Category: Baseball

The Cardinals are tanking.

Oh, they can deny it all they want and claim it’s a “rebuild that’s not a rebuild” like a certain team we know did, but this is full-out tanking.

It’s not surprising, given that they have a new executive in charge in Chaim Bloom, their new President of Baseball Operations who formerly held that role with the Red Sox. And, in fact, Bloom made a couple of key trades with his former team, sending Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to Boston. (That means that Cubs fans won’t see Willson at Wrigley this year, and in fact the Cubs won’t see him at all until the final three games of the 2026 regular season.)

What’s left is… a bunch of guys. Their No. 1 starter is (checks notes) probably Dustin May, who they got in one of those Boston deals. May’s biggest claim to “fame” is that he’s been injured in almost all of his six MLB seasons. He was once a Top 20 prospect in all of baseball. But, you know, prospects bust.

The rest of their rotation is guys who have either failed elsewhere or are wannabes: Michael McGreevy, Andre Pallante, Matthew Liberatore… you get the idea. The bullpen, same thing, mostly.

Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson are probably the Cardinals’ two best hitters and both have been said to be potential trade targets before the season begins. I wouldn’t be surprised. They don’t have a single player on their roster who hit even 20 home runs in 2025.

Rebuilds can work. Just ask Theo Epstein, for example. But the Cardinals are likely going to have to hit rock bottom before they come back. Okay by me.

A bit of history to look out for: The Cardinals lost 91 games in 2023. The last time they had lost that many before then was 1990 (92 losses), and before that 93 in 1978. However, no Cardinals team has lost more than 93 games since 1913 (!), when they lost 99, and no Cardinals team has lost 100 since 1908 (105). Both of the last two numbers could be threatened this year. Seems Oli Marmol likely won’t last past this year as manager.

And by the time the Cubs see the Cardinals, they could be buried in last place in the NL Central. The first Cubs/Cardinals game is Game 58 of the Cubs season. Then they’ll play 10 times in a 37-game stretch from early July to mid-August, and not after that. Thanks, schedule-makers.

Key departures: Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Miles Mikolas, Nolan Arenado, Brendan Donovan, Andre Granillo

Key arrivals: Scott Blewett, Dustin May, Hunter Dobbins, Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, Zack Thompson, Nelson Velázquez, George Soriano, Jared Shuster

At Wrigley Field: July 3-4-5 and Aug. 14-15-16

At St. Louis: May 29-30-31 and July 27-28-29-30

SB Nation team site:Viva el Birdos

This series will continue tomorrow with a look at the NL East.

MJ Melendez, once upon a time, was a top prospect in the game of baseball.

The now 27 year old was a 2017 second round pick (52nd overall) by the Kansas City Royals out of high school, and ascended through the minor leagues rather quickly. Originally a catcher, Melendez reached High-A ball in 2019 before losing a year of his minor league career due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. He did not miss a beat in 2021 despite the lost year, hitting .288/.386/.625 (1.011 OPS), which validated his top prospect rankings by Baseball Prospectus (35th), Baseball America (42nd) and MLB Pipeline (51st) prior to the 2022 season.

That 2022 season saw him make his Major League debut, though involved a position change as well. With Salvador Perez ensconced behind the plate for the Royals, they opted to move Melendez to the corner outfield to put his bat in the lineup, which is how it went from 2022 to 2024. The results were, well, just alright. He hit okay enough; .217/.313/.393 (97 wRC+) in 2022, .235/.316/.398 (93 wRC+) in 2023, and .206/.273/.400 (86 wRC+) in 2024, but a whopping -16 Outs Above Average over those three seasons made him a below average starter overall.

2025 was nothing short of a disaster for Melendez. He played in just 23 Major League games, hit .083/.154/.167, and was demoted to Triple-A for the rest of the season before getting non-tendered in the early offseason, which brings us to his 2026.

Melendez signed a one year, $1.5m deal with the Mets in mid-February, which gave both him and the Mets a few options — literally and figuratively. The Mets have one bench spot rather open, and the right field position theoretically open (though, in my personal opinion, I would’ve thought Carson Benge had the fast track to the spot). Melendez will be in camp with the Mets to compete for that bench spot. However, with the signing and subsequent comments by Mike Tauchman, it sounds like the Mets signed Tauchman with the idea that he will have the first crack at the bench spot. So, where does that leave Melendez?

Melendez, despite never really taking off at the Major League level, still has a minor league option to his name. In all likelihood, the Mets signed Melendez with the idea of trying to fix some things about his game to get him back to the play that made him a top prospect five years ago, and doing so in Triple-A, with no impact on the Major League team and with as little eyeballs as humanly possible on you, would likely be the best path for both sides.

Melendez, even if he can revert back to his 2022 and 2023 play, can be a useful bench player. He can stand in both outfield spots, first base, be an emergency catcher in a more functional way than nearly every other ball club, and also contribute some power, as he hit 18, 16 and 17 home runs in his three years as a starter. Now, of course, there is work to be done there, but a revamped Mets hitting apparatus could be the key to getting Melendez back on track after a derailing 2025.

When you speak of the World Baseball Classic to Royals fans, their most vivid memories will be how two of their most important players heading into the 2023 season – Bobby Witt Jr. and Brady Singer – were participants on Team USA. Bobby and Brady were going to be vital to whatever success the Royals could have in 2023, but things didn’t go well.

Bobby managed only three plate appearances, but he did take a walk and smacked an RBI double. Brady Singer pitched two innings in a single game and allowed four runs. Considering the time they were away from Royals’ camp, it felt like they weren’t getting nearly enough work, and when the season began, they both got off to incredibly slow starts that helped bury the team in its 7-22 start, which snuffed the dim playoff hopes some fans might have had prior to the beginning of the year.

Over that span, Bobby slashed .253/.297/.453, good for a 100 wRC+, but not at all what Royals fans had hoped for his sophomore season. Singer made six starts, posting an 8.49 ERA. Both players improved significantly as the season went on, but by that point, it didn’t matter for 2023. It wasn’t disastrous because the 2023 Royals were, generally, not a good team, and even if they’d been better, things might not have turned out any happier. But the slow starts of those two players in particular were laid at the feet of their lack of playing time in the WBC.

Those two weren’t the only ones to play in that WBC from the Royals, however.

Vinnie Pasquantino was the starting first baseman for Team Italy. As such, he got 22 plate appearances. Pasquantino has developed a reputation for slow starts, but in 2023, he started out the year .279/.375/.500. He was one of the best hitters in baseball for that first month. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that when he reinjured his shoulder and had to have season-ending surgery.

So while some fans worry about Jac Caglianone playing in the 2026 WBC, I’m excited about the opportunity in front of him. With Vinnie still on Team Italy, Caglianone will likely be their starting right fielder. That means he’s going to get competitive-speed action for a handful of games weeks before many of his peers. If that can’t help jump-start his 2026, I don’t know what will.

And don’t worry about Bobby, Salvy, or Maikel Garcia, either. They’re all almost certainly starters on their teams, too.

What about the pitchers?

Seth Lugo will be pitching for Puerto Rico, while Michael Wacha will pitch for Team USA. But there are far fewer reasons to be concerned about them than there ever were about Brady Singer. First of all, they’re veteran pitchers who have had long careers and a lot of success. They know how to take care of business, and a couple of extra weeks of pitching in the WBC isn’t going to cause them to delay their preparation for the season as it appeared to with Brady Singer, who was entering his fourth season.

But the next reason is perhaps just as important. Brian Sweeney and his staff appear to be infinitely better at preparing their pitchers for success than Cal Eldred and his staff were in 2022. It is easy to forget now, but the Royals’ coaching staff was the butt of many MLB jokes in 2022. Sure, Brian Sweeney was technically the pitching coach for Kansas City by the time the WBC came around in 2022, but Singer likely spent much of that offseason operating under instructions from Eldred or another coach who ultimately wasn’t retained to lead the staff. Lugo and Wacha have had the ability to know who their pitching coach is all offseason and have an exceptionally solid plan in place for how to handle their WBC duties in addition to getting ready for the season.

Regardless, the WBC is important

Honestly, even as a Royals fan, I’d support all of these guys going to participate in the WBC, even if I had real concerns about how they’d perform once they got back. Life is, at its core, a series of experiences. And if you get a chance to experience something like the WBC, you have to do it – even if, as a professional baseball player, you already get to experience things most of us only dream about. We only get one life, and it would be cruel to ask them to throw away a chance like this just because it might make it infinitesimally less likely that we’ll get to watch our team hoist a World Series trophy at the end of the year.

That’s more true than ever this year, as the 2023 WBC was such a classic that this iteration has generated more buzz than any I can remember. With all the nonsense about player insurance and teams telling their players they aren’t allowed to participate for one reason or another, there’s no telling how much longer this event could continue to go on. They’ve got to take advantage of it while they can.

And, to be clear, the WBC should go on. It might be awful to lose a key player to injury before the season even begins because he was participating in the tournament, but if baseball is going to continue to thrive as we push into the second quarter of the 21st century, it’s going to need to gain global appeal. It has a head start over a league like the NFL because baseball is already incredibly popular in many Latin American and Asian countries, but that’s all the more reason to not let that advantage lapse while the NFL continues to expand its own global footprint. MLB needs the WBC almost as badly as the WBC needs it, and I’m excited so many Royals will be participating this time.

Perhaps he's simply trying to further ingratiate himself to Chicago Cubs fans, or draw the attention of boo birds when he heads back home.

But Pete Crow-Armstrong – an L.A. dude to his core, the son of actors and the product of one of SoCal's preeminent baseball factories – went well out of his way to bash Los Angeles Dodgers fans this week.

Crow-Armstrong, an All-Star center fielder at 23 last season, initially defiled fans of the two-time defending World Series champions in the proverbial "wide-ranging interview" with Chicago magazine, saying that Cubs fans "give a (expletive). They aren't just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They're paying attention. They care."

Given a window to blunt the edges of those remarks Wednesday, Feb. 25, Crow-Armstrong instead doubled down in an appearance on Foul Territory, apparently referencing the tragic beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow and mildly castigating the vibes of a place that drew an MLB-high 4 million fans last season, though perhaps too many that aren't PCA's type.

"I grew up going to Dodgers games when they weren’t always good," he told the popular vodcast. "When they had Mannywood pop up. But it’s like they go in phases. I remember … putting the Giants fan in the coma. That stuck with me as a kid. Just little things. Sitting in the stands, just nasty stuff goes on. I didn’t always experience that at other ballparks."

The Mannywood-Stow era of 2008-2010 would certainly dovetail with Crow-Armstrong's boyish fandom era - he was roughly 6 to 9 years old then. Though perhaps the "go in phases" bit was lost on him – the Dodgers franchise was shortly thereafter plundered by former owner Frank McCourt, who was forced to sell the team by Major League Baseball amid a messy divorce.

Yeah, the fans didn't like that. And perhaps the finer points of sports business were lost on a young PCA, as the Dodgers returned to the limelight only after a sale to Guggenheim investments; the team essentially hasn't missed the playoffs since while re-setting the game's upper salary structure.

A structure Crow-Armstrong will eventually benefit from once he, too, is a free agent. So perhaps the bad memories of traffic jams on the way from Harvard-Westlake School – where tuition now retails for $55,000 – to Chavez Ravine stuck with him. (Was it the 134, the 101 or Sunset that was the culprit?) Maybe the music's too loud.

Or perhaps he wants to generate a faux rivalry between the Cubs and Dodgers. Either way, the Dodger lifestyle PCA seems to deride might look a little better come 2030 – when he's eligible for free agency.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong rips Los Angeles Dodgers fans

There is no doubt that New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton will be depended on if the Bronx Bombers want to win their first World Series since 2019.

Stanton has been plagued by injuries in recent years, and his elbow issues limited him to just 77 games last season.

REQUIRED READING: Max Scherzer contract with Blue Jays: What we know

The now 36-year-old Stanton still hit .273 with 24 home runs and 66 RBI when he did play but, even after an offseason of rest, was asked during spring training this week if his elbows would heal.

“That’ll never be the case,” Stanton said (via NJ.com). “Not while I’m in this line of work. “You have your good days and bad days, just like your mood and everything.”

The five-time All-Star then made a stunning admission on how useful his elbows are.

“I can’t open a bottle,” he said. “I can’t open a bag of chips … a bag of anything. That’s the way it is.”

Stanton said he wants to play a full season, though he hasn't played 140 games or more in a campaign since 2021. He will mostly be a designated hitter in 2026, but plans to get some outfield reps as his health allows.

“That’s not going to be fixed in surgery, and I don’t care what any doctor says because they don’t know what’s going on,” Stanton said. “What’s written (about my elbows) is what me and the Yankees give you.”

Stanton is the active MLB home run leader, with 453. He has two more seasons on a 13-year, $325 million contract he signed as a member of the Miami Marlins in 2014, before a 2028 club option — which contains a $10 million buyout — has to be decided.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton describes limitations due to elbow

We continue our trip throughout the diamond with a stop at the hot corner. Officially, the Astros are likely to have three players on the final 26 man roster that can play third base. However, we profiled Isaac Paredes at first base since he is likely to get more time there and Nick Allen will be profiled at shortstop. That leaves Carlos Correa as the primary third baseman, but we will also profile Shay Whitcomb since he is likely to be one of the first guys up in case of injury.

In this series, we are looking at some internal numbers that experts typically look at when they are trying to predict what a hitter might do. Obviously, teams have their own internal numbers and we will likely never have a chance to see those, but Fangraphs.com provides terrific information on each player that can keep us sustained for days or even weeks.

I have selected five such metrics to look at in order to predict what likely might happen in each players’ case. In particular, each number has its league norms as I will profile below, but I like to use three year intervals because it demonstrates a trend in each metric. Those trends are often more important than the league average itself. In Shay Whitcomb’s case we will be looking at his minor league numbers since he has not had enough big league exposure.

• Chase rate: This is the percentage of balls a player swings at outside of the zone. The league average normally lives around 30 percent, but we will be looking at three year intervals and we should notice trends more than where a player is in relationship to the league average.

• Hard hit percentage: This is simply the percentage of balls that a player hits hard. Hard hit balls become hits and extra base hits more often than softer contact. Typically 35 percent is around the league average in this category.

• BABIP: This is batting average on balls in play. Home runs are obviously excluded since they are not in play. The league average tends to hover around .300 but it will largely depend on hard hit percentages and breakdowns between groundballs, flyballs, and line drives.

• Contact percentage: This is the percentage of swings that turn into contact. Typically 75 percent is around league average.

• HR/FB percentage: This is the percentage of flyballs that result in home runs. Ten percent is typically around the league average.

Carlos Correa

	Chase	Hardhit	BABIP	Contact	HR/FB
2023	26.7	45.9	.272	77.3	13.7
2024	24.0	44.5	.343	81.4	14.7
2025	26.9	45.9	.328	79.9	10.6
Aggregate	25.9	45.4	.314	79.5	13.0

At this point in Correa’s career it is fair to expect to start seeing some rot. What we can see is that most of the numbers have remained constant except for the pure power numbers. It is fair to ask whether that is a predictor of things to come or whether that was a blip on the radar. Correa has always seemed like a guy that should hit more home runs than he does and when you look at the hard hit rate that partially explains it. He hits the ball hard routinely. He is not in the very top in the league in that category, but he is easily in the top 20 percent.

When you hit the ball hard you will typically have a good BABIP. This is particularly true if you are hitting more ground balls and line drives than flyballs. Correa is what happens when a player is decidedly above average at every single skill. That has a way of compounding and making a player sneakily good. Believe it or not, seeing a player that does each of the four skills (recognize strikes, hit the ball hard, make consistent contact, and hit for power) at an above average rate. Most players have a hole somewhere.

If we are hoping for growth from Correa then it would come in the power department. It will be interesting to see what happens now that he is in Daikan Park for a full season. Minnesota is not the easiest park in the league for home runs and obviously that short porch in left field might give Correa a boost. He’s not likely to go nuts, but maybe 15 to 20 home runs is in the offing.

Shay Whitcomb

	Chase	Hardhit	BABIP	Contact	HR/FB
2023	39.0	41.9	.287	70.1	23.6
2024	29.2	42.5	.320	74.5	21.2
2025	26.9	42.7	.316	72.8	23.1
Aggregate	31.7	42.4	.308	72.5	22.6

At some point, we will need to get Jimmy Price on the line for some of these guys, because I will be fascinated to hear the opinion of someone more connected to the scouting world. Whitcomb is another Astros farmhand that seems to be missing the contact tool. The chase rate in 2023 only includes his AAA at bats because Fangraphs does not track AA and below. So, it is likely that his actual rate was below that.

A reader asked a question about ballpark effects and he was talking mainly about minor league parks. That is the missing piece here. We see some pretty stark home run rates there at the end and that probably is not sustainable at the big league level. He might live between 10 and 15 percent even if he adjusts to big league pitching. That makes Whitcomb suddenly look a lot more normal.

All that being said, no one considers Whitcomb to be a huge prospect, so he is just a good guy for organizational depth. One could imagine the profile above actually working in a lesser MLB city where the stakes aren’t so high like the White Sox, Rockies, Marlins, Nationals, or Angels. Maybe one of those teams have a middling bullpen arm or lottery ticket further away from the big leagues. He could also be a throw in come July. What do you expect from the Correa and Whitcomb this season?

San Diego Padres pitcher Michael King was dominant through the first two innings of his Spring Training debut. He made a mistake to start the top of the third inning, allowing a leadoff home run to Christian Moore, but he struck out two of the next three batters and finished 2.2 innings with one run allowed on two hits with four strikeouts. King is hoping the solid debut is a sign of good things to come, adding that he hopes to get back to the pitcher he was during the 2024 season. The Padres offense took some time to get going but after taking the lead with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, San Diego never looked back en route to a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Padres News:

• Walker Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Padres and seeing him in brown and gold still seems strange, but he is a big-league pitcher with postseason and World Series experience who could be a benefit to the rotation. Gaslamp Ball asked its readers if they would be rooting for Buehler to make the team. Results of the poll will be revealed later in the week.

• According to a report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sung-Mun Song appears to be completely healed from an oblique injury he sustained earlier in the offseason. With that being the case, he has to get to work quickly to adjust to pitching velocity in MLB. Manager Craig Stammen and hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. have a plan to get him where he needs to be and they believe he will get there. In the same article Acee mentions the Padres are receiving calls on their relievers. They have an abundance of bullpen arms and limited roster space, which could mean a trade occurs sometime before the end of Spring Training.

• Ethan Salas missed all but 10 games of the 2025 season due to a stress reaction in his lower back. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune learned that although Salas could not learn through reps on the field last season, he learned by talking with a host of former catchers in the Padres system.

Baseball News:

• Harrison Bader of the San Francisco Giants hit a home run that left a dent in a food truck. He did the only thing a player can do in that situation – he signed it.

• Roki Sasaki is trying to win a spot in the rotation for the Los Angeles Dodgers and to do so, he is looking to expand his pitch mix.

• Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will be honored by the team with his jersey being retired on Sept. 26.

• Chicago Cubs free agent addition Tyler Austin underwent knee surgery and will miss “month” according to manager Craig Counsell.

• New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had the stitches removed from surgery on his left hand following surgery to repair a hamate injury and is on track to return by Opening Day.

• Outfielder Randal Grichuk and the Yankees agreed to a minor-league deal.

• According to a report by MLB Trade Rumors, Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin and the team are open to a contract extension.

• Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day starter Merrill Kelly is dealing with discomfort in his back and it has yet to be determined what the cause is. He may not be ready for opening day according to MLB Trade Rumors.
• Max Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a one-year deal.

It had been a positive start to the spring for the Washington Nationals, but they got a reality check last night. They suffered their first defeat of the spring, losing 7-0 to the Yankees in a sloppy contest. The Nats were credited with three errors, but that is being generous. It really could have been five or six.

Last season, the Nats were one of the worst defensive teams in baseball. Even while the Nats were winning games early this spring, the defense looked suspect. Last night it ended up costing them. Blake Butera has already made defense an emphasis this spring, but clearly it needs to be an even bigger focus.

One thing Butera is going to really need to focus on is pitchers defense. It has been a consistent problem throughout camp, and it was on display again last night. Clayton Beeter and Andrew Alvarez both made throwing errors last night. In our piece yesterday, we mentioned pitcher defense as an area that had to improve. 

The pitchers fielding has been horrific so far this spring

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) February 26, 2026

Yesterday the offense was very stagnant as well. The Nats only had one hit. However, offense is a secondary concern to me right now. It is still early in camp right now and guys are still finding their swings. As long as some of the big names on the team show life by the end of spring, it is not a big deal.

The Nats also faced some world class pitching last night. New Yankee Ryan Weathers looked absolutely electric in his spring debut with the team. He was pitching with a point to prove, showing a fastball that reached 100 MPH. Weathers’ stuff looked better than ever and he was hitting all of his spots. The Nats also saw some of the Yankees’ better relief pitchers such as David Bednar and Fernando Cruz.

Ryan Weathers first start as a Yankee:

3.2 IP
5 K
12 Whiffs
52% Whiff rate

Fastball topped out at 99.8 MPH, his career-high.pic.twitter.com/R5XzLixNHz

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) February 26, 2026

I care much more about the fielding problems than any offensive concerns. Fundamentals should be the focus of Spring Training, and those have been lacking so far for the Nats. It is still February, but the Nats have a long way to go on the defensive side of the ball.

Keibert Ruiz also had a rough night behind the plate. He was not credited with any errors, but his blocking did not look good and he misplayed a ball hit to him. In an open competition, that is not a great look for Ruiz, who has struggled defensively for years. The Nats traded for Harry Ford this offseason, and he should have a chance to win the job out of camp.

Another player who has really struggled to start camp is Dylan Crews. Last night, he struck out twice and made an ugly error where he just dropped the ball. Crews has not lived up to his pre-draft hype so far, making 2026 a massive year for him. He has not been making the kind of statement you would like to see so far this spring.

Dylan Crews drops the ball and the Yankees score another run pic.twitter.com/l8RrHIfkGp

— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken2) February 26, 2026

There is still a long way to go, but I do not think Crews has done enough to be above starting the season at AAA. If Crews continues to struggle and one of the Nats many outfielders outperforms him badly, there should be a conversation. Crews never truly mastered the AAA level, so maybe going down there would not be the worst thing.

Of course, it would take Crews really struggling and someone else really stepping up for that to happen. However, I do believe that is a conversation worth having. Paul Toboni should be able to start with a clean slate. He was not the guy who drafted these players, so he should not feel any loyalty to them. The best man should win. There is still almost a month of Spring Training left, so Crews has plenty of time to redeem himself. 

It is still very early in the spring, and the Nats are 4-1 so far. There were some concerning things on display last night, but I do not want this to be all doom and gloom. We should expect some ugly performances from time to time. This is a young team that is not built to win this year. 

The Nats getting shelled or shut out every once in a while is not a big deal to me. However, I want them to control the things they can control. That means cleaning up the defensive mistakes and playing smart baseball. You do not need to be the most talented team in the league to play clean baseball. Hopefully we see defensive improvement as we approach the regular season.

With seven teams in its minor league system, Cleveland has 165 players under contract heading into the 2026 season, so it’s a bit unfair to stop counting prospects at just the top 20.

Every year I pick some other non-top 20 prospects to keep an eye on and the track record has been pretty solid thus far. In last year’s article, I picked four players who made it to this year’s top 20 prospects and two more made it to the show (George Valera and Petey Halpin).

Here are some prospects who just missed the cut from Covering the Corner’s top 20 and deserve some recognition as well. Prospects are listed by their proximity to MLB.

Catchers

Jacob Cozart, 23, C

Drafted in the second round out of NC State in the 2024 MLB Draft, scouts said Jacob Cozart was strong defensively. After struggling in a small sample size the year he was drafted, Cozart blossomed in 2025. putting up above average wRC+ numbers at both High-A and then at Double-A. To top that off, I’ve seen multiple scouting reports that are claiming he’s not only the best defensive catcher in Cleveland’s system, but Cozart is one of the best defensive catchers in minor league baseball. He threw out 37 attempted base thieves last year in 84 games played at catcher.

Bennett Thompson, 23, C

Thompson also was drafted in 2024 — in the 13th round as a more offense-first catcher. The offense impressed in 2025 as he posted a 118 wRC+ at Single-A Lynchburg, even stealing eight bases while slashing .269/.372/.352 and earning a cup of coffee at High-A Lake County to close out the season. He also threw out 32 baserunners, which wasn’t half bad.

Infielders

Christian Knapczyk, 24, 2B/SS

Cleveland’s fifth round pick in 2023, Knapczyk is a high-contact speedster. He improved his power numbers in 2025, blasting seven home runs at High-A, where he played good enough to earn a late season promotion to Double-A. Knapczyk hasn’t been super flashy, but he’s been above average at all three levels he’s played thus far, including posting a 102 wRC+ in his 25-game stint at Akron last year, where he walked an impressive 14.4% of the time while dropping his strikeout rate.

Juan Benjamin, 22, 2B/3B

A 2019 international signing out of the Dominican Republic, Benjamin has been a slow mover in Cleveland’s system, stalling at Single-A for two and a half seasons. Despite a sub-par 2024, his first season of his career that was below 100 wRC+, Cleveland promoted him to High-A Lake County for 2025 and it paid off. Benjamin flourished there, slashing .276/.365/.385 in 88 games with 18 stolen bases, good for a 116 wRC+ and lining him up to debut at Double-A this year.

Dean Curley, 21, SS

Cleveland’s second round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Dean Curley played just nine games with Lynchburg in the Carolina League last year, but he also played a part in the Hillcats’ run to a Carolina League championship in the playoffs. Before that, Curley slashed .315/.435/.531 with Tennessee while bashing 14 home runs. Curley likely will be the opening day shortstop for Lake County this year.

Luke Hill, 21, 3B

llege Cleveland’s fourth round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Hill got off to an extremely hot start after getting placed at Single-A Lynchburg, slashing an elite /.357/.459/.510 over 15 games. Hill has an excellent eye at the plate, walking more than he struck out in his final two college seasons and he kept that skill at Lynchburg, walking 17.7% of the time. He’ll likely begin 2026 at High-A Lake County.

Riley Nelson, 22, 1B

Cleveland’s fifth round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Nelson had a spectacular final season with Vanderbilt, slashing .344/.450/.526 and he carried that over to a 15-game run with Single-A Lynchburg, slashing .316/.381/.474, good for a 149 wRC+. Nelson also is expected to begin at High-A Lake County.

Dauri Fernandez, 18, 2B/3B/SS

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2024, Fernandez hit the ground running with the Dominican Summer League at age 17 with a 112 wRC+. He blossomed in his stateside debut, slashing .333/.398/.558 over 43 games with an impressive six home runs, nine doubles and four triples, exploding his ISO to .224. He earned a seven-game cup of coffee at full-season Lynchburg. He was Cleveland’s most impressive hitter at the complex league. Keep an eye on this one.

Gabriel Rodriguez, 18, SS

Signed internationally in 2024, Rodriguez appears to have the chops to stick at shortstop and has shown an incredible ability to get on base. After posting a ridiculous .506 on base percentage in his debut season in the DSL, Rodriguez had his best hitting performance in the Arizona Complex League last year, hitting .294 while maintaining an elite .393 OBP. Unlike many of Cleveland’s undersized international prospects, Rodriguez stands 6-foot-1 and has room to grow.

Rodny Rosario, 18, SS

Signed out of Venezuela for $230,000 in 2025, Rosario had the best offensive season of any Guardians prospect between both of the organization’s Dominican Summer League teams, slashing .307/.452/.464 with an impressive six triples and a pair of home runs in his age-17 season. The switch hitter walked as much as he struck out and should move to Arizona this year.

Outfielders

Petey Halpin, 23, CF

A third round pick by Cleveland in 2020, Halpin has been slightly above average almost every season in the Guardians’ system. He hit a career-high 14 home runs in his Triple-A debut in 2025 and earned an opportunity at the MLB level in September, where he showcased above average defense, baserunning and an excellent ability to get on base in a small sample size.

Wuilfredo Antunez, 23, RF

A 2019 international signing out of Venezuela, Antunez has done nothing but hit at every level he’s ever played at, never posting a wRC+ below 120. He slashed .275/.354/.420 spending the entire 2023 season at Single-A Lynchburg and Cleveland repeated him there in 2024, where he again played well, putting up a 127 wRC+. Antunez saw a power spike in 2025, blasting a career-high 18 home runs split between High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron, posting a wRC+ of 135 and 147 at each.

Tommy Hawke, 22, LF

Hawke was Cleveland’s sixth round pick in 2023 and spent his entire 2024 campaign at Single-A Lynchburg. He posted an elite walk-rate of 15.1% while swiping 37 bases over 88 games, slashing .263/.379/.347 with a 121 wRC+. Hawke is a contact-focused hitter, hitting just one home run last year. He’ll likely start 2025 at High-A.

Nick Mitchell, 22, CF

Acquired by Cleveland in the Andres Gimenez trade, Mitchell was above average repeating at Single-A Lynchburg, but impressed significantly after he was promoted to High-A Lake County, where he slashed .267/.380/.422, good for a 128 wRC+. While he only hit two home runs, Mitchell stole 30 bases and walked more than he struck out on the season.

Ryan Cesarini, 23, OF

Cesarini was selected in the 14th round of the 2024 MLB Draft and he was above average at Single-A Lynchburg last year with 33 stolen bases. He earned a late season promotion to High-A and played even better while there, slashing .292/.373/.469, good for an elite 138 wRC+. On the season, he stole 40 bases and smacked five home runs while almost walking more than he struck out.

Esteban Gonzalez, 22, OF

Gonzalez was a 2019 international signing out of Venezuela and he’s performed at almost every level, only requiring a repeat stint at the complex league in 2023, where he flourished. He was a staple of Lake County’s lineup in 2025, playing 110 games where he slashed .272/.336/.430 while stealing 24 bases and shellacking nine home runs.

Aaron Walton, 21, OF

Selected as a competitive balance pick in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft, Walton made a 16-game stint at Single-A Lynchburg, where he slashed .238/.324/.397 with a home run, five doubles and a triple while helping the Hillcats win the Carolina League championship. Before that, Walton was a standout junior prospect out of Arizona, where he showcased an impressive all-round game while putting up strong numbers with a .320/.437/.589 slash, 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases. He was hit by a whopping 24 pitches that season as well. He’ll likely begin the 2026 campaign at High-A.

Nolan Schubart, 21, OF

Cleveland’s third round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, Schubart presents a stark change from the typical Guardians model, as he is the most strikeout-prone college hitter the team has drafted in recent memory. He’s also one of the most powerful sluggers, bashing a combined 59 home runs in his three seasons at Oklahoma State. He had an elite 1.351 OPS his sophomore season, but a 24.59% strikeout rate in college scared scouts. He whiffed 36% of the time in a 15-game stint at Lynchburg as well.

Robert Arias, 18, OF

Cleveland’s top international signing in 2024 out of the Dominican Republic, Arias showed great plate discipline in his Dominican Summer League debut, walking almost twice as much as he struck out. This past season, he again walked more than striking out, leading the team with 29 stolen bases in 46 games and slashed a solid .287/.389/.402. I expect him to make his full-season debut at Single-A this year to begin the 2026 campaign.

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Did I miss any of Cleveland’s minor league players that you felt deserved a shoutout? Feel free to comment or share your opinion on the “best of the rest” below.

The next player in our Birthday Series, covering every type of New York Yankee we possibly can, is one I hold in special regard. Several years ago, we did a series covering the best complementary players in Yankees history, and he was one of the nominees: former outfielder and catcher Johnny Blanchard.

John Edwin Blanchard
Born: February 26, 1933 (Minneapolis, MN)
Died: March 25, 2009 (Robbinsdale, MN)
Yankees Tenure: 1955-65

While everyone is always looking for that secret formula, the truth is there are many reasons behind a dynasty, and that has always been the case — the Yankees would know more than any other in baseball history. Among the many important points, organizational depth is key, one properly illustrated by the likes of Johnny Blanchard — a player who was never a feature piece of a Yankee team in any given season, but did his part and then some in a couple of World Series-winning teams.

A native of the small town of Robbinsdale in Minneapolis, Blanchard was a standout athlete growing up, earning the attention of scouts in multiple sports. The Minneapolis Lakers tried to keep him in-state as a basketball player, but Blanchard took the rather tempting offer from the Yankees for $20k to sign out of high school. A product of Central High School, Blanchard was one of the two more notable major leaguers to come out of the school that closed its doors in 1982.

Signed as an outfielder, Blanchard was developing in the minors when he paused his career for a two-year period to serve in the US Army in the Korean War in 1953 and 1954. Struggling heavily in his first taste of pro ball, Blanchard had found himself in 1952 with an outstanding campaign, securing a .996 OPS for the Toplin Miners before his time with the Army.

Returning to the Yankees in 1955, Blanchard managed to get a cup of tea with the big league club, one that proved misleading concerning his proximity to the majors. From 1955 to 1958, Blanchard split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, struggling to gain space in the big league club and also working through a particularly difficult transition from the outfield to catching — one made even harder for a player whose natural talents didn’t particularly stand out that much, at least according to Blanchard himself.

Little could Blanchard have guessed that the transition to the catching position would earn him a better shot at playing time from 1960 onwards — the Yankee outfield became more crowded with the addition of Roger Maris via trade with the Royals, one that sparked the beginning of a particularly successful era of Yankee baseball.

Following two underwhelming seasons as a backup catcher in 1959 and 1960, Blanchard delivered one of the more memorable backup campaigns in the history of Yankee baseball — the backup catcher taking full advantage of that powerful left-handed swing to hit a whopping 21 homers in just 275 at-bats, and four of them even came in a row. Despite coming off the bench, one could argue that Blanchard was one of the more impactful players of that championship-winning team outside of the Mickey Mantle-Roger Maris duo.

Helping a Yankee team that beat the Reds four games to one in the World Series, Blanchard made his first of several productive Fall Classic appearances. Blanchard went 4-for-10 with a pair of home runs, the only Yankee hitter to go deep multiple times in the World Series. The first of those homers was a crucial one in the path of the whole series — after splitting the first two games at home, the Yankees trailed 2-1 in Cincinnati in Game 3, and Blanchard hit a game-tying shot, quickly followed by Roger Maris also going yard in a 3-2 Yankee victory.

From then on, the Yankees cruised through a couple of blowout wins to win the series in five.

Although he was never quite able to repeat those regular-season numbers of 1961, Blanchard went on to put up three solid campaigns off the bench for the Yankees. New York made the World Series every year between 1961 and 1964 but only won a couple, and Blanchard never featured as much as he did in that first one against Cincinnati. However, to hold Blanchard to the standard of that outrageous 1961 campaign is a tad harsh to say the least. Between 1962 and 1964, Blanchard had a 107 OPS+ in over 700 plate appearances, an outstanding effort for a reserve catcher, one that any team would gladly take. With Yogi Berra manning the position, there wasn’t room in the Yankees roster for a larger role — it’s hard not to wonder what Blanchard might have done at his best if given the opportunity to start full-time.

A player coming from Minnesota, Blanchard learned to love being a Yankee more than the usual relationship between player and organization. One of his most memorable stories as a Yankee is that of his reaction following a trade in 1965, crying copiously at the thought of no longer wearing pinstripes. After playing for the Kansas City Athletics and Milwaukee Braves in 1965, Blanchard retired as a 32-year-old, clearly struggling more than you’d expect for a player of his age. That was by far Blanchard’s worst season, finishing it with a .532 OPS.

Many players’ love of the game leads to them occupying other roles upon retiring, but other than a failed comeback attempt a few years into his retirement, Blanchard didn’t. The retired ballplayer went on to work as a salesman in several different areas and was also involved in real estate.

Blanchard died of a heart attack on March 25, 2009, in his hometown of Robbinsdale, Minnesota. He’ll always live on in lore of the Yankees’ dynasty years.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

I feel like this is an area where some interesting debate could take place.

Is it the frontrunner, Gavin Williams? Or do his walk tendencies disrupt that?

Is it a return to form for Tanner Bibee?

It it a fulfillment of potential for Joey Cantillo?

Is it a continuation of a strong rookie debut for Parker Messick?

Let us know who and why in the comments below!

Meet the Mets

The Mets fell to the Cardinals 6-0 and are now 2-2 in Grapefruit League action. Jonah Tong saw his first game action of spring and gave up a three-run home run in 2.2 innings of work. One of the candidates to make the bullpen, Adbert Alzolay, had a successful appearance in his one inning. Carson Benge was the standout on offense on an otherwise lackluster day. Benge went 3-for-3 with all three hits coming with two strikes.

Carson Benge hates striking out, which helps fuel him when he is down in the count.

Jonah Tong is in the process of developing a cutter, which he debuted against the Cardinals.

Brett Baty is happy to play anywhere in the field, hoping his versatility will keep him in the lineup.

Francisco Alvarez got the start at DH and will get behind the plate soon.

Francisco Lindor got the stitches from his surgery removed from his hand, and he is still on track for Opening Day.

Comedian John Oliver’s son was heartbroken when Pete Alonso left for the the Orioles, so now the Polar Bear is trying to convince him to become a Baltimore fan.

Around the National League East

Bryce Elder was solid in his spring start for the Braves.

The Marlins’ bullpen has a few roles up for grabs with a few arms competing for spots.

New Phillie Brad Keller thinks moving to the bullpen helped revitalize his career with the Cubs, and he hopes he can be a key contributer in Philadelphia.

The Nationals have started off spring playing well, but their defense still could use some improvement.

Around Major League Baseball

The Yankees are retiring CC Sabathia’s number with a ceremony in September.

Harrison Bader left an apology note after his home run ball dented a food truck.

During his game Josh Naylor made sure to greet and welcome home-plate umpire Jen Pawol, who became the first woman in history to umpire an MLB regular-season game last season.

Who are the top hitting prospects for each team?

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore wondered why Ji Hwan Bae is a Met.

This Date in Mets History

Happy birthday, Kevin Plawecki!

Edwin Díaz pitched a scoreless frame in his Dodgers debut on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields, working around a single with a strikeout in the fourth inning.

The plan is for Díaz to pitch once more for the Dodgers this week before joining Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic.

“I had to ramp up a little more quickly than normal,” Díaz said Wednesday of his offseason, as shown on SportsNet LA. “I prepared myself in the offseason to be ready right now, and I’m feeling really good and ready to go.”

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Roki Sasaki threw a cutter 11 times in his 36 pitches on Wednesday against Arizona, a pitch per Baseball Savant he did not throw at all last regular season. That was among the things the second-year Dodger was working on in his first outing, but he showed similar results to his starts last season, with poor fastball command. In all, Sasaki allowed three runs on three hits, including a pair of doubles, and two walks. He struck out three but also threw more balls (19) than strikes (17).

From David Brandt at Associated Press:

“I thought he was overthrowing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I haven’t seen that all spring. It’s probably just getting into live competition. I thought he was a little too bullish on the fastball, but he was getting behind in the first inning.”

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River Ryan on Wednesday pitched in his first game since August 10, 2024, part of the long road back from Tommy John surgery. He pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout, working around a walk, and threw more balls (11) than strikes (eight), but was an important milestone nonetheless.

“It was a big step just to get out there and compete against another team. I still think he’s a ways away as far as fine tuning, but just to get out there in compete mode and not rehab mode, that’s a good thing,” Roberts said, as shown on SportsNet LA. “He’s off to a good start, he feels good. Just kind of honing in those pitches and he’ll be just fine.”

He’s also in Dodgers camp with his brother Ryder, a non-roster invitee, who as Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register noted was the Ryan brothers’ first time as teammates since 2014, when the pair were in high school together. From Plunkett:

“Hopefully our schedules line up so we can throw in the same game,” River said. “That would be really cool.”

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Dodgers announcers Stephen Nelson and José Mota will call Pool C in the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo, on the world feed.

Last week, Camden Chat’s Tyler Young wrote of Kyle Bradish: “All of this offseason talk around the Orioles’ ‘need’ for an ace seems to ignore the fact that they already have one in-house.”

I’d venture to say they might even have two.

That belief, of course, depends on how much you’re banking on Trevor Rogers’ 2025 breakthrough being sustainable. The lefty, who’d been all but written off after his rough O’s debut in 2024, was a revelation last year, breaking franchise and MLB records on his way to a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts and earning Most Valuable Oriole honors. He was the Birds’ shining light in an otherwise dismal season, and he’ll most certainly be starting one of the Orioles’ first two games of the year.

The projection systems, though, are not sold that Rogers has turned into a true ace.

• ZiPS: 25 GS, 3.95 ERA, 2.1 WAR
• Steamer: 26 GS, 4.20 ERA, 1.9 WAR

While even the most optimistic Orioles fans probably aren’t expecting Rogers to post a 1.81 mark again, the projections predict a particularly sharp regression of more than 200 points of ERA. They also forecast that even if he gets 7-8 more starts than last year, he’ll be worth far less than the 3.3 WAR he posted in 2025.

The projections don’t have any vendetta or personal beef against Rogers. Remember: they aren’t human. They’re just formulas, spitting out numbers based on a whole bunch of data. And in this case, Rogers’ less-than-stellar career up until 2025 waters down the projections for his 2026 season. In his three previous years, he posted ERAs of 5.47, 4.00, and 4.92. And his 2025 stats, while mind-blowing, came in just 18 starts, just over half of a season’s worth. So it’s no surprise that the emotionless, unfeeling computers aren’t predicting great things for his 2026 campaign.

But what about you, Camden Chatters? What do you think Rogers is capable of this season? Let us know in the comments.