found grass on a lot of balls put in play). On the other hand, they’ve already had two ninth inning comebacks, and the rookies have been impressive.

What can we conclude from this?

Pretty much nothing. It’s been six games!

Pennant year song battle

Everybody Wants You by Billy Squier knocked off Here We Are Again.

The next challenger as suggested by CarterAndCo is:

My Sister, Julianna Hatfield, 1993

The song is supposedly partly about existential longing. And isn’t that what being a sports fan basically is?

Closing thought

You’d think a series in Colorado against an unimpressive Rockies team would be just the thing to get the Phillies’ offense going consistently. But just because they should hit doesn’t mean they will. Late game comebacks are fun and all but getting off to an early lead can also be fun, and the Phillies should try doing it more often.

Dodgers’ first road game of the season is the Washington Nationals’ home opener.

Friday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Nationals
• Ballpark: Nationals Park, Washington D.C.
• Time: 10:05 a.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Nationals have a tough assignment for their home opener. They have to do battle with the back to back World Series champion Dodgers. The Nats have actually had surprising success against the Dodgers, especially at home. However, it is always a tough task when you face a team with this much star power. 

The Nats are actually sitting their hottest hitter for this game. Joey Wiemer entered the season as a guy who would only play against lefties. However, he was so hot, the Nats have been playing him every day. He will not be in there today though. Instead, the outfield will be James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile. Brady House will actually be the DH today, with Jorbit Vivas playing third base. Miles Mikolas will be on the mound against a stacked Dodgers lineup.

This Dodgers lineup looks like an All-Star team. Future Hall of Famers like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts litter the lineup. The Dodgers most recent pricey addition, Kyle Tucker, will be hitting second. While the Dodgers are 4-2, some of their biggest names have been cold to start the year. The Nats will need that to continue to have a shot in this one. Emmet Sheehan is on the mound and the former sixth rounder is an example of the Dodgers excellent player development.

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 1:05 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

After a solid road trip to start the season, the Nats are finally back in DC. They will have to play with the same intensity we have seen early this year to beat the mighty Dodgers though. It will be exciting to see the young Nats square off with all of these LA super stars. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

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Toronto Blue Jays newcomer Dylan Cease is a strikeout maestro, and I’m expecting him to be crossing up Chicago White Sox batters all day long. 

Find out why with my Blue Jays vs. Chicago White Sox predictions and free MLB picks for Friday, April 3.

Blue Jays vs White Sox predictions

Blue Jays vs White Sox best bet: Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts (-105)

TOR@CHW

Match starts: 1 hrs

Strikeouts

Dylan Cease o7.5 strikeouts (-105)

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No pitcher in baseball has had more strikeouts over the last five seasons than Dylan Cease, which continued into his first Toronto Blue Jays start, where he struck out 12 A’s batters in 5 1/3 innings. 

This is an extremely favorable matchup for Cease, who faces a strikeout-prone Chicago White Sox squad.

Chicago ranks 29th in strikeout rate, averaging 12 K’s per game through its first six contests in 2026, 

Additionally, the White Sox own a league-worst 35% whiff rate, while Cease had a league-best 52.2% in his season-opening start.

COVERS INTEL: Chicago’s lineup is only hitting .188 against Cease, with 15 strikeouts in 48 at-bats.

Blue Jays vs White Sox same-game parlay (SGP)

The White Sox have been terrible to start the season, going 1-5 on the run line with an average loss margin of 5.16 runs per game. This should be the game where Toronto turns its offense around. 

This is also why I’ll be taking Over 4.5 runs for the Jays today. Chicago has allowed five or more runs in all but one game, averaging 8.67 runs allowed per contest.

Blue Jays vs White Sox SGP

• Dylan Cease Over 7.5 strikeouts
• Blue Jays -1.5
• Blue Jays team total Over 4.5

Blue Jays vs White Sox home run pick: Addison Barger

TOR@CHW

Match starts: 1 hrs

Total home runs

Addison Barger o0.5 Home Runs (+440)

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Sean Burke will get the ball after an opener starts the game for Chicago. Burke gave up three bombs in his lone meeting against Toronto last season. 

One of the Jays batters who tagged Burke for a homer last year was Addison Barger, and I’ll back him to go yard again tonight. The pitch that was most costly for Burke last season was the slider, which was taken deep 10 times. Barger owned a 56.8% hard-hit rate against the slider last season. 

Blue Jays vs White Sox odds

• Moneyline: Toronto -210 | Chicago +170
• Run line: Toronto -1.5 (-115) | Chicago +1.5 (-105)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (+100) | Under 7.5 (-120)

Blue Jays vs White Sox trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have covered the 1st Five Innings (F5) Run Line in 16 of their last 21 games (+11.05 Units / 46% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. White Sox.

How to watch Blue Jays vs White Sox and game info

Blue Jays vs White Sox latest injuries

Blue Jays vs White Sox weather

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We’re only a week into this new season and nearly two months overall into the Automated Ball-Strike System and I’ve seen enough. It’s what we all thought it would be, y’all: ABS is a real and true game-changer for Major League Baseball. This is a pretty big benefit for the sport as a whole and something that should be here to stay for the future betterment of the game.

I’m not just saying that because the Atlanta Braves finally benefited greatly from it — we saw just how beneficial it was for the Kansas City Royals when Salvador Perez spent most of Opening Day auditioning for a post-playing career as a home plate umpire with the way he was nailing challenges left-and-right.

Still, Thursday night’s game against the Diamondbacks was the clearest example yet of just how beneficial ABS will be for the sport going forward. Leading off the top of the fifth inning with the Braves up 2-1, Ozzie Albies had worked himself into a full count before seemingly getting rung up for strike three on a pitch that was quite clearly outside — a call that Ozzie challenged the exact second he heard the strike call from the ump.

I have no scientific data to back up the following claims but I think you’ll know what I’m talking about. You know — that particular type of ball-strike call from the home plate ump where it feels like the ump is getting one over on the batter for going to first base too quickly or doing the same thing for a pitcher for getting into his strikeout strut too early. Either way, it feels less like an accurate call and more like the umpire trying to exert undue influence on the game and it’s always frustrating every time you see it.

Ozzie Albies just delivered one of the clearest examples of how this will be beneficial to the game going forward. The call went Atlanta’s way, Ozzie Albies took a walk (which is always news in and of itself) and now the Braves had the leadoff man on instead of starting off the frame with an out.

As this article from FanGraphs on the 2020s Run Expectancy Matrix details, getting the leadoff man on base in any given inning is huge. While it may not be the difference between scoring eight runs like they did last night or simply scoring one run, just having the opportunity is massive when compared to the past when that opportunity would’ve had to go by the wayside just because you had to accept whatever the umpire decided behind the plate.

Now, teams have a say in the matter and missed calls like that have less of a chance of being the subtle game changers that they had been in the past. Now, I won’t say that it’s going to eradicate this type of thing — once teams run out of challenges, then they’re back at the mercy of whatever the umpire sees. The Red Sox can tell you all about that based on their experience with the infamous C.B. Bucknor last week.

Bucknor aside, umpiring at the big league level is incredibly difficult and expecting these folks to get every call correct is a largely impossible task. The fact that they routinely get calls correct in the high-90 percent range says less about how easy it is and more about how good the majority of umps are at doing their job. With that being said, ABS is a positive even for them since it’ll help get those numbers up even higher. The umpires get an extra set of automated eyes while the players, coaches and managerial staff get to have an actual and tangible say in the matter of balls and strikes rather than risking ejection each time they disagree with a call.

This might be a quick analysis/opinion article but there’s not a lot else to be said other than ABS is great. While the current data suggests that the Braves may not be the best at using the system to overturn calls in their favor (at least not yet) but for now, it really feels like the early data and the previous ideas of what ABS would be like in big league baseball are all confirming what we suspected: This system works, it’s good for the sport and hopefully it stays around for a very long time. Maybe it’ll need some slight tweaks if some glitches/exploits in the system come up but for now, the ABS era of baseball is off to a fantastic start.

It is the beginning of a new season, and we likely have some new fans stopping by the site checking out game threads and other articles. Royals Review is a site written by fans like you, part of the SB Nation network of sports blogs. It was founded by Will McDonald 20 years ago and joined the SB Nation platform in 2008. Will departed in 2012 and the site was run by former Baseball Prospectus writer and current Into the Fountains writer Craig Brown for two years before I took over in 2014.

The site is a bit irreverent, can be full of gallows humor at times, but we welcome different viewpoints on the Royals. We run “game threads” for each game – an opportunity for readers to comment, vent, or celebrate the boys in blue. We can have our own language at times – some of the site memes are explained here – but we want you to be on the inside of the jokes as well!

I thought I would have us introduce ourselves with some short blurbs of who we are, and I invite readers to do the same!

Max Rieper: I grew up in the Kansas City area (Blue Springs, then Overland Park) and have been a Royals fan since 1988. I had a Bo Jackson poster in my room and collected Royals Starting Lineup figures. I went to Ohio State where myself and a couple of buddies founded the Club Baseball team there, where I “coached” and played for a year. Now I play beer league softball with buddies and coach Little League. I’ve been writing at Royals Review since 2010, and have served as editor since 2014. When I’m not writing poetry about Yuniesky Betancourt, I work as a legislative analyst/attorney for a government relations firm based in DC, primarily covering tech issues. I live in Prairie Village with my wife and three sons, and a dog named Sparky.

Jeremy Greco: Hi, my name is Jeremy “Hokius” Greco and this is going to be my tenth full season writing for Royals Review. How the time flies! I’ve been a fan since 1998, my favorite players include but are not limited to: Kris Bubic, Mike Moustakas, Peter Moylan, Aaron Guiel, and Chili Davis. When I’m not writing here I’m often working on the RR-adjacent podcast, Royals Rundown with my cohost Jacob Milham, playing video games – especially JRPGs, or reading fantasy novels – especially Brandon Sanderson. I moved away from KC in 2006, but I’ve never been able to stop loving the Royals! 

Cullen Jekel: I’m an attorney who lives in the Northland with my wife and two sons. Grew up a Cardinals fan but started rooting for both them and the Royals around 2010, then mostly for the Royals around 2013. Also cheer for the Missouri Tigers (because things can’t always be good), the St. Louis Blues, Chiefs, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

When I’m not thinking about the law or baseball or at an event for my boys, I’m most likely reading, either a magazine like Empire, a British monthly film magazine, Baseball America or Vanity Fair, or novels by the likes of Michael Connelly, Craig Johnson, Keith Rosson, John Connolly, Ben Aaronovitch, Emily St. John-Mandel, or Stephen King. I’m strangely fond of Legendary’s MonsterVerse–mindlessly watching Titans like Godzilla and King Kong duke it out is great for a Saturday night. Otherwise, I’m into watching shows on Apple TV, including Pluribus and Silo, or half-hour comedies like Ghosts and The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Matt Berry and his voice are incredible. I know incredibly too much about A Song of Ice and Fire. It’s been a while but you can find my other writing at doctorjekelpresents.wordpress.com.

Trenton Kraxner: I’ve been a Royals fan since birth, so almost 22 years now. I have lived an hour from the Truman Sports Complex my entire life and my dad was born in Independence, MO, and went to countless games in his youth, so that’s why I’m a Royals fan. Bobby Witt Jr. is the obvious answer for favorite player, but if we are talking all-time, I loved Eric Hosmer growing up. Happy to see him in the booth now. My favorite Royals team all-time is the 2014 Royals, shoutout Josh Willingham for getting on base in the ninth. 

I’ve been writing for Royals Review for a year now. I am an opinionated person and like to write opinion or analysis pieces, although admittedly, that can upset some people. But I try my best to keep it real and not lie to the people, as I know this is a passionate fan base that watches the games. I live in a small town, Nortonville, KS. We have no stop lights, a gas station, bank, post office and liquor store, and that’s about it. 

I am a recent college graduate from the University of Kansas, with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. The journalism field is a hard one to break into, so I am still looking for a full time job at the moment, but I fill time by subbing at different school districts and coaching middle school basketball and track. 

As a 21 year old, I have no kids or pets, I love the movie Dodgeball, Ace Ventura and the Princess Bride. I wouldn’t say that I have a favorite TV show since I watch a lot of live sporting events, but I enjoy the Big Bang Theory and High Potential. I loved Brooklyn Nine-Nine when it ran. I am currently reading the Amos Decker book series, and just started the third book. 

Matthew LaMar: Hello, everyone. This year marks my 13th season of writing about the Royals here at Royals Review. My favorite Royal of all time is Zack Greinke who, thanks to my work here at Royals Review, I was able to interview a few years ago. Outside of baseball, my wife and I have two cats and are huge roller coaster nerds. I’m also a musician who plays French horn for a variety of Kansas City-area ensembles. 

Bradford Lee: As a child and young adult, I lived in towns all over the great state of Kansas, but consider Lincoln, Kansas my hometown. Went to college at Kansas State, back when they were good at basketball and terrible at football. I’ve been a Royals fan since the beginning, though my fandom really took off in 1973. I’m married with four grown children. Thankfully, my wife is also a baseball fan and enjoys going to games with me. One of our retirement goals is to visit as many baseball stadiums as possible.

At Royals Review, I’ve become the history guy. I enjoy writing about the older players and games and seasons of the past. Baseball seems to have a never-ending supply of interesting personalities and stories. I’ve been writing for RR since March of 2018 and appreciate those who read my ramblings and the relationships I’ve built with my readers. Outside of my RR gig, I’ve owned and operated a Financial Advisory business for the past 42 years. In my free time, I like spending time with my children and grandchildren, fishing, hiking and painting.

Kevin Ruprecht: Hey I’m Kevin Ruprecht. The original Kevin. I started writing here, uh, more than a decade ago.  I took a long break before coming back last season. I was at the 2014 Wild Card game and was unable to speak afterward. I’m generally an idiot, but I have two kids, a job, and a house in KC.

Frank Williams: I’ve been writing for the site for, checks notes… no, this can’t be right… 10 years now. I was not raised a Royals fan, but I attended one of the local schools.  Like countless others, I hopped on the Royals bandwagon in the 2000s: five dollar Hy-Vee seats, John Buck sherseys, and double-digit losing streaks for all!  I now live in the Houston area, where I can watch the Royals rally from historic deficits in the ALDS and lead Team Italy to espresso-fueled World Baseball Classic wins.  

Tell us about yourself, as much or as little as you’d like to share! How long have you been a Royals fan and why? And welcome to Royals Review!

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

In last week’s Reacts survey results, Peter noted that Yankees fans seemed pessimistic about the team’s chances of postseason success. A playoff berth was a cinch at 88 percent, but only 35 percent had them returning to the World Series after a one-year absence. Just 22 percent saw them hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy for the first time since 2009. The most common prediction had them losing in the early rounds of the playoffs, as they’ve done three times already under Aaron Boone this decade, most recently last October against the Blue Jays. The exceptions were an ALCS sweep at the hands of Houston in 2022, a bizarre playoff absence in 2023, and the gut-wrenching loss to the Dodgers in the 2024 Fall Classic.

As such, Yankees fans might be a little jaded by this generation of players at this point. The franchise with 27 championships to their name has won only once in the past 25 years — a span that’s seen the historic rival Red Sox, Dodgers, Astros, Giants, and Cardinals all win multiple titles in contrast. Other fanbases likely see this perspective as spoiled, but their owners and front offices aren’t the ones always crowing about championship-caliber operations and legendary traditions, with wildly expensive tickets to boot. In a way, the Yankees are forever burdened by late owner George Steinbrenner’s “World Series or bust” mindset, even as the ever-expanding playoff field has made it harder to find sustained postseason success than it was in the dynastic late-1990s (let alone before divisional play in 1969, when the Yanks accrued 20 of those 27 titles). But again, they always lean into it. So they must wear it.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts on last week’s survey results, which still relate to this week’s since they’re also focused on predictions. This time around, we asked for forecasts on Aaron Judge’s 2026 home run count and the Yankees’ final wins total. Whether it’s because the Yanks were gradually building a strong 5-1 start on the West Coast or because fans generally have more confidence in their regular season success, the findings were more optimistic.

A confident 72 percent of fans think that Judge will top the 50-homer threshold for the fifth time in his career, which would break a tie with Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa for the most 50-homer seasons in MLB history. He hit 52 during his AL Rookie of the Year-winning 2017 before famously clubbing 62 in 2022, when he captured his first AL MVP. His second and third MVP honors came after 58 and 53 in 2024 and 2025, respectively, with an eye-popping 20.6 rWAR and a 219 OPS+ between the latter two campaigns. Judge was even on pace for 50 in 2023 until the Dodger Stadium bullpen fence got in the way! There’s a reason why he’s fourth on the Yankees’ all-time list behind only Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig.

So yes, there is reason to feel good about Judge remaining a force at the plate, even with his 34th birthday on deck in late April. The most common range selected was 50-54 dingers at 22 percent, though 16 percent had him matching 2022 by topping 60. Judge already has two bombs this year, and with 30 more, he’ll join teammate Giancarlo Stanton with 400 homers. Both will be hoping to eventually punch their tickets to the more prestigious 500 Home Run Club. Judge is a truly special, Hall of Fame-caliber hitter, and we can only cross our fingers and hope that unlike in 2024 (when the team thrived while Judge slumped) and 2025 (when Judge thrived but the team slumped), the Yankees and their captain are on the same page come October.

Before we get out of here, how about that win prediction?

Ninety-five wins would have been enough to win the AL East in 2025, and over half the fans voting (54 voting) think that the Yankees can get there in 2026. They fell one win shy of that last year, and while that total won the AL East (and the Junior Circuit’s top seed) in 2024, the 2025 Blue Jays were a tougher opponent than anyone else in the division during the previous campaign. And because the Jays had the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Yankees, they were the ones who skipped the Wild Card round, set their playoff rotation, and got to open at home. Maybe the Yanks would’ve lost anyway if they had those advantage since again, few players aside from Judge showed up last October, but the importance was apparent — if not only in the raucous Jays fans’ energy.

Fans are hopeful again in 2026, and the 5-1 start is as good as they could’ve hoped for from a season-opening West Coast road trip. Let’s see what Judge and the Yanks do with it from there.

These survey results are sponsored by FanDuel.

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The bases are juiced with 15 games on the schedule, which means I’m stepping up to the plate to drive in some MLB player props winners.

My favorites for today include a pair of RBI props for a couple of big-name sluggers who are somehow still getting undervalued.

Those and more MLB picks for Friday, April 3 below.

Best MLB player props today

Player	Pick	Odds
Dylan Cease	Over 7.5 Strikeouts	+112
Yordan Alvarez	Over 0.5 RBIs	+155
Juan Soto	Over 0.5 RBIs	+110

Dylan Cease Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+112)

This is a big number. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s Dylan Cease. 

Cease’s debut with the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t have gone better. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits while punching out a ridiculous 12 batters in 5 1/3 innings pitched against the Athletics.

And I love his chances of doing something similar to his former team, the Chicago White Sox, on Friday afternoon.

The White Sox are striking out at a crazy high rate to start the season. A whopping 34% percent of the time, to be precise. If Cease faces 22 batters again in this start, that’s 7.5 strikeouts. 

The only other big strikeout arm the White Sox have faced this season has been the Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski, and he struck out 11.

So, giving me Over 7.5 at plus money is too good to pass up.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, SportsNet

Yordan Alvarez Over 0.5 RBIs (+110)

Air Yordan is back.

Yordan Alvarez looks like his old self after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, and his power was on full display in the Houston Astros sweep of the Boston Red Sox, hitting two doubles, two dingers and four RBIs.

Alvarez is now hitting .417 with a 1.480 OPS, three dingers and six RBIs for the season, and he’ll look to stay hot as they open a series with the Athletics.
 
The A’s hand the ball to Jeffrey Springs, but don’t let the lefty-lefty matchup scare you away. Alvarez has had reverse splits his entire career. The Astros slugger is a career .319 hitter with a .984 OPS when facing left-handed pitching. 

On top of that, Springs is an extreme fly ball pitcher, ranking in the sixth percentile in ground ball rate. That is not a recipe for success vs. Alvarez. 

Yordan gets into one tonight and drives in another run.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SCHN2, NBCSCA

Juan Soto Over 0.5 RBIs (+155)

This is straight up a mispriced number for Juan Soto to drive in a run.

All he is is one of the best hitters in the world, off to a solid start this season with an advantageous pitching matchup. Soto comes into this one with a solid .333 average, a .894 OPS, a home run, and five RBIs. 

Now, the New York Mets lefty slugger will face off against San Francisco Giants right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Mahle's first start with the Giants was solid if unspectacular. Allowing two runs on five hits wile striking out five in four innings against the New York Yankees.

But he won’t be happy to see Soto. The Mets outfielder is 4-for-11 with a double and two dingers in his career vs. Mahle, good for a .338 expected batting average and a .976 expected slugging.

Soto will have a productive night by The Bay.

• Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Peacock

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The Dodgers added a new wrinkle to their uniforms on Thursday, announcing that they will wear blue jerseys as a road alternate jersey.

Unlike the “Los Dodgers” city connect uniforms the team used in 2021-23 which were also blue but from head to toe for the first two years, these new blue road jerseys will be worn with gray pants.

The Dodgers have worn blue jerseys all spring training for several years, but these new road alternate uniforms have a few notable differences. For one, the “Los Angeles” script on the front will be used, which has been used occasionally on gray road jerseys since 1999 (they wore “Los Angeles” in 31 of 81 road games last season, for instance). There’s also gray piping on these blue jerseys to match the pants, both on the sleeves as well as outlining the red jersey number on the front of the jersey.

In my opinion, this is the best possible deployment of blue Dodgers jerseys, as they look better with gray pants than with white pants at home.

At the very least, there’s a chance to create new memories in these new blue jerseys, because the moment most associated with the Dodgers wearing blue tops came in 1999, during the brief time when they occasionally wore blue jerseys at home, when Chan Ho Park delivered a spinning kick to Tim Belcher, then of the periwinkle-clad Angels.

After a mixed bag of results during their 6-game stretch on the road to open the 2026 season, the Nationals finally head home for their opening series at Nationals Park. Playing host to the 2025 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, they are faced with an exciting matchup for their first time playing in front of the Washington faithful.

The Dodgers, per usual, continued to insert high-priced additions onto their already-vaunted roster during the offseason, bringing in a pair of All-Stars in closer Edwin Diaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker. They find themselves once again firmly at the top of just about every MLB power ranking, and opened up the season to a 4-2 record after 3-game sets against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians.

Washington will continue working their 2nd time through the rotation, with a trio of veterans tasked with keeping the Dodgers’ lineup of All-Stars at bay. Offensively, the Nationals will continue to search for viable offensive reinforcements behind the scorching-hot Joey Wiemer as they take on a fascinating group of Los Angeles starters.

Game One – Friday 1:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas

LAD: RHP Emmet Sheehan

Mikolas’ 2026 campaign got off to a less-than-ideal start against Chicago, getting tagged for 4 runs across 5 innings of work. The 37-year-old veteran will look to settle into his arsenal and miss more bats in his second start of the season, after generating just 9 whiffs and 4 strikeouts in his last outing. He’ll attempt to improve upon a poor career track record against Los Angeles, with a 1-5 record and 6.20 ERA in 10 career appearances against them.

Sheehan, another youthful asset to a deep Dodgers rotation, had his fair share of ups and downs in his 2026 debut. His 4-pitch mix flashed at times against Arizona, but he lasted just 3.1 innings, ending with 4 earned runs to his name. The Nats could jump on him early and get the home opener crowd behind them, with Sheehan being the least likely Los Angeles starter in the three-game set to work deep into the game.

Game Two – Saturday 4:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin

LAD: RHP Tyler Glasnow

2025 was a season to forget for Irvin, and his first start of the new year was certainly a step toward making that a reality. He was sharp across 5 innings of 2-run ball against the Cubs, racking up 7 strikeouts to just 4 total baserunners. With 2 of the 3 hits being home runs, the southpaw will have to bear down against the star-studded Dodgers lineup and keep the ball in the yard to keep Washington in the game.

Performance on the field has never been an issue for the oft-injured Glasnow, and that trend continued on March 28th, mowing down the Diamondbacks with a final line of 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, and 6 strikeouts. There’s always a question about how his health will hold up, but he’s a formidable opponent regardless. The Nats had his number the last time they faced off, rocking him for 6 runs across 5 innings in his lone appearance against them in a Dodgers’ uniform.

Game Three – Sunday 1:35 PM EST

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin

LAD: RHP Roki Sasaki

Griffin made his triumphant return to Major League Baseball for the first time since 2022, and he had a decent amount of success in his first start back in the bigs. The box score wasn’t anything crazy, but he showcased 5 above-average offerings and held the Cubs to 2 runs over 5 innings. He still holds a sizeable advantage over MLB hitters, simply because of the lack of him available for teams to study, and could parlay his strong 2026 debut into another impressive start.

The former Japanese phenom is still a work in progress for the Dodgers, and has developed a sort of “effectively wild” attack plan. His splitter will be a tough puzzle for the Nats to solve, but working the count could sway the game in their favor. It seems to always be a toss-up as to how Sasaki will look on any given day, and Washington will have to adapt on the fly to one of the game’s most polarizing young arms.

Can Nats Bounce Back From Game 3 Collapse Against Philadelphia?

Momentum was at an early high after the Nationals took the first game of the series against the Phillies, with their record improving to a quick 3-1. However, a melancholic offensive performance in Game 2 and a blown 5-1 lead in Game 3 have them right back at .500. Their next test comes against one of the best top-to-bottom rosters in MLB, and they have the chance to spark major excitement among the fanbase if they can grind out a series win.

Texas Rangers lineup for April 3, 2026 against the Cincinnati Reds: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Brady Singer for the Reds.

Its the home opener, y’all!!! Let’s rage!!!

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Pederson — DH

Smith — 2B

Jung — 3B

Carter — CF

Jansen — C

3:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -175 favorites.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone hit on several topics as he spoke to the media ahead of Opening Day in The Bronx against the Miami Marlins...

Giancarlo Stanton's hot start

Everybody knows this isn’t sustainable. But the Yankee slugger starting the season with 10 hits in his first 20 at-bats with two doubles, a home run, and a 270 wRC+ is still something to take notice of, especially as Stanton has represented a key cog in the lineup the past two years when he’s healthy. 

“He’s just kinda been on everything,” Boone said of Stanton’s .500 start through his first five games. “Recognizing pitches well. He’s really good at devising a game plan that he wants to use against a particular pitcher and staying disciplined to that. 

“But I just feel like he’s been getting himself into a really good position to hit at-bat after at-bat. Really, since his first day of being in a game during spring training. I felt like the consistency of at-bats have been there.”

The production has been there for Stanton ever since he returned to the lineup last season after dealing with elbow issues, as he hit 24 home runs with 66 RBI and posted a 158 wRC+ over 77 games last season.

The skipper said a lot of that comes with the off-the-field work of a true professional.

“I have so much respect for him,” Boone said. “He’s just such a stud in our room. I just have a lot of respect for the person and the way he goes about things. The thing he’s been through that get him to different places. 

“You go back to the end of ‘24 and the playoff run… and then really last year, he mighta been as good as ever when he came back from June on, he was just such a massive presence in the middle of our order.”

Boone added that despite Stanton getting on in age, he turned 36 last November, “he’s still so good and in a lot of ways better.” What’s behind the slugger staying good?

“He’s very cerebral and very analytical about how he goes about processing and doing things and preparing,” the skipper added. “And I think he’s got really great at the preparation game. For him personally, what does he need to mentally, physically to be ready to go up and produce in a game. 

“And he is just so mentally tough and disciplined to what he has to do you really sense that and feel that being around him the last several years.”

Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole updates

Rodon, who suffered a setback with a hamstring issue as he rehabs from offseason elbow surgery, said he hopes to throw off the mound again on Saturday, per SNY’s MLB Insider Chelsea Janes.

The lefty would be doing so less than a week after feeling that hamstring discomfort, and he added that if that session of around 50 pitches goes well, he might be headed for a rehab assignment soon after.

Boone said that it wasn’t really much of a setback for Rodon, but it all depends on how he responds to the throwing session.

“It is just a matter of when he can run and cover and field his position and things like that,” the manager said about the next steps. “He’s able to keep his arm going through this, so [the hamstring issue] is minor enough that that’s the case, so it’s a good thing.”

On Cole, Boone said he did not know when his minor league rehab start would begin, and seemed to indicate it would not be imminent for the former Cy Young Award winner.

“He just did a one-up, live the other day, so I don’t have anything on the horizon for that,” the manager said.

When asked about his conversations with the right-hander, Boone said the reports have been positive.

“It’s going well, he looks great, every bullpen, every live, every game that I’ve seen from him has been really, really encouraging,” he said. “Now it’s just continuing to stack those days and be disciplined to the timeline, and then eventually we will start that clock of building him up.

“But I don’t have that plan in front of me right now.”

Evaluation on 5-1 start

“The execution on the mound has been phenomenal, that’s one takeaway,” Boone said when asked to assess the season’s early, early goings. “I feel like the guys are playing clean behind that, too. And I feel like if we do those couple of things, with what I think our offense will be over the long haul, then we have the chance to be really good.

“But it’s a week of games, and I’d say that if we were off to a rough start, it’s a week of games. You wanna rack up wins when you game. But it’s been really good to see the level of execution by really our entire staff.”

Anthony Volpe progressing

Volpe made it through a live batting practice ok as he continues to rehab in Florida from offseason shoulder surgery.

Boone said that the shortstop is on track to return to New York in the middle of April and begin a minor-league rehab assignment around then, but he did not have a date for a potential return.

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Rookie sensation Nolan McLean takes the mound as the New York Mets face the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Friday night.

At 3-4, both teams are looking to reach .500 on the young season.

See what I’m taking with my Mets vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks for Friday, April 3.

Who will win Mets vs Giants today: Mets (-127)

Nolan McLean is one of the best prospects in the sport, and his 107 Stuff+ and .173 xBA in his debut are positive indicators of success.

That gives the New York Mets a leg up in the starting pitching department against Tyler Mahle, who had a worrisome 92 Stuff+ and fourth-percentile barrel rate in his San Francisco Giants debut.

The Giants have been anemic at the dish (64 wRC+ and .255 wOBA against RHP). They’re the weaker club, and we’re getting a shortened price since they’ve won three of their last four while New York has dropped three straight.

COVERS INTEL: Mahle’s underlying peripherals were terrible in his debut. He ranked in the 15th percentile or worse in average exit velocity, chase rate, and whiff rate.

Mets vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-104)

These two offenses have had a slow start to the season, and a matchup at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park likely results in a low-scoring game.

The Giants have an 80 wRC+ en route to a 2-3-2 O/U record, while the Mets have an 88 wRC+ and are 2-5 O/U.

Both bullpens have a SIERA under 3.90 and have most of their best arms well-rested. They’re throwing behind starting pitchers projected to have an ERA below 4.00 this season.

Mets vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: New York -110 | San Francisco +100
• Run line: New York -1.5 (+130) | San Francisco +1.5 (-150)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-113) | Under 7 (-107)

Mets vs Giants trend

The Mets have hit the Under in five of their last six games. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Giants.

How to watch Mets vs Giants and game info

Mets vs Giants latest injuries

Mets vs Giants weather

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