The right-hander got into some early trouble as MLB.com's No. 8 overall prospect Max Clark doubled and the next two batters walked to load the bases. After getting a strikeout for the second out, Tong gave up a three-run double to MLB vet Corey Julks.
Things didn't get better in the second inning. Following a fielding error by 3B Jackson Cluff, Tong let up a two-run HR to Wenceel Pérez to make it a 5-0 game. Clark reached safely on an error by Ronny Mauricio, and then, after a force-out, Tong walked Jace Jung and allowed a two-run double to Eduardo Valencia as Syracuse went down 7-0.
Tong's day came to an end after just 1.2 IP as he allowed four earned runs on four hits with three walks and two strikeouts. The 22-year-old threw 60 pitches (34 strikes) in the brief outing.
His season ERA now sits at 6.35 through 5.2 total innings on the mound.
Apr 2, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run during the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
The Twins got on the board early in this game, but not with the need of bats. In the 2nd inning, after Victor Caratini singled, Kody Clemens singled and moved to 2nd after Caratini tried going 1st to 3rd and was thrown out. Clemens would later score on a throwing error by Salvador Perez in an attempted pickoff.
Other than that, offense was hard to come by for the Twins against Royals lefty Cole Ragans. He had little trouble, scattering 4 hits and a walk over 6 innings.
Meanwhile, Taj Bradley had a good start. In the 3rd inning, he got Bobby Witt Jr. to strike out looking with 2 men on to end the inning. In the 4th, he got Lane Thomas to strike out swinging with the bases loaded to end that threat. He ended the day with a solid 6 shutout inning performance.
After Kody Funderburk pitched a clean 7th, the Twins added a 2nd run in the 8th inning. Josh Bell walked, then Royce Lewis doubled, and Trevor Larnach was intentionally walked. Byron Buxton drove in Bell with a sac-fly RBI for a needed insurance run.
Cole Sands entered for the 8th, and immediately was greeted by back-to-back singles setting up 1st and 3rd. Vinnie Pasquantino hit a sac-fly RBI of his own for the Royals first (and only) run of the day. Taylor Rogers came in and cleaned up the inning, preserving the 2-1 Twins lead.
In the 9th, Matt Wallner hit an opposite field solo homer, his 2nd of the season. Then, two batters later, Clemens hit a homer of his own to left, his first of the season. Josh Bell followed with yet another solo homer to make it a 5-1 game, that’s his 2nd of the year.
Justin Topa entered in the 9th, and, with the help of a ground ball double play, tossed a scoreless inning to secure the Twins second victory of the year.
Studs:
Taj Bradley: 6.0 IP, 5 H, B, 3 K
Luke Keaschall: 2-4
Wallner, Clemens, Bell: They hit homers, we like those.
#7 hitter prospect, LuJames Groover against the Los Angeles Dodgers during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Introduction
The Dbacks farm system could be described as a top heavy system, that ranks in the middle of the pack overall out of all 30 team’s farm systems, and I wouldn’t disagree at all with that assessment. While the Diamondbacks have drafted, signed, and developed some really great hitters in recent years such as Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo, the obvious reason as to why the farm system is ranked so poorly is thanks to a complete lack of any impactful pitching prospect. On top of that, throughout the organization’s history, there’s been a failure to develop pitching in house, with very few exceptions. Today we’ll be ignoring that five ton proboscidean, bypassing that completely by focusing on just the hitters in the system. If we’re looking at just the hitting prospects in the farm system, I’d actually argue the Diamondbacks belong firmly in the upper third of MLB teams.
Originally I started writing this as a standard top prospect list, but I realized that I am actually terrible at evaluating pitching. The rankings here are a very subjective, and if there’s a player you think i have snubbed and left off the list, wait until next week and you’ll likely find them There are many valid arguments for ranking player X over player Y, who’d you’d rank higher than player Z. I could have easily gone with several different permutations of how these players are listed, so if you think that some players should be ranked differently, that’s totally okay! If you do have a strong arguement for why you think a specific player should have been ranked differently, than let me know in the comment section below the article. Today we’ll be looking at a few honorable mentions, and then going over prospect #11 through #6. Originally I did include the remaining 5 prospects, but this article has gotten a little too long so I split it into two parts.
Honorable Mentions
If Jose Fernandez didn’t have an amazing debut game, I don’t know if I would have even bothered mentioning him at all outside of maybe a ‘prospects to watch’ section. That’s not to say he wasn’t an intriguing prospect prior to his MLB debut, especially after being added to the 40-Man roster to protect him in the lead up to the Rule 5 draft. That prompted me to dig further into his statistics over the winter, and based on his first and 2nd half splits, it seems like he has made some adjustment that have unlocked his offensive potential. I’m not entirely sold on his offensive or defensive profile, but the potential is definitely there.
Kristian Robinson was a top prospect before his career was almost completely derailed after a mental health episode exacerbated by medical grade Marijuana, which then lead to legal troubles. After three years away from professional baseball, Robinson was able to eventually get his life and his career back on track. While he’s probably not the future All-Star we thought he was back when he was a top prospect, but I still think Robinson is capable of hanging in at the MLB level as a fourth outfielder capable of playing all three outfield positions.
Avery Owusu-Asiedu was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchanged for lefty reliever Kyle Backhus back in December. He’s the protypical toolsy outfielder who hadnt had much in the way if results in his first two seasons in 2023 and 2024. After putting up an anemic batting line of .192/.287/.327 and a 77 wRC+ in A ball in 2024, Owusu-Asiedu returned to A ball to start the 2025 season, and I’d say he conquered it with the .268/.382/.402 and 122 wRC+ he put up in 58 games in his second go around, though some of that improvement was just having better luck on his Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) probably was a factor. The Phillies front office agreed with that assessment though and promoted him to A+. There he’d hit .247/350/.368 with a 118 wRC+ in 49 games. Owusu-Asiedu has an intriguing combo of being a plus plus runner with a plus plus arm, while having some eye catching (112MPH+) exit velocities. Unfortunately, there are some real questions about his ability to consistently make contact, so the bat could be what holds him back in the long run. That said, his numbers are trending in the right direction, and I wouldnt be shocked to see him breakout further in 2026, especially if he’s assigned to a hitter friendly enviroment like the Dbacks AA affiliate in the Texas League.
The son of Hall of Fame Centerfielder Andruw Jones, the right handed hitting Druw Jones was selected by the Diamondbacks with the second overall pick in the 2022 draft. Sadly he has so far failed to live up to the expectations that were set for him being taken that high in the draft and just the expectations that comes with being the son of a Hall of Fame player. A lot of the decline in his prospect status is a result of injuries that have derailed him since the minute the ink dried on his pro contract. Most noteably Jones suffered a season ending shoulder injury before he could even get his first pro at bat, that also gave him the distinction of being the third Dback #1 draft pick to suffer a season ending shoulder injury almost immediately after signing.
The other aspect that has further tarnished Jones’ prospect luster, are the offensive struggles. In 41 games in 2023 split between the two Arizona Complex League Dbacks teams and the A ball level Visalia Rawhide,Jones hit a paltry 238/.353/.327 with a 93 wRC+. It’s worth nothing that those numbers are propped up by the 29 games in Visalia where he hit .252/.366/.351 with a 105 wRC+. His best season was back in 2024, when he hit .275/.409/.405 with a 126 wRC+ in 109 games for the A ball level Visalia Rawhide. However, in 2025 his hitting regressed, with his number falling down to .255/.335/.360 triple slash with a 96 wRC+. It wasn’t all bad though as he did progress in some areas; he reduced his strikeout percentage from 28.0% down to 23.3%, while keeping his walk percentage above 10%. He was much more successful on the basepaths, stealing 28 bases while getting caught only 4 times, compared to how he did in 2024 when he played in 24 fewer games, while stealing seven fewer bases while also getting caught stealing an additional two times.
Jones is one of the best, if not THE best defensive outfielder in the Diamondbacks farm system. While the bat has some question marks surrounding it, there’s zero question about his defensive ability; even if the bat doesn’t come around, his defense is probably good enough that he could provide positive value even with a slightly below average bat. The biggest thing that Jones can accomplish in 2026 is reducing the percentage of strikeouts down to an acceptable level while increasing the frequency of contact and his batting average. He has typically struck out in at least 26% of his at bats, and that won’t cut it. If Jones doesn’t have a breakout season in 2026, he’s likely to fall off all the major top prospect lists for good. If he has an outright bad season, then he’ll likely be stuck with the label of being one of the most notable busts in Dbacks draft history. While he’s still only 22 years old, Druw Jones has little time left before he’s no longer a prospect. I’m pretty optimistic generally, but in this case I have only just enough confidence in Jones to place him just outside the top 10.
Signed out of the Dominican Republic in January of 2023, Virahonda is a switch hitting catcher who only turned 20 in the middle of December.
Virahonda had an impressive debut that year in the Dominican Summer League. In 38 games split between the two DSL Dback affiliates he hit .304/.401/.482 with a 133 wRC+. You could call Virahonda’s 2024 season a disaster as he returned to the DSL but struggled offensively, hitting just .156/.279/.231, which works out to a 44 wRC+ (for reference a 100 wRC+ is average, >100 = good, <100 = bad ). However, I wouldn’t call it all bad, as the adjustments he made afterwards helped his 2025 season go much better. In 37 games in the rookie level Arizona Complex League, he’d hit 347/.464/.455 with a 153 wRC+, which earned him a promotion to the A ball level Visalia Rawhide. In his 33 games for Visalia, Virahonda didn’t hit quite that well, but he held his own hitting .256/.362/.357 with a 108 wRC+. His combined stat line for 2025 was .300/ 413/.404 with a 130 wRC+. Virahonda projects to be an above average defender behind the plate, with a very good chance at becoming elite defender. If Virahonda builds upon his 2025 offensive perform ace, he is likely to leap ahead of several players on this list. He’s easily the top catching prospect in the Dbacks system, though to be fair the Dbacks don’t have a ton of average or above catching prospects, so he doesn’t have much competition as far as that goes.
Torin is a polarizing prospect and I wouldn’t be surprised if his rank here ends up being the most controversial. In 2026, he has been ranked as high as #10 (by Baseball-America) or as low as #27 (by Fangraphs), and unlike me, they’re not ranking hitters and pitchers separately. Torin got on my radar after he displayed a very advanced approach to the plate in 2023 as a 17 year old. He began the year in the Dominican Summer League, earned a promotion to the Arizona Complex League, before finally ending the year in A ball. In 2024 Torin would return to A ball and spend the entire season there. While the results weren’t quite as impressive, they were still above average, which earned him a promotion in 2025 to the A+ Level Hillsboro Hops. There he’d .287/.381/.385 with a 115 wRC+ in 122 games. Torin was then promoted to AA Amarillo, where he’d appear in 5 games and hit .381/.440/.571 with 159 wRC+.
Torin is an excellent contact hitter with fantastic plate discipline, who consistently walks at above average rate while rarely striking out, who is a competent defender with a good enough arm to stick at shortstop. However, the real problem here and what makes him such a divisive prospect is that he doesn’t hit the ball very hard, he’s not a fast runner, and besides the aforementioned above average contact and plate discipline ability, he really lacks a standout tool. As far as the hitting side of things goes, I am reminded a lot of Geraldo Perdomo, who while being a better defender than Torin, similarly had only above average plate discipline and contact skills as his standout tools. In my opinion, those are the most important tools for a hitter in the first place. You can have all the homerun power in the world, while being an elite speed threat on the basepaths, but if you can’t take a walk or even make contact in the first place, you’ll never even have that opportunity to steal a base or hit out of the park.
In all likelihood, Torin is a future utility player or middle infield depth, but if he starts developing power and hitting the ball with more authority, he will surprise a lot of the prospect evaluators who were unimpressed.
Cunningham is yet another player who fits the mold of the undersized position players that the Dbacks that the Dbacks are quickly becoming known for. I haven’t seen Cunningham play at all, and there’s really not much new that I can say about Kayson Cunningham, whom the D’Backs drafted in the first round of last year’s draft with the 18th overall pick since he’s only appeared in a grand total of 11* professional games. (*he did play in the Complex as well, but we don’t have access to that data. We can infer he did fairly well based on the fact that they had him debut in A ball, which is unusual for a highschooler).
In cases like these, where I haven’t seen a player at all, and there’s basically no worthwhile data available, differing my opinions to the experts is seems like the way to go. In this case, I’ll just quote his blurb on MLB Pipeline:
Standing 5-foot-10, Cunningham rarely whiffed on his swings as an amateur and showed the ability to manipulate the barrel to all areas of the strike zone. He impressed Arizona officials enough at the complex after the Draft to the point where they pushed him out to Single-A Visalia for 11 games, and his contact rate was solid for a recent prepster pushed into the deep end. Cunningham doesn’t have a projectable frame, however, and he’ll really need to maintain good bat speed to get to even average power in the bigs.
Cunningham is an energetic player on the basepaths, but one who makes for an interesting evaluation on defense. He lost some of his twitchiness at shortstop before the Draft, and in the California League, he looked rushed on some of his actions and throws, including getting charged with three errors in his debut. Arizona still plans to keep him at shortstop, believing that last year’s experience could be eye-opening because of the speed of the game, but even entering the Draft, some scouts saw Cunningham as a future bat-first second baseman.
After hitting .349 combined in his three seasons playing in college, LuJames Groover was drafted by the Dbacks in the 2nd round of the 2023 draft with the 48th overall pick. He’d have an impressive debut season in 2023, but his 2024 was shortened by injury. 2025 would see Groover back in AA and fully healthy; in 123 games he’d hit .309/399/.434 with 12 HRS, though in the hitter friendly Texas League that works out to a 120 wRC+, or just 20% above average. While Groover’s bat and offensive tools have never really been in question though, but his defense was absolutely in question. The Dbacks believed in him enough to give him a chance to continue playing third, which has paid off as he’s become a capable defender over time. 2026 has Groover promoted to the AAA level Reno Aces in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League. As of April 2nd, the Aces have only played 5 games, so there’s not much to write about other than Groover going 4-5 with a pair of runs batted in on opening day.
The most notable fact about JD Dix’s background is that he went to the same highschool as 2001 postseason Dbacks legend Craig Counsell. The switch hitting Dix was drafted back in 2024, but didn’t make his pro debut until the 2025 season. He absolutely raked in his 39 games in the Arizona Complex League, hitting .342/.421/.493 with a 142 wRC+. That would earn him a promotion to A ball, where he’d play in 50 games and hit .261/.391/.335 with a 114 wRC+. Across the two levels in 89 games, Dix hit a combined .297/.404/.406 with a 126 wRC+.
I would imagine that Dix will be promoted to the A+ Level Hillsboro Hops for the 2026 season, considering his solid numbers in 2025 leave him with little left to prove in A ball
Conclusion
That wraps up the back half of my top prospect list for hitters, next week we’ll go over the five position players remaining that would be glaring omissions to excluse. Well informed readers will be able to guess who they are, but can they guess the order after the team’s consensus top prospect? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
SAN FRANCISCO — If you watched Thursday night’s game and felt like it had been a while since this Giants lineup did that to a lefty, you’d be correct.
The Giants scored six runs off New York Mets southpaw David Peterson and put nine hits on his line while cruising to a 7-2 win in their return to Oracle Park. That was their biggest outburst against a lefty since June 30, 2024, when they had a dozen hits off Los Angeles’ James Paxton.
The lineup has been completely overhauled since then, and on Thursday, the newcomers played a big part.
Luis Arráez got the Giants going with an RBI triple in the first and they tacked on two more in the frame. Heliot Ramos and Arráez jump-started a rally in the third and San Francisco took a 5-2 lead on sacrifice flies from Jung Hoo Lee and Harrison Bader. Rafael Devers kept the crowd buzzing with his first homer of the year in the sixth, and that also came off a lefty, this time Sean Manaea.
After picking up 16 hits against the San Diego Padres earlier in the week, the Giants had 13 on Thursday. It was a complete attack, too. Rookie Daniel Susac reached base four times and Casey Schmitt had three hits a day after a rocky defensive performance.
Susac Attack
Susac’s big league debut came on Wednesday, and didn’t include an at-bat. He came on to catch after Jerar Encarnacion pinch-hit for starter Patrick Bailey.
On Thursday, Susac got his first start, and he wasted no time pleasing the large group of Susacs sitting in the family section. The Roseville native singled to right-center on the first pitch he saw in the big leagues, and he picked up another first-pitch single in the third inning.
In the fifth, Susac drew a walk. Two innings later, he smoked a fastball from Manaea up the middle at 105 mph.
Susac became the first Giants rookie since Kevin Frandsen in 2006 to record at least three hits and reach base four times in his first career start. Frandsen had three hits and got hit by a pitch in his debut.
Ray’s Day
It wasn’t always pretty for Robbie Ray. He gave up an RBI double and solo homer in the first two innings and Harrison Bader reached up to the top of the wall in the third to prevent a two-run homer. Ray also walked three and ran a high pitch count.
But, he struck out seven and got outs when he needed them, and he got some hideous swings from Mets stars, particularly on a revamped slider. Bo Bichette nearly screwed himself into the dirt while swinging at one early in the game.
Ray ended up allowing just the two earned runs while pitching into the sixth. That’s when things got really interesting. Ryan Walker, who had the only save of the year for the Giants, was the man to replace him.
Welcome To This Side
Tony Vitello is usually on the dugout steps, but when Blade Tidwell got back after a quick seventh inning, it was Frank Anderson who was there to greet him with a fist bump. That was appropriate, too.
Anderson was Tidwell’s pitching coach at Tennessee, where he played for Vitello before getting taken in the second round of the 2022 draft by the Mets. He made his debut for them last year before being included in the Tyler Rogers deal, and on Thursday, he got to pitch as a Giant for the first time, and against his old team.
Tidwell came on in the seventh and gave up an infield single right away. He wiped that out with a double play and then got a grounder to short to end the inning.
Schmitt’s leaping grab led to an unassisted double play that ended the eighth and Tidwell, who has been stretched out as a starter in Triple-A, came back out for the ninth. He ended up picking up the rare three-inning save in his first game in orange and black.
Welcome to The California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where baseball writers Dylan Hernández and Jack Harris review the week that was, hand out very official awards, and take stock of the state of the season –– publishing every Thursday.
For better or worse, Shohei Ohtani is no Barry Bonds.
Following five games in which he was thrown a limited selection of hittable pitches, Ohtani stepped into the batter’s box on Wednesday in a situation that called for Cleveland Guardians right-hander Gavin Williams to challenge him. With no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dodgers had men on first and second base.
Ohtani grounded into a double play.
“From the side,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “it looked like a good pitch and he just hit the top of it.”
By the time Ohtani returned to the batter’s box two innings later, his air of invincibility had evaporated into the Los Angeles sky. The Dodgers were down by four runs, but they had runners on second and third.
Left-hander Erik Sabrowski was called out of the bullpen to pitch to Ohtani. Rather than walk him with first base open, Sabrowski threw a curveball that caught the lower outside edge of the strike zone.
Ohtani responded by swinging at two other breaking balls delivered in the same general area – except they were balls. Ohtani whiffed on both of them, and the threat was over.
The Dodgers went on to lose the game, 4-1, and the series, two games to one.
This alone shouldn’t be a source of concern. Ohtani has slumped before, and he will slump again. He will eventually start hitting at some point, and besides, the Dodgers have started the season 4-2 with him batting just .167.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani walks away after striking out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) AP
However, if a trend emerged over the first week of games, it was that teams playing the Dodgers really didn’t want Ohtani to beat them. They didn’t care that Kyle Tucker and Mookie Betts were behind him. They didn’t want to pitch to Ohtani, which is why he already has a team-leading seven walks. His on-base percentage of .423 is second on the team to Andy Pages’ .429.
Watching how the Guardians and Arizona Diamondbacks pitched around Ohtani, Roberts was reminded of the best player with whom he ever played.
Roberts and Barry Bonds were both San Francisco Giants in 2007.
Bonds turned 43 in the middle of that season, which turned out to be his last in the majors. His 132 walks that year were the most in baseball.
“I think Barry was as patient and as good as anyone I’ve seen that can take walks, value walks,” Roberts said. “Yeah, there were times where he got a handful of pitches a week to hit. Shohei’s certainly not to that extreme of patience, but he’s doing a good job.”
Bonds once walked 232 times in a single season.
How would Ohtani react if that happened to him?
“Shohei likes to swing the bat,” Roberts said with a smile. “Shohei would go crazy.”
Ohtani will have to figure out how to keep it together, to not allow his desperation to lead to the kind of at-bat he had against Sabrowski.
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants waits on deck in the fifth inning against the Florida Marlins at Dolphin Stadium on August 17, 2007 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images) Getty Images
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Andy Pages (.429 average, 1 home run, 5 RBIs, 1.048 OPS)
It’s not just that Pages has a team-best average, or is looking like the one Dodgers regular who managed to carry over his strong spring training.
What has made the third-year slugger the Dodgers’ most standout hitter early on is the way he has conducted his at-bats.
Last year, Pages struck out once in every five trips to the plate. This week, he did it twice in 21 at-bats.
“He’s hitting to all fields,” Roberts said Wednesday after Pages’ 3-for-3 showing. “He’s staying on sliders with two strikes. He’s shooting fastballs. Today, he pulled a sinker 97 for a base hit.”
And “at the end of the day,” Roberts added, “he’s really controlling the zone really well. He’s done that all spring.”
Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a single against the Cleveland Guardians during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on March 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) Getty Images
The live trumpets. The heavy fastball. And, most importantly, the lack of late-game stress.
Last year, the ninth inning was a recurring nightmare for the Dodgers. Now, with their new $69 million closer, it’s more like a late-night party.
Díaz slammed the door on the Diamondbacks in a pair of one-run wins over the weekend. He closed out another win over the Guardians on Tuesday in what was a non-save situation with the team up four.
Asked why he used Díaz in that latter spot –– especially considering soggy conditions that clearly affected the right-hander while giving one run –– Roberts provided a simple, and telling, answer.
“I wanted to win the game,” he said. “And for me, three, four (runs), Eddie is in. So it’s not just padding his save statistics. I wanted to win the game.”
Edwin Diaz of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 31, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images) Getty Images
PROSPECT OF THE WEEK
James Tibbs III (.545 average, 3 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 extra-base hits in triple-A)
In his second game of the season, Tibbs went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs. The next night, he was 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, 5 RBIs and a walk. Entering Thursday, he’d made it four-straight contests with multiple hits.
The 23-year-old former first-round pick (and trade deadline acquisition of the club last summer) already entered the season as a potential call-up candidate at some point this year. Now, that timeline seems like it could potentially be accelerating. One week in, he has been putting up video game-esque numbers.
Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder James Tibbs III against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
FUTURE DODGER OF THE WEEK
(Where we identify a potential Dodgers’ future acquisition –– sometimes far-fetched, sometimes not)
Munetaka Murakami, 1B, Chicago White Sox (ETA: 2028)
The Dodgers were skeptical of Murakami’s ability to hit a major league fastball, but the Japanese slugger probably won’t hold that against them.
Every other team shared their suspicions about the former Japanese league triple-crown winner, and that included the White Sox, who signed him to a two-year, $34-million contract.
The deal will allow Murakami to re-enter the free-agent market after the 2027 season, by which time the Dodgers could be looking for a corner infielder. Murakami was primarily a third baseman in Japan, albeit one with a shaky glove.
Murakami told Ohtani that if he didn’t homer in the White Sox’s season opener, he would also get a “techno cut,” which features a straight and angled hairline above the ears. Murakami was spared the unfashionable trim, as he not only homered on opening day but followed up with bombs in the second and third games of the season.
Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox batts during the third inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot park on April 01, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Getty Images
They rank 19th in scoring, 11th in batting average and 14th in OPS so far as a team. The top of their lineup has been particularly glaring, combining for a .182 average from the Nos. 1-5 spots that is better than only three other teams.
Cue all the caveats about small sample sizes, not jumping to conclusions and overanalyzing the randomness an opening week can often provide.
Still, for a team that slumped through much of the second half of the season and almost all of the playoffs, this has felt uncomfortably familiar –– even if, as Freddie Freeman declared Wednesday, “I think our offense is inevitable.”
“It’s just the first week,” he said. “We’ll be fine.”
Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is greeted in the dugout after a solo home run in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Apr 2, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2) is tagged out at second base by Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) during the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
Well, that didn’t go well.
The Royals lost the third game of a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins, squandering a fine start by Cole Ragans. For the Royals, quiet bats doomed them.
The Royals made things interesting in the later innings. After going down 2-0, Maikel Garcia led off the eighth with a single before moving to third when Bobby Witt Jr. followed with his own single. Runners on first and third with none out, and Vinnie Pasquantino up to bat.
While Pasquantino drove in Garcia with a sac fly, the rest of the from went quietly. Salvador Perez grounded to short and Bob was thrown out at second on a close play. Tolbert pinch-ran for Salvy, stole second, and stayed there as Jac Caglianone looked like a little leaguer against Taylor Rogers.
End of inning, end of threat.
But at least the Royals had cut down the lead to one. Steven Cruz came out of the bullpen to keep it a one-run game until the Royals came back up in the bottom of the ninth.
Steven Cruz did not keep it a one-run game.
Cruz, who to this point in his career had only surrendered six home runs, allowed three solo homers in the top of the ninth, including back-to-back shots to Kody Clemens and Josh Bell. Suddenly, it was 5-1 Twins.
The Royals started off the bottom of the ninth with consecutive baserunners, but a Lane Thomas double-play all but sealed things. Kyle Isbel whiffed to end the game.
On the bright side, Cole Ragans looked good. Over six innings, he allowed just one run (unearned) while striking out eight, walking one, and giving up four hits.
Matt Strahm had a nice one-inning appearance, too.
Overall, though, the bullpen continues to struggle. Aside from Cruz’s misadventures, John Schrieber needed 27 pitches to get through the eighth inning, which included allowing one earned run, a strikeout, and a walk.
One more note: Carter Jensen, whose start was scratched less than an hour before first pitch, made an appearance late in the game, so it appears he’s not dealing with an injury, which is good.
Now, the Royals are back to .500 at 3-3. They welcome the Brewers to town tomorrow night.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 29: Didier Fuentes #72 of the Atlanta Braves pitches during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Truist Park on March 29, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Just a week into the season and we already have our newest addition to the Top 100. You don’t have to look any further than Didier Fuentes. Didier had a stellar Spring Training where he appeared in four games and pitched 13.2 innings with an absurd 18 strikeouts and just one walk (11.8 K/9, 0.66 BB/9).
RHP Didier Fuentes enters the Top 100 Prospects list upon Parker Messick's graduation.
Didier then broke camp with the big league team and made one appearance where he pitched four one run innings with four strikeouts and two hits. Following that outing, the Braves optioned Didier to Triple-A Gwinnett – presumably to ramp up his conditioning and get him ready to start.
The #Braves today selected LHP Martín Pérez to the major league roster after optioning RHP Didier Fuentes to Triple-A Gwinnett following yesterday’s game.
Unfortunately for the Braves, despite being named to the Top 100 now, if Didier were to take over the league he will be ineligible for a PPI pick because he was not named Top 100 to start the season. Regardless, this looks to be a special season for the young right handed pitcher as he develops more into a major league talent ready to take on the league.
There have been plenty of whispers about members of the Mets' 2025 clubhouse not all pulling in the same direction, and one of the rumors that circulated involved an alleged rift between Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, now a member of the Texas Rangers.
“Nimmo and I are brothers. I love him. I love him," Lindor told the Post. "He’s a great guy. He’s missed around here — good teammate, good person, good family man.”
"We had a professional clubhouse," he said. "When you're winning, everything is fun. Then you go through stretches where it's hard, and you're not winning as many games. And I take responsibility for it, because it became, like, a corporate clubhouse, you know, where guys respected each other, but I don't think we celebrated each other enough."
Nimmo, of course, was traded to the Rangers this offseason in the deal that brought Marcus Semien to the Mets. Nimmo is hitting .360 with a home run and five RBI to begin his career in Texas.
SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 17: Cody Bradford #61 of the Texas Rangers poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 17, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Texas Rangers pitcher Cody Bradford will begin a rehab assignment with the Round Rock Express tonight, the team has announced.
Bradford spent the entire 2025 season on the injured list due to an elbow injury that ultimately necessitated internal brace surgery. Bradford is currently on the 15 day injured list. Reports have previously indicated that the hope is that he would be able to return to the majors sometime in May.
Bradford had a 3.54 ERA in 13 starts and a relief appearance in 2024, and was anticipated to be a member of the team’s rotation in 2025. Bradford has also pitched out of the bullpen in the past, so if there is not an opening in the rotation when he is ready to return, he could potentially fill a reliever role instead.
Round Rock hosts Gwinnett tonight in a game that starts at 6:45 p.m. Central. I am guessing that Bradford will be on a 2 inning/30 pitch limit in this first appearance.
Mar 10, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the scoreboard showing an ABS ball and strike challenge call being confirmed during the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Arizona Diamondbacks during a spring training game at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers have been slow on the draw so far with the introduction of automated balls and strikes. There’s been plenty to like about how the first week of the season has gone for Texas, as they sit at 4-2 with two road series wins, but taking advantage of the potential competitive advantage afforded by the new ABS replay system seems to be a work in progress.
While I’ve been against a lot of the recent Manfred era rules changes, I’ve been waiting for practically my entire baseball-following life for robot umps and now it’s kind of here albeit with the twist that teams are allowed two failed challenges before they can no longer appeal to the divine intervention of replay on suspected blown ball/strike calls.
Indeed, if I had my druthers, they’d just turn the hawkeye on for every pitch for a fully automated, purely human error-less experience. But there’s no doubt that the challenge system offers degrees of tactics and intrigue and here in the early goings, that’s been a fun new aspect for the baseball enjoyer and a nightmare for some umpires.
Team strategies and philosophies are developing. Do you challenge a close ball you’re fairly sure the ump got wrong in the 2nd inning of a scoreless game and risk being wrong and losing a challenge? Do you have a hierarchy for who can challenge? Do you save challenges for specific hitters or potential run-scoring rallies? Do you keep a challenge in your back pocket for a pitch that could determine the outcome of the game?
Each team likely has their own ideas on the hows and whens and whos and that undeniably adds an extra dimension of strategy to the rollout of this new tech and ruleset. With extra dimensions of strategy comes, frankly, people who are best at it or those who are best at exploiting it.
Right now, the Rangers are not those people.
So far this season Rangers hitters have made seven challenges and have succeed on three of them. The 43% success rate is good for 21st in the league. You know, whatever, it’s early. However, per Statcast’s ABS tracker, the Rangers have had the most opportunities in the league with 38 “reasonable” challenge chances and have only challenged on five of those offerings.
By Statcast’s estimation, the Rangers are about half a run in the hole due to their actual batting challenge decisions, which is third worst in the league. And their expected run value on potential overturns is -2.5 runs, second worst behind Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the Rangers have lost another estimated -0.2 runs on ABS challenges made by opponents against Texas hitters with teams going 5-for-6 on reversing a call.
The Rangers also had the indignity of being the first team to lose on a walk-off challenge in Wednesday’s finale in Baltimore. Though, it’s no surprise seeing the Rangers and Orioles involved in bizarre history.
It’s not any better when the Rangers are out on the field on defense, either. Texas is the only team in the league that has yet to win a challenge while an opponent is up to bat but they’ve also only challenged once overall with Kyle Higashioka losing a challenge on Sunday in Baltimore.
Despite the lack of challenges by Rangers pitchers and catchers, they’ve had 15 reasonable opportunities and challenged zero of them, worst in the league.
Meanwhile, while the Rangers are on defense, teams have gotten six of eight Texas offerings reversed with Baltimore going 5-for-5 on challenge attempts during the recent three-game set.
It’s obviously incredibly early and the technology and rule is brand new for most of the players and coaches, so there will be plenty of adjustments to be made. So far, however, the Rangers have been seeing a lot of chances to impact the game in their favor while being a bit gun-shy to pull the trigger.
Meanwhile, their opponents are taking advantage of the system and earning extra calls which has potentially led to snuffed out rallies that never were for Texas or more chances to add runs to the board for them.
Hopefully the Rangers do adjust and make better use of ABS because it’s not much fun being the team worst at humiliating umpires.
Former Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer is beginning another chapter in his professional baseball career.
Bauer, 35, signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), the team announced Thursday, April 2.
The former MLB All-Star is slated to be the starting pitcher on opening night against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on April 21 at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip, New York.
“We are excited to welcome Trevor to Long Island,” Ducks President/CBO Michael Pfaff said in a news release. “His talent and knowledge will be important additions to our ballclub, and we are happy to offer him this opportunity to showcase his talents to MLB clubs while giving fans unprecedented access to Ducks baseball.”
The Ducks also plan to have Bauer provide in-game commentary and access as he will be “mic’d up” for all games and practices to create content for their social media platforms and streaming outlets.
“I’m looking forward to competing in front of U.S. fans again this season,” said Bauer. “The Ducks have had some incredible players come through their organization, and I’m excited to be part of that tradition.”
🚨 PLAYER SIGNING 🚨
10-year @MLB veteran and 2020 National League Cy Young Award winner @BauerOutage is the newest member of the Ducks! He is currently slated to serve as the our opening night starter on Tuesday, April 21st!
Bauer has spent 15 years playing professional baseball. He previously spent 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, where he played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians (now Guardians), Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers.
His career began as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, selected by the Diamondbacks. Bauer made his first MLB appearance in 2012 and pitched for another decade.
While in Cleveland, Bauer was named to the AL All-Star team in 2018. His best season came a couple of years later pitching for the Reds. Bauer recorded a 1.73 ERA in the 2020 season, and allowed just 41 hits while striking out 100 batters in 73 innings of work for Cincinnatti, earning him the National League Cy Young Award.
In 10 MLB seasons, Bauer notched 83 wins in 212 big league starts.
Bauer's baseball dreams continue post-MLB
Bauer was released from the Dodgers in January 2023 after after serving a 194-game suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. Bauer was never charged with a crime, and all civil claims were eventually settled.
Prior to signing with the Ducks, Bauer spent the past three seasons pitching in Japan and Mexico.
Bauer immediately signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league. After completing one season, Bauer went to Mexico to play for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League (LMB).
He helped position los Diablos Rojos to a Mexican League championship in 2024.
Who are the Long Island Ducks?
The Long Island Ducks have been around since 2000 and are entering their 26th season of play in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
The team plays its home games at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip, N.Y.
The club is arguably the best in Atlantic League history, boasting the record for all-time wins and number of attendance.
For five consecutive seasons, the Ducks led all MLB Partner Leagues in total attendance, including selling out a record 721 games.
The Atlantic League is MLB's first ever professional partner league and serves as a stepping stone for players to make it to the major leagues.
The league has drawn nearly 50 million fans to their 10 ballparks from New York to North Carolina. In 27 years, the Atlantic League has sent more than 1,450 players to the majors.
It was a banner week for extensions at the corner of Clark and Addison last week, with news that Nico Hoerner was extended through the 2032 season breaking just days after news of the Pete Crow Armstrong extension. Both of these deals extended two Cubs icons for six more years, but that’s really where the similarities end. While PCA’s deal is a bet that the defensive prodigy in centerfield will continue to improve his plate discipline and value through his age-29 season, the Nico Hoerner extension is a bet on a player with a lower overall ceiling and a much more reliable floor that could make Hoerner a Cub for life.
I have to take a minute to reflect on how amazing it feels to be able to type the words “Cub for Life.” It’s been a minute since I even believed this was a possibility the Cubs would consider with their players, let alone a possibility that could become a reality. Part of the heartbreak with the Blue Friday trade deadline in 2021 was the realization that none of the heroes from the 2016 World Series team would end their careers with the Cubs aside from David Ross, who retired after Game Seven and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist, who saw his career fizzle out amidst personal issues that pulled him away from the field during a 2019 season that ended with a whimper for the Cubs.
Speaking of 2019, that was the year Nico Hoerner debuted for the Cubs. He had just finished his second season in the minors, putting together a solid campaign in Double-A when late season injuries led to him being called up during a playoff race to start at shortstop. He was certainly young for the level with zero Triple-A at bats, but the poise was evident immediately. Hoerner demonstrated his value both defensively and with a plus contact tool almost immediately. That value led to two extensions, the first was a three-year $35 million deal that bought out the end of Hoerner’s arbitration years and tacked on the 2026 season. The second is a six year $141 million that will see him in blue pinstripes until at least 2032.
The defense is elite. Since moving to second base full time in 2023, Nico Hoerner is third in MLB in total outs above average. You can see the top ten players by that metric below:
That defense has allowed the Cubs to roster a pitch-to-contact staff that generates fewer whiffs because balls hit on the ground up the middle or to the right of second have a high probability of being outs with Nico at the keystone.
His hit tool is also elite and has improved over time. You can clearly see this in looking at Nico’s wOBA by year according to FanGraphs:
As a reminder, wOBA is a fancy on-base metric that gives hitters more value for extra base hits than singles or walks. It’s notable that Hoerner has been at or above league average every season since 2021, particularly since this metric punishes him a bit for his lack of power. What it’s taking away from Nico in power it’s rewarding him for in consistent extra base power. It’s a hit tool that honestly reminds me of a 2020’s version of Mark Grace, a player who posted low strikeout rates with doubles power for for the better part of 16 seasons. I use the “2020’s version” caveat because Nico strikes out almost twice as much as Grace and is consistently about 30-50 points lighter in terms of his ability to get on base. The similarities generally derive from both players’ ability to make contact with extra base power that is light on home runs.
Obviously the 2026 spike is something for fans to hope on, but deserves small sample size caveat the size of Texas. Hoerner probably hasn’t added 60 points of wOBA this season, but he is likely to provide slightly above league average on-base and power ability. Combined with an elite glove, it’s worth every penny of the $141 million six-year contract he agreed to with the Cubs.
The 19-year-old shortstop, who is poised to make his MLB debut during the Pirates’ home opener against the Orioles Friday, is finalizing a nine-year, $140 million deal with Pittsburgh, per ESPN’s Buster Olney, who noted the sides are still at work.
Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin (75) hits a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during spring training. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If and when it comes to fruition, it would become the largest guarantee made to a player before their MLB debut.
Griffin hit four homers in Spring Training, but started the year in Triple-A. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Before this year, Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio held the record for the largest guaranteed deal before debuting in the majors, signing an eight-year, $82 million pact during the 2023 Winter Meetings.
The promotion of Griffin, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in baseball entering 2026, provides another boost to Pittsburgh’s lineup after a busy offseason.
The Pirates added ex-Braves slugger Marcell Ozuna, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and second baseman Brandon Lowe, bolstering a lineup the team hopes can reach the postseason for the first time since 2015.
"I'm fired up that Konnor Griffin is making his debut on Friday..
Reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, who rebounded from a rough Opening Day start against the Mets with a strong outing Wednesday against the Reds, is “fired up” to have Griffin in the majors.
“Yeah, I’m fired up,” Skenes said Thursday during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show. “If Bucco fans needed anything else to get excited about for the home opener, they got it. It’s great. He’s super mature, he’s 19 right now, you’d never know it talking to him.
“The most mature 19-year-old you’re ever going to meet in your life. The play speaks for itself, but the way he conducts himself in the locker room and off the field, it’s cool to see. He’s going to bring an energy and obviously a skillset to Pittsburgh that’s exciting.”
Taken ninth overall by Pittsburgh in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Jackson Preparatory School in Mississippi, Griffin enjoyed a meteoric rise through the organization’s system after making his pro debut last year.
Between three different levels in 2025, Griffin slashed an eye-popping .333/.415/.527 with 21 homers, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases over 122 games.
He got off to a torrid start in Spring Training, including a two-homer game in late February, as he made a strong bid to crack the Opening Day roster.
Griffin cooled off the rest of spring and ultimately began 2026 in Triple-A, where he continued to hit well, notching a .438 average in five games before his call-up.
MESA, AZ - MARCH 22: Leo De Vries #14 of the Athletics runs to first base during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Athletics at Hohokam Stadium on Sunday, March 22, 2026 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
After reading the headline you were probably wondering how long it would take for me to mention Leo De Vries. The answer was, apparently, 18 words. Let’s take a look at two trends that are on collision course unless they aren’t:
1. The A’s have gone wild lately with regard to extensions, inking not one, not two, not three, but four in the past two years — and made a $130M offer to Nick Kurtz that was not accepted. And have reportedly been in discussions with Shea Langeliers even if no agreement is imminent or likely. Clearly these A’s are “extension oriented” as they attempt to build a juggernaut with name recognition in the “approaching Vegas with a strong tailwind” years.
2. There seems to be a movement towards signing extensions for players with enormous potential and exactly zero track record. This past week Colt Emerson set a new record being guaranteed $95M before his first PA and it’s a record that might last for days…Reports have the Pirates and Konnor Griffin “deep in extension talks,” news that was followed by Griffin’s call up today. It’s a race to see which comes first: his (probably) 9 figure extension or his first big league hit.
It’s hard to see these 4 A’s extensions and 2 “pre-MLB debut” extensions and not wonder about De Vries. Would it be prudent for the A’s to bet on the 19 year old before he proves himself in the big leagues and his price tag rockets upwards? Could it be a break, in hindsight, that Kurtz passed up $130M guaranteed and left that purse open for the A’s to put elsewhere, perhaps into a toolsy shortstop who has drawn comps to Francisco Lindor while tearing up spring training after mastering AA as an 18 year old?
Prospects in baseball fail more often than they succeed, by a lot. Even the most promising ones, the “can’t miss” ones, often miss. Injuries can drastically alter a career arc as can issues of maturity or off the field choices around diet or lifestyle.
For this reason I tend to be risk averse with regard to offering unproven prospects appreciable guaranteed money and teams have generally felt the same way — until now. And today I am going to put myself out there by declaring that while usually my recommended answer would be “no,” with De Vries I see an exception. I would love to see the A’s hop on the “pre-debut band wagon” and sign De Vries now to a similar deal to the ones Emerson and Griffin are signing.
First off, Emerson and Griffin are such good prospects that their deals provide a fair barometer for the ceiling of a De Vries extension. That is to say Emerson isn’t going to settle for $95M over 8 years but De Vries gets $150M. In any talks with De Vries, presumably you would be looking at figures comparable to the ones we have seen with his peers. (We will see about the specifics with Griffin, but even if they are a lot more robust one has to factor in that he is the #1 prospect right now on MLB Pipeline, not 4th.)
So with De Vries, presumably, the A’s would be gambling on the efficacy of allotting somewhere around Emerson’s $12M-ish per year over an 8 year period. Given that De Vries is poised to debut as soon as the next couple months, plays a premium position, switch hits effectively from both sides of the plate and has matched stars like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bryce Harper in his AA hitting at age 18, it’s hard to imagine where if he stays healthy De Vries won’t be a veritable bargain over the next 8 years averaging around $12M/year (or whatever his extension would look like).
Obviously you don’t want to start a salary clock too far ahead of an MLB clock, since once you are paying a player he is getting paid wherever he plays. So whenever the A’s were to agree to an extension with De Vries they would have to feel a call up was imminent — this was the case with Griffin who is getting called up for tonight’s game.
After the way he dominated the Cactus League (.426/.460/.723, 3 HR in 50 PA), including many hits against quality big league pitchers, it’s fair to think that De Vries might force his way up as soon as June 1st. So the time to talk about an extension is right about now.
Let’s be realistic here: there are finite dollars for the front office to throw around. An extension for a player making his AA season debut tonight might mean backing off on continued talks with Nick Kurtz, or it might mean foregoing a free agent opportunity in 2028. So you have to be sure it’s the right choice of where to allocate “real money” — you can’t just fall back on the cliched “Sure, it’s not my money, why not?”
Should the A’s get knee deep in extension talks with De Vries before he sets foot on a big league diamond for the first time? Suddenly there is precedent that teams are seeing this gamble as a shrewd investment in a long term future and contention window, while in the meantime Jon Singleton is laughing on his way to the bank.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 13: A MLB 2025 Draft logo is seen during the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft at Coca-Cola Roxy on July 13, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Major League Baseball on Wednesday unveiled its recommended slot values for the 2026 MLB Draft, which determines the bonus pools that each team has to spend this July. After signing star free agents Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker this offseason, the Dodgers in this year’s draft have the lowest bonus pool in MLB and their lowest bonus pool in the 15 years of the slotting system.
“The depth of our system put us in a position where, while the cost is still meaningful, it wasn’t as significant. We have a very strong system up top,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in January. “But even more than that, I think the depth of our system allows us this one year to have our food budget for the draft meetings exceed our signing bonuses. It’s not great by any means, but just trying to balance that with doing everything we could to put ourselves in the best position to win a championship in 2026.”
The 2026 MLB Draft place will be held from July 11-13 in Philadelphia, the host city for this year’s All-Star Game.
