Category: Baseball

Former Dodgers switch-hitting outfielder and hitting coach Reggie Smith will be inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball on Saturday, August 15, the team announced on Friday.

Smith is the third straight Legends of Dodger Baseball inductee to come from the team that won three National League pennants in a five-year span, culminating in a World Series win in 1981. In 2024, outfielder Dusty Baker was inducted, followed by third baseman Ron Cey last year.

The Dodgers got Smith from the Cardinals in June 1976, and he roamed the outfield for Los Angeles through 1981, and made three (of his seven career) All-Star teams in his five full seasons with the Dodgers. Smith hit a career-high 32 home runs in 1977, the year the Dodgers became the first MLB team ever with four players to each hit 30 home runs. He finished fourth in National League MVP voting in 1977 and 1978, both pennant-winning years for Los Angeles.

Smith with the Dodgers hit .297/.387/.528 with 97 home runs and 89 doubles in 542 games, and his 152 OPS+ is the fourth-best in the 142-year history of the franchise, behind only Mike Piazza (160), Gary Sheffield (160), and Jack Fournier (157).

Smith’s 314 career home runs are ninth-most by a switch-hitter in major league history, and his 97 home runs for the Dodgers are most by any switch-hitter in franchise lore.

After his playing days, Smith was a minor league coach for the Dodgers from 1989-93, and was the team’s major league hitting coach from 1995-98.

“I tell people I was a Dodger before I actually joined the team,” Smith said in a press release. “Being a young, African American player, I had such respect for Jackie Robinson while growing up. When the Dodgers came to Los Angeles, we had the opportunity to see them play. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Jackie play because he had retired. He was my boyhood hero, so when I became a Dodger, it was very special.”

Legends of Dodger Baseball get a plaque in the center field plaza at Dodger Stadium. Smith’s induction will come on Saturday, August 15 before the Dodgers’ game against the Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

He’s the 10th to be inducted since its inception in 2019:

• Don Newcombe (2019)
• Steve Garvey (2019)
• Fernando Valenzuela (2019; later had his number 34 retired in 2023)
• Maury Wills (2022)
• Kirk Gibson (2022)
• Manny Mota (2023)
• Orel Hershiser (2023)
• Dusty Baker (2024)
• Ron Cey (2025)
• Reggie Smith (2026)

Note: Today is nomination day! Head to the comment section to nominate the next batch of prospects for Monday’s CPL.

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After today, there’s only one more Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List chapter before Spring Training is off and running. And then we’ll start actually getting some new info and data on some of these players that we’re talking about.

The next name on our list is someone who I thought might be in Scottsdale on Tuesday as a non-roster invitee … but alas, he is not. But he is here, as our No. 37 prospect: it’s left-handed pitcher Jack Choate, who falls eight spots from his placement at No. 29 a year ago.

You might think that means Choate had a poor year, but that’s emphatically not the case. His 2025 season was actually quite swell, with the only real downside being that he spent the entire year in AA, despite having ended 2024 there.

Choate, who was taken by the Giants in the ninth round of the 2022 draft (on a sub-$100K signing bonus) made 29 appearances for Richmond, including 24 starts. The numbers were fairly strong: he had a 3.51 ERA, a 4.17 FIP, and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, while exceeding 100 innings pitched for the second straight season.

But questions remain for the funky southpaw, who will turn 25 at the start of the season. Despite the impressive strikeout numbers, Choate has a lack of fastball velocity that one rarely witnesses in the Major Leagues in this era of baseball. In an era where most pitchers need mid-high 90s to find success, Choate’s pitches are almost entirely unfamiliar with the number “9,” save for the occasional “heater” when that number follows an “8.” That hasn’t kept him from striking people out. He has an extremely deceptive release, in part because he pairs a fairly low release point with height befitting the Chase Center more than Oracle Park (he’s listed at 6’8). Add in some very impressive extension (not entirely surprising given his size), and Minor Leaguers have, to this point, struck out a lot against him.

Yet it’s unclear if more advanced hitters will share those struggles, and Choate doesn’t have a stellar backup plan if they don’t. Indeed, we’ve already started to see that: while Choate did a phenomenal job staying in the zone at lower levels, the more competitive at-bats in AA have forced him to expand, and the walks have followed. Despite walking just 2.2 batters per nine innings with High-A Eugene in 2024, he walked 4.8 in his eight-game stint with the Flying Squirrels to end the year … and only was able to lower that number to 4.5 last season. That, combined with his low groundball rate (36.8% in 2025) paints the picture of someone who will have a hard time succeeding without strikeouts. And the industry seemingly sees that being an issue, as there weren’t a lot of rumors floating around this winter when Choate was Rule 5 eligible.

The Giants did briefly try Choate in a relief role towards the end of last year, presumably to see if that would impact his velocity, but it did not. I’d assume he stays in a starting role in 2026, though his path to the Majors might require a hybrid role.

It will be interesting to see where the Giants place Choate in 2026. Will he return to Richmond for a third campaign, to try to pump up that velocity a little bit? It’s a tiny bit telling that he was not on the ship with Will Bednar and John Michael Bertrand to Sacramento when Richmond’s season ended. Or will he join the River Cats and their crowded rotation, and we’ll get our first glimpse of whether or not his slow-motion funk can still produce punchouts at higher levels? Either way, it’s a big year for him.

Now let’s add to the list, and a reminder that it’s nomination day. Both voting and nominating will take place in the comment section.

The list so far

1. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
2. Josuar González — SS
3. Jhonny Level — SS
4. Bo Davidson — CF
5. Dakota Jordan — CF
6. Luis Hernández — SS
7. Gavin Kilen — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Blade Tidwell — RHP
10. Keyner Martinez — RHP
11. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
12. Trevor McDonald — RHP
13. Argenis Cayama — RHP
14. Luis De La Torre — LHP
15. Trevor Cohen — OF
16. Jesús Rodríguez — C
17. Parks Harber — OF/3B
18. Carlos Gutierrez — OF
19. Drew Cavanaugh — C
20. Daniel Susac — C
21. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
22. Josh Bostick — RHP
23. Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B
24. Will Bednar — RHP
25. Yunior Marte — RHP
26. Joe Whitman — LHP
27. Joel Peguero — RHP
28. Alberto Laroche — RHP
29. Trent Harris — RHP
30. Carlos De La Rosa — LHP
31. Diego Velasquez — 2B
32. Lisbel Diaz — OF
33. Maui Ahuna — SS
34. Cam Maldonado — OF
35. Victor Bericoto — OF/1B
36. Reid Worley — RHP
37. Jack Choate — LHP

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 38 prospect nominees

Rayner Arias — 19.9-year old OF — .173 OPS/-42 wRC+ in Low-A (30 PA); .699 OPS/87 wRC+ in ACL (178 PA)

Sabin Ceballos — 23.5-year old 3B — .670 OPS/102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)

Jakob Christian — 23.4-year old OF/1B — .950 OPS/155 wRC+ in High-A (92 PA); .815 OPS/119 wRC+ in Low-A (318 PA)

Reggie Crawford — 25.1-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 1.04 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA in 2024 (8.2 IP); 4.66 ERA/4.93 FIP in AA in 2024 (9.2 IP)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.

Welcome to our latest Live Q&A session, which will be focused on the minor leagues this time around. We will begin the live portion of this Q&A session at 7:30 p.m. ET but before then, now is your chance to get in your questions as early as possible so that you can be assure that it’ll be answered.

Gaurav Vedak, Matt Powers and Brady Petree will be around to answer any of the questions that you have when it comes to the state of the Atlanta Braves farm system. I’ll be around as well if you’ve got any questions about the Braves in general but we’re also asking to keep the questions focused on the farm, since we’ll have a Live Q&A on the Braves in general coming later this month.

But yeah, the floor is now yours to get your questions in. The earlier you get ‘em in, the more likely it is that you’ll get your questioned answered so make sure to be punctual. We’ll see you for the live portion this evening!

Contrary to the prevailing sentiment of today, teams like the Yankees and Dodgers need to succeed in various areas in order to build perennial contenders, and it goes beyond simply letting your money secure a postseason ticket. Nothing quite helps corroborate that, as a trip down memory lane to the 2013 season, one in which the Yankees lucked into an 85-win campaign and decided to do something about it, strengthening themselves all while weakening their biggest rivals by signing Jacoby Ellsbury on the open market — a deal that has lived on in infamy for the Yankees.

Jacoby Ellsbury
Signing Date: December 7, 2013
Contract: 7 years, $153,000,000

With the benefit of hindsight, who knew the Yankees would’ve been better off re-signing Curtis Granderson, who was coming off the worst season of his career, rather than diving in the deep end of the pool of the free agent market for outfield help? It was the thing we often ask teams to do. Ellsbury was the signing that didn’t pay off, but the Yankees could’ve just as easily gone after Shin Soo-Choo and been underwhelmed with his solid but still disappointing numbers as a Texas Ranger. In fact, one might argue that Choo would’ve been a better fit, considering the sole productive player remaining on the Yankees lineup from that previous campaign was Brett Gardner, a traditional center fielder. Adding top players is always welcomed, but at the time, it was irrefutable that part of the value of both Gardner and Ellsbury lay in what they delivered as hitters while playing center field — move them to a corner spot, and it’s an entirely different ballgame with those hitting stats, which is what the Yankees ultimately decided to do.

The comment about Gardner is true in part because Robinson Cano, the Yankees’ best player in 2013, had reached the open market as well. When Ellsbury was signed, there were some reports that didn’t rule them out from bringing back Cano, but as we know now, the Mariners delivered an offer New York was unwilling to match, putting even more pressure on Ellsbury to deliver as one of the key pieces of that new-look Yankees team. Much like there ultimately was a rather large gap between what the Yankees were willing to offer and what Cano ultimately received, the same could be said of Ellsbury and the Red Sox to an even larger extent — it quickly became clear he wasn’t coming back to Boston.

It should be noted that rather obvious concerns directly affected the perception of Ellsbury’s signing, one not necessarily welcomed with unanimous approval. The risks were rather evident for a player who relied heavily on speed as a part of his game and who had missed large chunks of two of his previous four seasons before reaching free agency. Unfortunately, even the short-term gain the Yankees thought they were acquiring didn’t last nearly as long as the team originally hoped.

Following in the footsteps of Johnny Damon, who also left the Red Sox to move to the Yankees in free agency as a speedy outfielder with a great hit tool, Ellsbury’s opening year in the Bronx was anything but a preview of what was to come. Ellsbury registered the most games he had since that runner-up MVP campaign in 2011, playing in 143 of 162 for the Yankees in 2014. Repeating the struggles of 2013 as a team, the Yankees labored their way through a mid 80s win campaign with Ellsbury’s addition nullified and then some by Cano’s departure. An aging lineup struggled to produce, particularly in the infield, wasting an outstanding debut season from Masahiro Tanaka, who really provided a boost to the starting staff.

During the 2015 season, the injury issues started to creep in, and while he was still able to play well over 100 games, Ellsbury’s numbers took a dive following a strained right LCL, leading to a career-worst .663 OPS and only 21 steals on 30 attempts, severely lowering his success rate on the basepaths. The Yankees managed to return to the playoffs that year as a Wild Card team, but Ellsbury didn’t feature in the starting lineup against the left-hander Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros; instead, he was a pinch-hitter for Chris Young.

Through a variety of factors, even before the injuries truly started to sideline Ellsbury for massive chunks, his numbers had already regressed to the point of making his contract a poor investment. Ellsbury remained healthy for the 2016 season, but his 88 OPS+ and disappointing numbers on the basepaths led to a pretty mediocre campaign. The Yankees, as a team, also took a step back and missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

Following a similar path to the 2015 campaign, Ellsbury once again missed a little under two months in 2017, this time due to a concussion tracking a fly ball in center field in Kansas City in early May. Ellsbury had shown some promise before getting hurt, and he wrapped that year with a solid .750 OPS, a complementary piece in a Yankee team that went all the way until Game 7 of the ALCS against the Astros. Despite those numbers and Ellsbury being healthy for the playoffs, it was Aaron Hicks starting in CF for the Yankees throughout the duration of that postseason — Ellsbury got a limited role coming off the bench and didn’t record a hit in nine plate appearances.

In Game 4 of that ALCS, Ellsbury entered as a pinch-runner and came around to score in a 6-4 win—that would be his final play as a Yankee, with a plethora of injuries preventing him from ever taking the field again, unable to perform for the final three years of his deal. Ellsbury came into spring in 2018, having lost his starting center field role to Hicks. Sidelined due to an oblique injury, Ellsbury later had to undergo hip surgery that kept him out for the remainder of 2018. He was never able to return to a big league field, rehabbing without success for the entirety of 2019.

Unable to get on the field for two years, the Yankees released Ellsbury after the 2019 season in a move that later spurred a legal battle between the player and organization for the compensation of the remainder of his contract. The Yankees filed a grievance in an attempt not to pay the remainder of roughly $26 million they still owed Ellsbury, claiming the player had gone outside of the organization without adequate permission to get treatment. Eventually, a settlement was reached for an undisclosed amount. On top of saving some of that money, the Yankees got out of luxury tax problems, as paying the full figure to Ellsbury would’ve meant going over a second luxury tax threshold, resulting in a loss of draft picks.

When you sign any big-time free agent, there is always an assumption you’re paying for the present while assuming a certain loss down the line. The problem with Ellsbury is that both the short-term and the long-term went well below expectation, making for one of the worst free agent contracts this franchise has ever handed out — and if you want to add salt to the wound, the Red Sox selected Michael Kopech in the 2014 MLB Draft with the compensation pick they received for the departure of Ellsbury. Kopech didn’t do much with the Red Sox, but he was a key piece in the Chris Sale trade, the ace of Boston’s 2018 World Series title.

See more of the “50 Most Notable Yankees Free Agent Signings in 50 Years” series here.

Eleventh in the series. Today we look at the Cubs’ veteran right fielder.

31-year-old Seiya Suzuki is a native of Arakawa, Japan, who came to the Cubs in 2022, with a reputation for good OF defense and a lively bat, after a storied career in NPB, where he played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

In his four years as a Chicago Cub, he has proven that he has significant power. In 2025, his best season so far, he turned in a slash of .245/.326/.478, which is quite good, but the campaign could have been better. The whole team offense cratered when Kyle Tucker tried to play through his injuries, and Suzuki was one of the most affected. The season ended up being a mere 2.6 bWAR as he didn’t play much defense (also 2.6 fWAR) and that total was based on his excellent 32 HR/103 RBI results. Projections indicate somewhat less power (25 homers or so) and significantly fewer RBI (85-90).

Suzuki could reduce his K-rate, which is around 25 percent, and walk a bit more (10-11 percent), but in general, he’s a productive power hitter who is often rated among the top ten at his position in the game. Predictions in general say that the Cubs’ power numbers will regress — connecting the dots, they’re looking at the second half to base that on, when the team didn’t play as well with the loss of Tucker’s explosive bat and more or less limped into the playoffs on the strength of a spectacular first half.

No surprises there, and while it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if Suzuki clouted 30+ long balls, odds are he won’t. We’ll see. Suzuki is likely to bat 2nd or 4th in Craig Counsell’s flexible batting order, and perhaps Alex Bregman’s potent bat will provide some of the same spark that Tucker did.

Seiya will most likely be ensconced in right field this year, and is operating under the same protocol as Happ — it’s the last year of his deal. The Cubs are unlikely to sign both players, and we’ll have to see how that shakes out. The Cubs’ relative lack of MLB-ready bats definitely makes this an issue, if the 2027 season does indeed happen.

In the meantime, right field can be an adventure at times for Suzuki. He drops balls right out of his glove and doesn’t take the best routes. Granted, Wrigley is a tough field, but his NPB reputation suggested that he was far better than he appears to be defensively. He does make some good plays, though, so perhaps there’s hope.

And maybe he’ll get better strike calls.

Previous Winner

Brendan Summerhill, OF
22 | L/R | 6’3” | 200
A | .333/.429/.444 (160 wRC+) 42 PA, 0 HR, 5 SB, 6 BB, 5 K

Following an All-Star performance at the Cape Cod summer league, Summerhill exhibited some of the best bat-to-ball skills in NCAA as a junior at Arizona. His draft stock took a minor hit due to injury (broken hand from from punching a cooler) and was drafted 42nd overall, but Summerhill rebounded well with a dominant stop at Charleston to finish the year. Summerhill has plus barrel control, allowing for a high-contact approach for his long swing. He has plus speed as well, which provides a chance to stick in center. Evaluators would like to see more power to complete a five-tool profile. Even if the power doesn’t materialize, it’s an above average contributor’s projection.

Rank	Player	Position	Votes	Total	Percentage	Last Season
1	Carson Williams	SS	14	25	56%	1
2	Brody Hopkins	RHP	19	25	76%	8
3	Jacob Melton	OF	14	28	50%	NA
4	Theo Gillen	OF	14	26	54%	13
5	Ty Johnson	RHP	12	25	48%	15
6	Daniel Pierce	SS	13	23	57%	NA
7	Jadher Areinamo	INF	15	28	54%	NA
8	TJ Nichols	RHP	13	28	46%	NR
9	Michael Forret	RHP	8	33	24%	NA
10	Santiago Suarez	RHP	11	30	37%	16
11	Anderson Brito	RHP	7	28	25%	NA
12	Xavier Isaac	1B	9	28	32%	3
13	Caden Bodine	C	10	25	40%	NA
14	Brendan Summerhill	OF	11	27	41%	NA

A personal favorite of mine that I have been voting for since the No. 5 poll, Summerhill was a lucky find in the 2025 draft. I believe in the power potential, and think that could vault him to a sure fire projection in a year’s time. We shall see! Prospects will break your heart. At No. 14 we got three new players receiving votes in Flewelling, Harrison, and Baumeister. This round adds Guerrero.

Candidates

Jackson Baumeister, RHP
23 | 6’4” | 224
AA | 4.62 ERA, 4.15 FIP (15 GS) 62.1 IP, 19.5% K, 9.6% BB
AFL | 6 ER (1 HR), 9.0 IP (4 G, 3 GS), 10 K, 9 BB

A shoulder injury derailed what should have been Baumeister’s coming out party, as his previously plus breaking ball was expected to carve up Double-A. After a tough start to the year and two months on the sidelines, Baumeister returned in August and salvaged the season with a brilliant finish. The tough luck continued, however, in the Arizona Fall League, where a line drive struck him in the head, but he escaped without significant injury. Currently, Baumeister has taken on a fastball/slutter profile, with a slow curve in his back pocket, and has shown teachability and pitchability over the years. The former Seminole currently thrives on his frequently used major league fastball that may be better challenged by a promotion to Triple-A.

Slater de Brun, OF
18 | L/L | 5’10” | 187

Drafted 37th overall in 2025, through a draft pick traded by the Rays, de Brun was essentially re-acquired in the Shane Baz trade. Like many Rays outfield prospects he’s not expected to develop much power, but compensates with an ability to hit to all fields, and has the benefit of years to develop. His hit tool rates plus thanks to a quick, compact swing, and his double-plus speed elevates both his baserunning and range in center; he has a solid arm and can stick long term. The key to his development will be improving pitch selection to maximize his power potential. Despite not yet playing in a pro game, he’s a good bet to skip the complex league and debut in Charleston this season.

Homer Bush Jr.
24 | R/R | 6’3” | 215
AA | .301/.375/.360 (122 wRC+) 546 PA, 0 HR, 57 SB, 8.8% BB, 17.9% K

Acquired in the 2024 Jason Adam trade, the starting center fielder at Double-A passed the test of advanced pitching, but just barely. He lacks in-game power due to a lack of use of his lower half in his swing, and he whiffed more often than you can for long term success with a low-power approach. His calling cards are Rays-grade defense and plus-speed, having notably swiped 57 bags in back-to-back seasons.

Nathan Flewelling, C
19 | L/R | 6’2” | 200
A | .229/.393/.336 (126 wRC+) 439 PA, 6 HR, 9 SB, 20.3% BB, 27.6% K
A+ | 22 PA, 4 H, 5 BB, 6 K

The 94th overall pick from 2024, Flewelling made his debut at 18 years young and caught a full season (75 C, 26 DH), plus a five game cup of coffee (3 C, 2 DH). Taking the longview, he could grow into 50-60 grade power with 50 grade defense, which makes him one to follow. His plus zone awareness at the plate offsets his lagging contact, and most importantly for the position his ability to call games and frame pitches are already plus. A strong season with the bat at High-A could vault him into Top-100 consideration.

Brailer Guerrero, OF
20 | L/R | 6’1” | 215
A | 249.338/.399 (119 wRC+) 222 PA, 6 HR, 9 SB, 11.3% BB, 29.3% K
AFL | 2 H, 0 HR, 2 SB, 3 BB, 16 K, 29 PA

Good news: the $3.7 million 2023 signee made the leap out of the complex league in his final teenage season. Bad News: He was injured yet again, with hamstring and knee injuries limiting him to 51 games for Charleston. The Rays tried to make up for lost time with an aggressive assignment to the AFL that resulted in only two hits in 29 plate appearances. He makes loud contact from a quick, quiet swing which he pre-loads by reaching back for even more power. He appears to make early decisions to swing, leading to a bit extra whiffs against anything off-speed, but that could easily clear up with some consistent playing time.

Trevor Harrison, RHP
20 | 6’4” | 225
A | 2.61 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 82.2 IP (17 GS), 22.4% K, 10.7% BB
A+ | 3.33 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 24.1 IP (5 GS), 23.8% K, 12.4% BB

Harrison entered the season as Baseball America’s top pitcher in the system thanks to a cleaned up delivery and high heat. He ran into some bumps in the road by running up his pitch count against batters, but he still made it over 100 innings in 22 starts. A power pitcher through and through, his hard slider flirts with cutter classification and could evolve into two distinct pitches down the road. It will be interesting to see how his change up plays as he’s challenged at higher levels, but for now he has premium stuff and the upside of a rotation anchor. (video)

Tre’ Morgan, 1B/LF
23 | L/L | 6’0” | 215
AAA | .274/.398/.412 (119 wRC+) 402 PA, 8 HR, 8 SB, 15.9% BB, 19.2% K

Morgan continued to hit without power in 2025, a great discouragement for some evaluators, but his present 50-grade hit tool and feel for the zone allow a major league projection. He continued his improved, quieter two-strike approach in 2025 that built on his success retooling his swing in the AFL last year. The Rays gave Morgan 14 starts in Left Field last season, and Baseball America called the defense “playable,” but his value is tied to his plus-plus defense at First.

Aidan Smith, OF
21 | R/R | 6’2” | 190
A+ | .237/.331/.388 (114 wRC+) 459 PA, 14 HR, 41 SB, 11.5% BB, 31.2% K

Acquired in the Arozarena trade, Smith became the prince who was promised, a five tool athlete with a strong bat, good face, and a preternatural glove in center field. That promise unraveled a bit in 2025, with his strikeout rate rocketing nine percent and his power stroke faltering after facing harder velocities in High-A, causing both his hit and power grades to drop into the 40’s. It was a full transformation into a “center field” profile, but with his ceiling that’s not a compliment. He plays with a fire, but the dip in contact rate left some evaluators feeling burned.

Brayden Taylor, 2B/3B
24 | L/R | 6’0” | 180
AA | .173/.289/.286 (77 wRC+) 437 PA, 8 HR, 17 SB, 14% BB, 27.7% K
AFL | .264/.400/.472 (.384 wOBA) 65 PA, 1 HR, 5 SB, 12 BB, 19 K

Taylor entered 2025 as a top-100 prospect after demolishing High-A (154 wRC+), and left 2025 as an afterthought on prospect lists, although he was selected as an Arizona Fall League “Fall Star” in between, where he worked to keep his chase rate low and his hard hit rate high. The juice must have been worth the squeeze, as the Rays have elected to invite Taylor to major league Spring Training this year.

Jose Urbina, RHP
20 | 6’3” | 180
A | 2.05 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 92.1 IP (19 GS), 26.4% K, 8.2% BB
A+ | 2 ER (2 HR), 4.0 IP (1 GS), 5 K, 0 BB

Good pitchers grow and adjust, and Urbina has done that consistently at an age young for his level. Physically he has grown in strength, sitting at 96 with the fastball after flashing high octane in 2024, and technically he has grown, refining his dialed up slider and his two-plane curveball into complementary pitches — which lack plus command but are thrown with feel. He shouldered a starter’s workload at 19, and was awarded one additional start at High-A, where he allowed two solo shots and struck out five. Overall, the age, body, and body of work have him on the trajectory of top prospect lists in the near future.

Sluggin’ infielder slash designated hitter Eugenio Suárez belted 49 homers between time spent with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners in 2025. He blasted 49 homers for the Cincinnati Reds back in 2019, too, a year when everyone was seemingly blastin’ dingers at a record clip.

He’s done it when everyone was doing it, and he’s done it when none of the Reds were. He’s a homer-bashing machine with 325 of them already on his ledger, and a quick glance at some of the underlying metrics behind his swing suggest he’s not about to immediately slow down at age 34 in 2026.

For instance…

• Per Statcast, his 113.8 maximum exit velocity in 2025 was actually the highest mark of his career
• His Barrel/PA of 8.7 last season was his highest since 2021 (8.9) and the second highest of any season in his career
• The 21.9 degree launch angle from last season was the highest of his career, continuing an upward trend that began by jumping up to 17.7 degrees in 2019 from 14.8 degrees in 2018 – in other words, he’s implemented a continuous plan to hit moonballs, and it’s working!
• The 47.6% hard-hit rate he posted in 2025 was far and away the best of his career, as were the 57 total Barrels off his bat
• The 26.5% fast-swing rate – meaning the rate at which he swung a bat faster than 75 mph – was the best single-season mark of his career since they began tracking that in 2023, and was up a full 5% from his 21.5% mark in 2024

He’s a fundamentally different hitter than he was during that brilliant 2019 campaign with the Reds, but the game itself is fundamentally different now, too. What isn’t fundamentally different now, though, is that a) Great American Ball Park is still a homer-honkin’ launching pad and b) Geno Suárez can still very much knock the crud out of the ball, and does so mostly into the air. In fact, his 50.4% fly-ball rate (per FanGraphs) ranked as athe 4th highest among the 145 qualified hitters in the game last season, with Seattle teammate Cal Raleigh (he of the 60 smashed dingers of his own) leading the pack at over 57%.

Factor in that he’s on a one-year ‘prove it’ contract, and there’s every reason to believe Suárez is going to belt 40, 50, even 123 homers in a Reds uniform in 2026.

What say you?

Dodgers pitchers and catchers have their first official workout at Camelback Ranch one week from today, so let’s look at the primary backstops for Los Angeles, after previous looks at the infieldersand outfielders.

40-man roster catchers

• Will Smith
• Dalton Rushing

Things to watch

Under the radar? Will Smith hit the championship-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 7 in Toronto, just the second go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later in Game 7 of the World Series (along with Bill Mazeroski in 1960). But it feels like that homer hasn’t been talked about nearly as much as the game-tying home run by Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning of Game 7. There’s room for both, to be clear, but maybe this was more about Rojas exceeding expectations while it’s now the norm that Smith is considered one of the best players in the sport. Smith was an All-Star for a third straight season in 2025 and made his second All-MLB second team, and led all National League catchers in OPS (.901), on-base percentage (.404), batting average (.296), wRC+ (153), and fWAR (4.1).

Another way to frame it: While Smith is one of the best offensive catchers in the sport, he’s devolved defensively, going from average to above in his early years to one of the worst in baseball in framing the last two seasons. By catcher framing runs, Smith in 2024 was 18 runs below average, 55th among 55 qualified catchers; in 2025 Smith was 10 runs below average in framing, 56th among 57 catchers. That’s been part of the cost in Smith improving in throwing out runners. Factoring that all in, by catcher defense added at Baseball Prospectus, Smith was 7.8 runs below average in 2025, 32nd among 35 catchers, after 7 runs below aveage in 2024, 31st among 35 catchers.

Second time the charm? The Dodgers last May cut the cord with 11-year vet Austin Barnes, which opened up a chance for Dalton Rushing to make his major league debut. Rushing played intermittently as the backup catcher over the final four-plus months and struggled mightily at the plate, hitting just .204/.258/.324 with a 37.4-percent strikeout rate. There’s plenty of room for improvement for the 25-year-old whose bat has been his calling card ever since he was drafted.

Testing the depth: Smith has been one the most durable catchers in the sport, since 2021 second in the majors in games, starts, and defensive innings behind the plate, trailing only JT Realmuto. Smith’s 97 starts last season were his lowest in five years, mostly because he took a foul ball that broke a bone in his right hand which sidelined him for about a month in September and into October, not starting again until Game 3 of the NLDS. Rushing fouled a ball off his shin on the same cursed road trip in September and landed on the injured list as well, giving the Dodgers a rare test of their catching depth. From 2020-24, only 10 times did a catcher other than Smith or Barnes start behind the plate. But in 2025, the Dodgers needed 18 starts from catchers other than Smith, Barnes, or Rushing, 17 of which came from Ben Rortvedt. As of now, Smith and Rushing are the only two catchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster.

Another depth question: If Smith is hurt for any extended amount of time, ideally that would be a chance for Rushing to seize the reins behind the plate. The only problem is he’s never really had that kind of workload as a pro. The night be fouled a ball off his shin on September 5 in Baltimore was the first time since getting drafted in 2022 that Rushing caught in a game three days in a row. He started 45 games behind the plate in both 2023 and 2024 before starting 55 games at catcher last year between the majors and minors. In the minors, Rushing stayed in the lineup by playing games at first base, left field, and designated hitter. It’s unclear if those chances at other positions will arise with the Dodgers.

Royals baseball will soon be back, which means watching the boys in blue, but also getting FREE STUFF at the K. The Royals released their 2026 promotional schedule today, and there is plenty of swag for fans. The Royals will give away bobbleheads throughout the year, a Nickelodeon Slime Jersey, a Bobby Witt Jr. sliding mitt, and City Connect replica jerseys. Here are some of the highlights from the promotional schedule.

Bobbleheads! There are ten bobblehead days throughout the year:

• Sunday, May 4 vs. the Guardians – Caglianone Blazin’ Bat bobblehead
• Thursday, May 8 vs. the Tigers – Rock, Paper, Scissors bobblehead
• Sunday, May 18 vs. the Red Sox – Lights Out Lucas bobblehead
• Monday, May 26 vs. the Yankees – The Pasquatch bobblehead
• Saturday, July 4 vs. the Phillies – Red, White & Bobby bobblehead
• Friday, July 17 vs. the Padres – City Connect Big Bobby Bobblehead
• Saturday, July 18 vs. the Padres – Big Bobby bobblehead
• Sunday, July 19 vs. the Padres – Big Bobby bobblehead
• Tuesday, July 21 vs. the Giants – Maikel’s Big Time Bat Flip bobblehead
• Friday, September 25 vs. the Guardians – Salvador Perez City Connect bobblehead

Ok you may have made my plans for the 4th of July easy with this beauty 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/EOVFytTobL

— DrewMor22 (@DrewMor22) February 6, 2026

Here are the items the team is giving away throughout the year.

• Sunday, April 10 vs. the White Sox – City Connect flag
• Sunday, April 12 vs. the White Sox – Bobby Witt Jr. youth sliding glove (14 & under)
• Friday, April 24 vs. the Angels – City Connect crewneck
• Saturday, April 25 vs. the Angels – Royal-Tees (theme TBA)
• Saturday, May 9 vs. the Tigers – Nickelodeon Night slime jersey
• Friday, May 22 vs. the Mariners – City Connect hat
• Saturday, May 23 vs. the Mariners – Royal-Tees (theme TBA)
• Monday, May 25 vs. the Yankees – Stainless steel QuikTrip Splash Cup
• Friday, June 12 vs. the Astros – City Connect beach towel
• Saturday, June 13 vs. the Astros – Royal-Tees (theme TBA)
• Friday, June 19 vs. the Cardinals – City Connect scarf
• Monday, June 30 vs. the Rays – Sluggerrr’s Gym tank top
• Wednesday, July 1 vs. the Rays – Here Comes the Bloom Hawaiian shirt
• Thursday, July 2 vs. the Rays – Armed Forces Day thermo
• Friday, August 7 vs. the Cubs – City Connect replica jersey
• Saturday, August 8 vs. the Cubs – Royal-Tees (theme TBA)
• Friday, August 21 vs. the Tigers – City Connect crossbody bag
• Friday, September 4 vs. the Blue Jays – City Connect reverse retro jersey
• Saturday, September 5 vs. the Blue Jays – Royal-Tees (theme TBA)
• Sunday, September 6 vs. the Blue Jays – Big Bling Birthday Bash chain (14 & under)
• Monday, September 7 vs. the Diamondbacks – Iced Out hockey jersey giveaway
• Saturday, September 26 vs. the Guardians – Jersey jacket giveaway

There are also themed nights. Some of them may involve giveaways if a special ticket is purchased.

• Sunday, April 1 vs. the Twins – Bark at the Park
• Sunday, April 12 vs. the White Sox – PAW Patrol Day, Scout Day
• Monday, April 20 vs. the Orioles – Grateful Dead Night
• Saturday, April 25 vs. the Angels – UMKC Night
• Wednesday, May 6 vs. the Guardians – Bark at the Park
• Friday-Sunday, May 8–10 series vs. the Tigers – Nurses Weekend
• Saturday, May 23 vs. the Mariners – Star Wars Day
• Wednesday, June 10 vs. the Rangers – Pride Night
• Friday, June 12 vs. the Astros – Teachers Night
• Sunday, June 14 vs. the Astros – Mizzou Day
• Thursday, July 2 vs. the Rays – Armed Forces Night
• Friday, July 17 vs. the Padres – K-State Night
• Saturday, August 8 vs. the Cubs – KU Night
• Saturday, August 22 vs. the Tigers – Ladies Night
• Sunday, August 23 vs. the Tigers – Elephant & Piggie Day
• Tuesday, September 1 vs. the Marlins – Harry Potter Night
• Tuesday, September 8 vs. the Diamondbacks – Jewish Heritage Night
• Wednesday, September 23 vs. the White Sox – Bark at the Park
• Friday, September 25 vs. the Guardians – Viva Los Royals
• Sunday, September 27 vs. the Guardians – Italian Heritage Day

The Royals will also bring back Fireworks Fridays, and Tuesday home games will feature Dollar Dog Nights, although there are only six scheduled, rather than 12.

The Royals will begin the home schedule on Monday, March 30, against the Twins, with a 3:10 game time.

The full rosters for the 2026 World Baseball Classic were revealed on Monday, featuring 17 different Mets players across the tournament’s 20 teams. It’s the most players the Mets have ever had rostered in a WBC, beating their previous record of 16 set in 2009 and matched in 2023. The following is a list of all 17 Mets, in alphabetical order:

• Josh Blum (Israel)

• Huascar Brazobán (Dominican Republic)*†

• Alex Carrillo (Mexico)*†

• Jamdrick Cornelia (Netherlands)

• Daniel Duarte (Mexico)*

• Jordan Geber (Israel)

• Carlos Guzman (Venezuela)

• Clay Holmes (United States)*†

• Daviel Hurtado (Cuba)

• Nolan McLean (United States)*†

• Nick Morabito (Italy)†

• Jose Ramos (Panama)

• Benjamin Simon (Israel)

• Juan Soto (Dominican Republic)*†

• Robert Stock (Israel)*

• Mark Vientos (Nicaragua)*†

• Jared Young (Canada)*†

* = Has played at the major league level

† = Currently on the Mets’ 40-Man Roster

Notable former Mets participating in the WBC include Harrison Bader (Israel), Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico), Andrés Giménez (Venezuela), Amed Rosario (Dominican Republic), Luis Severino (Dominican Republic), Gregory Soto (Dominican Republic), and Taijuan Walker (Mexico). Francisco Lindor and former Met Javier Báez were planning to play with Team Puerto Rico for a third consecutive WBC, but Lindor was one of several players to face insurance issues while Báez was ineligible because he tested positive for marijuana use during the 2023 WBC.

The Classic will kick off with the first game of pool play on March 5 (the night of March 4 in U.S. time), and the Championship game is scheduled for March 17 at loanDepot Park in Miami. The Mets will open their regular season nine days later against the Pirates at Citi Field.

Last night, the World Baseball Classic rosters were released. Seeing that got me really fired up, especially considering how much fun the last one was. There are current and former Nationals players and coaches littered across the rosters. I wanted to take a look at some of the Nats ties to this amazing event.

The Nats current roster is not exactly littered with participants. Only two players will be leaving big league camp to play in the event. Harry Ford will be playing for Great Britain and Matt Mervis will suit up for Team Israel. Both players participated at the last WBC as well, so they are not new to this.

C Harry Ford (Great Britain) and 1B Matt Mervis (Israel) are the only Nationals players in big league camp this spring who will be participating in the World Baseball Classic.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) February 6, 2026

While both players are born in the US, they have ties to the countries they are representing. Ford has British parents and has represented the country for a while now. Mervis is representing Israel because of his Jewish faith. 

It is interesting timing for them though. Both Mervis and Ford will be leaving camp while competing for a roster spot. Mervis is part of a wide open first base competition. As a left handed bat, his main competition is likely to be Abimelec Ortiz. Mervis leaving camp could provide an opportunity for Ortiz to lock down a job. The same thing goes for Keibert Ruiz, who will get a chance to show what he has without Ford around.

Harry Ford is one of the biggest names on the Britain roster. He will co-captain the team along with Yankees star Jazz Chisholm. Ford was one of the breakout stars of the last competition. The event elevated his stock as a prospect, with Ford swinging a hot bat. He hit a key home run against Colombia, which was his signature moment.

HARRY FORD GOES YARD 💪🇬🇧

📺: WBC on FS2 pic.twitter.com/e8sGn4VPoj

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 13, 2023

However, these current players are not the only people with Nationals ties participating at the event. There are plenty of former Nats who are in the competition. Team USA has a couple of them, with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Other big stars like Juan Soto will be playing at the event as well.

There are also some lesser known former Nats at the WBC. Cult hero Joey Meneses will be representing Mexico and Erasmo Ramirez will be with Nicaragua. Some of the coaches also have ties to the Nats as well. A pair of 2019 Nationals will be coaching at the event. Gerardo Parra will be the first base coach for Venezuela and Yan Gomes will be the catching coach for Brazil. Here is a list of all the former and current Nats at the WBC.

Current and former #Nats players (farmhands included) participating in the WBC.

The last slide is coaches: pic.twitter.com/bYKOlWC8Ai

— Hashim Horne 🐢 (@_SoundTheHorne) February 6, 2026

There are a lot of forgotten Nats on that list! The WBC is such a special event that I had so much fun watching in 2023. Hopefully this WBC is just as exciting as the last one. However, I am rooting for America to come out on top this time.

Who is your favorite former or current Nat at the event and who are some guys that you totally forgot about that are participating? Let me know down below. Also, who do you guys think will win the WBC this year? Can Japan repeat, or will Team USA or the Dominican Republic be too strong? The WBC starts in about a month and the final is on March 17th in Miami.

The people have spoken and right-handed pitcher Yorman Gomez is our No. 18 Cleveland Guardians prospect for 2026. Gomez snuck through in a tight race, earning 22.9% of the vote, defeating the likes of the likes of Andrew Walters (17.1%), Austin Peterson (12.9%), Josh Hartle (20%) and Petey Halpin (10%).

Not every path to becoming a top prospect is a straight line. Gomez was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2019. Due to the lost COVID season, he didn’t make his pro debut until appearing in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, where he had a 3.58 ERA in 12 starts at age 18, striking out 23.3% of batters he faced.

Gomez made his stateside debut in 2022, posting a 3.76 ERA and a more impressive 3.49 FIP over 10 starts in the Arizona Complex League. The following season, he spent the entire year at Single-A Lynchburg where he made 25 appearances (22 starts) and had a 4.40 ERA. He repeated 2024 at Lynchburg, but earned a late promotion to High-A Lake County after 20 additional starts where he dropped his ERA to 3.81 and FIP to 3.75.

The talented right-hander took off as a prospect after adding some velocity this past offseason, which paid dividends across the board with all of his numbers. He began the year repeating at Lake County as a piggyback partner, pitching 4.0 or more innings of long relief after another starter began the game.

Gomez pitched so well out of the piggyback role that he was moved back to starting pitcher by early June and he continued to dominate. Over 17 appearances (six starts) at High-A spanning 76.0 innings, he had a 2.84 ERA and an elite 2.92 FIP. Gomez’z strikeout rate improved six percentage points to 27.3% while his walk rate was 9.5% with a rock solid 1.11 WHIP.

This earned Gomez a promotion to Double-A Akron for the final 1/3 of the season. He did not slow down while there, maintaining his improved strikeout numbers at 28.0% and not dropping his walk rate even one-tenth of a point, keeping it at 9.5%. Over nine starts spanning 45.2 innings, he had a 3.15 ERA and a career-best 2.50 FIP at Akron.

Gomez had been Rule 5 eligible for several years, but Cleveland protected him this past November by adding him to the 40-man roster. He’s now one of the team’s top starting pitcher depth options, although with two above average pitches and the ability to hit 97 mph, he could eventually be slated for the bullpen at the major league level.

Now, it’s time to determine who is number 19 in the Guardians’ loaded farm system and you now have a whopping 10 players to choose from! Your options are below:

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Robert Arias, OF (Age 19)
2025 (ACL) 198 PA, .287/.389/.402, 2 HR, 29 SB, 14.6 BB%, 11.1 K%, 116 wRC+

A top Cleveland international signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2024, Arias has easily walked more than striking out and had a strong stateside debut last year in the Complex League.

Dauri Fernandez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 176 PA, .333/.398/.558, 6 HR, 16 SB, 9.1 BB%, 12.5 K%, 147 wRC+
2025 (A): 24 PA, .273/.250/.318, 0 HR, 2 SB, 0 BB%, 12.5 K%, 57 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top performers in the Arizona Complex League in 2025. Undersized, but makes solid contact and doesn’t strike out often. Earned a small taste of full-season ball at the end of the year.

Franklin Gomez, LHP (Age 20)
w/ Mets 2025 (A): 14 G, 82.0 IP, 1.85 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 21.4 K%, 11.7 BB%, 1.09 WHIP
w/ Mets 2025 (A+): 6 GS, 48.2 IP, 1.70 ERA, 3.65 FIP, 23.4 K%, 9.9 BB%, 1.83 WHIP

Acquired from the Mets in a trade for international bonus cash, Gomez lit up Single-A in his age-19 season, then improved his walk and strikeout numbers after being promoted to High-A.

Jacob Cozart, C (Age 23)
2025 (A+) 308 PA, .229/.344/.364, 7 HR, 0 SB, 13.3 BB%, 21.1K%, 106 wRC+
2025 (AA) 94 PA, .256/.330/.390, 2 HR, 0 SB, 8.5 BB%, 25.5K%, 113 wRC+

Selected as a defense-first catcher with some pop in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Cozart had above-average offensive seasons at both High-A and Double-A in 2025.

Petey Halpin, OF (Age 23)
2025 (AAA) 553 PA, .249/.321/.414, 14 HR, 15 SB, 9.2 BB%, 28.2 K%, 95 wRC+
2025 (MLB): 8 PA, .333/.500/.333, 0 HR, 0 SB, 25.0 BB%, 25.0 K%, 157 wRC+

Earned a cup of coffee in Cleveland last season after an average year at Triple-A at age 23. Impressed with five runs scored in just six games played with the Guardians.

Josh Hartle, LHP (Age 22)
2025 (A+): 22 GS, 103.1 IP, 2.35 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 24.0 K%, 8.9 BB%, 1.05 WHIP
2025 (AA): 2 GS, 10.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 2.79 FIP, 16.3 K%, 4.7 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Acquired from Pittsburghin the Spencer Horwitz trade, Hartle was one of Cleveland’s most successful starting pitchers in its minor league system in 2025. Stands 6-foot-6, but doesn’t have a ton of velocity.

Austin Peterson, RHP (Age 26)
2025 (AA): 11 GS, 55.0 IP, 1.47 ERA, 3.29 FIP, 23.9 K%, 4.9 BB%, 0.84 WHIP
2025 (AAA): 15 GS, 90.2 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 20.2 K%, 7.8 BB%, 1.37 WHIP

Absolutely dominated Double-A to begin 2025 looking well on his way to repeating his tremendous 2024 season, but then struggled after an early-season promotion to Triple-A. Remains on the 40-man roster.

Gabriel Rodriguez, SS (Age 18)
2025 (ACL) 122 PA, .294/.393/.402, 1 HR, 11 SB, 12.3 BB%, 18.9 K%, 116 wRC+

One of Cleveland’s top recent international signings, Rodriguez put up strong offensive numbers in his stateside debut in his age-18 season in 2025. Expected to transition to full-season ball this year.

Andrew Walters, RHP (Age 25)
2025 (AAA): 12 G, 12.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 1.91 FIP, 46.0 K%, 18.0 BB%, 1.17 WHIP
2025 (MLB): 2 G, 1.1 IP, 13.50 ERA, 9.89 FIP, 33.3 K%, 0.0 BB%, 1.50 WHIP

Walters maintains his rookie status due to limited MLB appearances because of an injury in 2025. If he returns at 100%, he’ll once again be a factor in the back end of Cleveland’s vaunted bullpen.

Our list so far:
1. Chase DeLauter, LHH OF
2. Travis Bazzana, LHH 2B
3. Parker Messick, LHP
4. Ralphy Velazquez, LHH 1B/RF
5. Angel Genao, SH SS
6. Braylon Doughty, RHP
7. Cooper Ingle, LHH C
8. Khal Stephen, RHP
9. Juan Brito, SH 2B/1B/RF/3B
10. Jaison Chourio, SH OF
11. Kahlil Watson, LHH OF
12. Daniel Espino, RHP
13. George Valera, LHH OF
14. Jace LaViolette, LHH OF
15. Joey Oakie, RHP
16. Alfonsin Rosario, RHH OF
17. Juneiker Caceres, LHH OF
18. Yorman Gomez, RHP

Legendary Blue Jays announcer Buck Martinez’s career ends in the World Series.

Martinez announced his retirement Friday in a statement, citing that he and wife Arlene came to the decision that he should step away from the booth through conversations after the season.

He went on to thank the Blue Jays and their fanbase, along with Sportsnet, Toronto’s broadcasting partner. He added that he will miss taking selfies, shaking hands and seeing the smiles of fans everyday.

Legendary Blue Jays Broadcaster Buck Martinez Announces Retirement

Press Release: https://t.co/Rau43YzBG2pic.twitter.com/gqoDn9hg1p

— Sportsnet PR (@SportsnetPR) February 6, 2026

“I had hoped to be part of the 50th year of the Toronto Blue Jays but it’s time to pass the torch. Enjoy 2026 and beyond, I will see you down the road,” Martinez wrote at the end of his statement.

Before getting into broadcasting, Martinez enjoyed a 17-year MLB playing career.

From 1969-86, he batted .225 with 58 homers and 321 RBIs. His final six seasons were spent in Toronto after a trade to the Canadian franchise, which Martinez referenced in his statement.

“It’s hard to believe I came to Toronto in a trade in May of 1981, thinking that would be the end of a very good career,” Martinez said. “Little did I know that I still would be associated with the Blue Jays through the 2025 season.”

After retiring in 1986, Martinez immediately turned to the mic as the Blue Jays’ color analyst in 1987. He then spent a few years as the color commentator for the Baltimore Orioles’ broadcasts, even winning a Sports Emmy Award for helping broadcast Cal Ripken Jr.’s 2,131st straight game.

In 2010, he returned to the Blue Jays and remained with the team before taking a leave of absence in 2022 to undergo treatment for cancer.

Last year, he came under fire for comments he made about the Yankees on a Blue Jays broadcast.

Following New York’s 10-run loss to the Detroit Tigers, Martinez eviscerated the Bronx Bombers’ playstyle, ultimately foreshadowing their eventual loss to Toronto in the playoffs.

“The Yankees — they’re not a good team,” Martinez said. “I don’t care what their record is. They have a lot of wild pitches, they make a lot of mistakes in the field, they don’t run the bases very well. If they don’t hit home runs, they don’t have a chance to win.”

Martinez’s career with the Blue Jays ended in nearly the best way it could have.

Toronto made the World Series for the first time this century and fell one win — and two outs — away from downing the Dodgers in Game 7.

Now, Martinez will watch from the stands as Toronto tries to finish the job.

As we continue our Northwestern softball 2026 positional previews, it’s time to take a look at the outfielders. NU returns some top talent in the outfield this season, and it has also added some newcomers who will seek to make an impact. Let’s take a look.

Kelsey Nader, Senior

Put simply, Nader is a franchise cornerstone. She started every single game for Northwestern last season, batting .340 and putting up a team-high .454 on-base percentage. Last year proceeded an incredibly-prolific 2024 where she finished eighth in the Big Ten with a .375 batting average.

Nader is also reliable in center and right field, with no errors in each of the past two seasons, and she’s started nearly 150 games in her illustrious Wildcat career. She can be counted on as a steady lineup presence in 2026.

Isabel Cunnea, Junior

After a quiet first-year season where she started seven games and batted .250, Cunnea exploded onto the scene as a sophomore, hitting a team-high .360 and starting in 47 of her 48 appearances. The junior outfielder doesn’t hit for quite as much power as many of her Wildcat teammates, but she makes up for it with speed and efficiency, and her .928 OPS was still good for third on the team among regular starters in 2025.

The Wildcats are also fortunate to have Cunnea’s presence back in left field, as she has not yet committed an error in her career. Nader and Cunnea are likely locks to hold down the fort in two of the outfield spots.

Avery Garden, Sophomore

Garden has the versatility to play almost anywhere in the field, and she showed that in 2025, making 34 starts in her first-year campaign. She wasn’t as efficient of a hitter as Nader or Cunnea, batting .245 overall, but there’s still plenty of potential for rapid growth in her sophomore season, as shown by Cunnea’s rapid rise last year.

The ‘Cats are fortunate to have Garden’s presence, as she gives them the outfield flexibility they need. Wildcat coach Kate Drohan could opt to give Garden time all over the field, and she could theoretically slot in at right field if Nader sees regular time in center. Because Northwestern’s infielder group is extremely deep in 2026, fans should expect to frequently see Garden as an outfielder or designated player.

Kate Dowden, Sophomore

Dowden made one start as a designated player last year, and barring an unexpected turn of events, she will likely be the fourth outfielder or a pinch-hit option for the ‘Cats in 2026. Dowden could still see playing time depending on where Garden slots in consistently, but the former will certainly have work to do to crack the starting lineup. The good news for Dowden is that she was efficient despite few plate appearances last season, picking up four hits in eight at bats (including a double and a triple).

Kate Renschen, First-Year

Renschen has a high-level bat and blazing speed, and she showed it in her senior season at Lake Central High School, racking up a .510 batting average and 36 stolen bases without committing a single error. Because of the depth that Northwestern has in the outfield, Renschen may struggle to gain initial playing time, but she certainly has the potential to jump into that third outfield spot at some point this year.

Abby Harvey, Graduate Transfer

Harvey is listed as a catcher/outfielder on Northwestern’s website, so she may not see a ton of time in the outfield, but she did show a lot of potential at Indiana Wesleyan in the NAIA, batting .426 in her senior season. The lone transfer in Drohan’s upcoming class of newcomers, Harvey adds much-valued experience to this Wildcat squad, but it remains to be seen just how well she is able to adjust to Big Ten play.

Today we’re counting down the top five prospects in the Cubs minor league system. Because of the requests of some of you, I’m going to do today’s in reverse order. I’ll try it this year. If I don’t like it, I’m going back to the other way next year.

If you want to look back, here are the other four entries:

Introduction and 21 to 25

16 to 20

11 to 15

6 to 10

Because I know some of you are going to ask, I had made up a preliminary list that I was working off of at the time of the Edward Cabrera trade. When the deal was made, I had Owen Caissie as the Cubs’ number-three prospect. I was considering moving him up to two. It was a hard call. I can see the argument for making him the number-one prospect, but I don’t think I would have done that. So he would have been two or three.

I had Cristian Hernández at 20 when the trade went down, but I was really playing with the picks in the teens and I was strongly considering moving him up. Off the top of my head, I think putting Hernández at 15, give or take a place or two, would be the right call.

So with that said, here are my top five Cubs prospects.

5. Kevin Alcántara. OF. B:R, T:R. 7/22/2002. 6’6”, 188. Trade with Yankees (2021).

Alcántara has been around so long that it’s easy to forget he’s still only 23 years old. The scouting report on Alcántara is pretty much the same as it’s been the past five years. He’s a terrific athlete with great raw skills and a sky-high ceiling. He has plus raw power and plus speed. He’s a very good defensive center fielder with a strong arm who could be a Gold Glove right fielder. The only thing holding him back is a difficulty making consistent contact at the plate, particularly against breaking pitches from right-handers.

After making his major league debut at the tail end of the 2024 season, there were big expectations for Alcántara in 2025. Instead, he battled a nagging sports hernia for much of the season and seemed to be stuck in a holding pattern. Alcántara went through hot streaks and cold streaks in 2025 and finished with a line of .266/.349/.470 with 17 home runs and ten home runs over 430 plate appearances. That’s not bad, but we were all hoping for more.

There were some bright sides to that line. For one, Alcántara destroyed left-handed pitching in a way he had not done in previous years with a line of .320/.396/.588 versus southpaws. He also became slightly more selective at the plate and was able to draw a few more walks. And while it was a minuscule sample size, Alcántara didn’t look as overmatched in the majors in his brief cup of coffee with the major league team at the end of the season like he did in 2024. 

The downside is that he still swings at too many pitches out of the zone, especially curve balls from right-handed pitching. His strikeout rate of 29.8 percent in Iowa last year is scary high for a top prospect. He will probably always strike out a lot with that big body and big strike zone, but major league pitchers will be merciless on those weaknesses unless he can demonstrate that he can either lay off those pitchers or do damage against them. Alcántara’s ground ball rates also increased last year and his fly ball rates decreased. Maybe that was because he was playing hurt. Maybe it wasn’t. 

Despite the somewhat disappointing season, Alcántara did seem to make some progress in pitch recognition. Not enough, to be sure, but he was at least moving in the right direction.

Alcántara apparently got an extra option year, so that should give the Cubs the flexibility to let him build on the good parts of 2025 in Iowa, as well as work on eliminating the bad stuff. His defense and ability to hit left-handers would make him a good fourth outfielder right now, but the Cubs obviously have higher hopes for him than that. He has been around seemingly forever, so this is the year that Alcántara is going to have to prove to the Cubs that he can be their right fielder of the future. 

Here are some highlights of Alcántara in Iowa for the first half of last season.

4. Ethan Conrad. OF. B:L, T:L. DOB: 07/05/2004. 6’3”, 220. Drafted 1st round (2025) Wake Forest.

I have to keep myself from getting too excited about Ethan Conrad. The Cubs first-round draft pick last year has yet to make his professional debut after a season-ending shoulder injury during his junior year at Wake Forest. So all I have is the video that I can find online about him and those highlights get me very excited about Conrad. 

Ethan Conrad went to Marist College for two years where he was an elite talent in a small school. He hit .389/.467/.704 his sophomore season before going .385/.433/.486 in the wooden bat Cape Cod League that following summer. Those numbers had the the power four conference of Wake Forest and the ACC calling. Conrad was just as impressive there—.372/.495/.744 with seven home runs in 21 games before he suffered a season-ending injury to his left shoulder when he was diving for a ball. Unfortunately, the ACC regular season had just started when he suffered the injury, so those numbers were put up against non-conference competition that wasn’t much better than what he faced at Marist. In fact, two of those games were against Marist. Conrad did put up those good numbers in the competitive Cape Cod League and we know the Cubs place a lot of emphasis on results in the Cape. So it’s not like he has no experience with tough competition, but his resume is thin on that front.

Conrad is the kind of player that I fall in love with quite easily — the guy who is above-average but maybe not plus in every category. Maybe his arm rates out more as average, but the other four tools are in the 55 to 60 range on the 20-to-80 scale. Conrad has a simple left-handed stroke and features above-average contact skills. He only struck out 14 times in 97 plate appearances last season. He’s also getting better at identifying pitches and laying off stuff out of the zone. Conrad walked 18 times, which is more than he struck out. 

With good loft in his swing, Conrad projects out to be a 20-to-25 home run player. Some think that he still has room on his 6’3” frame to add a little more weight, which might push up his power totals some more. However, that could come at the cost of his above-average speed, which is an asset both on the base paths and in center field, where he’s an above-average defender. The Cubs are hopefully set in center field for quite a while, but Conrad projects out to be a very good defensive right fielder. His arm isn’t his best tool, but it’s at least average and good enough to play right. 

From all accounts, Conrad is fully healthy now and you can see video on social media of him working out in Mesa. He should make his professional debut in Myrtle Beach this March or, less likely, South Bend. There will be a lot of eyes on him in this season. There is always concern that his shoulder injury will linger and affect his swing, although that’s no more likely with Conrad than with any other hitter with a shoulder injury. His upside is a 25-25 above-average outfielder who will make a few All-Star Games. He has a very good chance to be the Cubs’ number-one prospect at this time next year.

Here are some highlights of Conrad playing for Wake Forest before he got hurt.

3. Jefferson Rojas. SS. B:R, T:R. DOB: 4/25/2005. 5’11”, 150. International Free Agent (2022) Dominican Republic.

On July 18, 20-year-old Jefferson Rojas was promoted to Double-A Knoxville. There he did something he’d never really done before: he struggled. Over 39 game in the Southern League, Rojas hit .164/.279/.205 with no home runs with the Smokies.

That’s not good, but I’m not overly concerned for several reasons. Rojas was promoted after having the best half-season of his career in South Bend. Over 67 games in the Midwest League, Rojas hit .278/.379/.492 with a career-high 11 home runs. He became a more selective hitter and drew walks at a career-high percentage of 12.7 with no real increase in his strikeout rate at 15.7 percent. Rojas also started to drive the ball much harder with more pulled contact in the air. 

Rojas also suffered a from poor luck in Knoxville, hitting just .211 on balls in play. Also, it was just 39 games at a new level. I won’t argue that it’s a good thing that he struggled here so that he learns to deal with adversity, but it did give Rojas a good sense of what he needs to work on over the winter. 

Rojas was also just 20 years old in Knoxville, which is very young for Double-A. In fact, throughout Rojas’ career he’s been either the youngest or one of the youngest hitters in the league. 

So overall, I’m not worried. At least not yet. What makes Rojas an exciting prospect is his above-average contact skills and growing power profile. He pulled the ball in the air a lot more in South Bend, which is a very good sign. Rojas hit left- and right-handed pitching roughly equally in 2025. Rojas is a smart baserunner, which allows his average raw speed to play up. He stole 19 bases in 22 attempts between the two levels last year. 

Defensively, Rojas has a strong arm and all the tools to stick at shortstop. He still makes some mistakes, which I chalk up more to inexperience than a lack of skills. Rojas could be a roughly average defensive shortstop, but he does have the arm to move to third base if necessary where he could be above average.

Rojas still doesn’t turn 21 until April, so he’s still quite young for his level. Obviously he has to demonstrate that the poor performance in Double-A last August was just a small speed bump on the road to Wrigley. If Rojas continues to improve like he did in South Bend last year, he’ll be a top 100 prospect at this time next year and he will be knocking on the door for his major league debut in 2027.

Some highlights of Rojas in South Bend.

2. Jaxon Wiggins. RHP. DOB: 10/03/2001. 6’6”. 225. Drafted 2nd round (2023) Arkansas.

Jaxon Wiggins is something the Cubs have not had in a long time — a big hard-throwing right-handed starter. Wiggins blew through three levels last year, starting the season in High-A South Bend and finishing the year in Triple-A Iowa. While he is not quite ready to make his major league debut to start the season, he certainly could be a fixture in the Cubs rotation down the stretch if he can stay healthy. That last caveat is certainly a big one, however. 

Wiggins has one of the best fastballs in all of the minor leagues. It sits at 95-to-98 miles per hour and has touched 100 on more than one occasion. It also has good arm-side movement. His second pitch is an 88-90 mph cutter/slider that grades out as a second plus pitch. His upper-80s changeup is a solid third pitch that plays well off of his fastball. He also has a curve that he rarely throws and even more rarely throws for strikes. It does, however, have a real “fall of the table” movement when it’s right. 

Wiggins has a very simple, whip-like pitching motion that should be easy to repeat. Of course, that didn’t stop him from getting hurt in college.

Despite blowing through three levels, Wiggins only threw 78 innings last season. The Cubs only let him make one start over a two-month period from mid-June to mid-August because of “arm fatigue” on his right arm, which is just two years removed from Tommy John surgery which cost him his junior season at Arkansas. They were also limiting his innings. After June 20, Wiggins did not make another start all season more than four innings and only one more than three innings. 

Between the three levels last season, Wiggins went 3-4 with a 2.19 ERA. He struck out 97, which works out to 11.2 batters per nine innings. He walked 36 men, which translates to a too-high but not terrible 4.2 per nine. He does have some control issues, which limits his upside at the moment. 

But that upside is still considerably high. With two plus pitches and a third solid one, Wiggins has number 2/3 starter potential. But there are some warning signs. Certainly his control, which abandons him at times, and his health give himself more reliever risk than a lot of pitchers with his talent. And then there is the possibility that I hate to mention, but the last Cubs prospect with a fastball this good was Brailyn Marquez. We hope history doesn’t repeat itself there, but it’s a possibility. Wiggins probably has as much upside as anyone in the system, but his downside should have us crossing our fingers. 

Wiggins only made three starts and threw just 9.2 innings in Iowa last year, so he’s certainly ticketed for a return to Des Moines to start 2026. From there, his major league debut is up to him. Cade Horton only made 11 starts in Iowa, and six last year, before he forced his way up to Chicago. History could repeat itself with Wiggins this year.

Here are some highlights for Wiggins from last year.

1. Moisés Ballesteros. C/DH. B:L, T:R. DOB: 11/08/2003. 5’8”, 195. International Free Agent (2021) Venezuela. 

Moisés Ballesteros can hit at the major league level and he can do it now. Of that, I have little doubt. Last year in Triple-A Iowa, Ballesteros hit .316/.385/.473 with 29 doubles, one triple and 13 home runs over 509 plate appearances. He struck out a minuscule 13.2 percent of the time and walked at 9.6 percent. That earned Ballesteros a September call-up to the majors, where he continued to hit to the tune of .298/.394/.474 with two home runs over 66 plate appearances over 20 games. 

It wasn’t just last year that Ballesteros hit. He’s hit at every level he’s been at throughout his minor league career. He rarely even has a bad month. Ballestros has excellent bat-to-ball skills and the ability to drive the ball hard to all fields. He is an aggressive hitter who maybe swings at more pitches than he should, especially out of the zone, but he’s a good enough hitter that he often either fouls those pitches off or gets a base hit off of them. His level swing is geared more towards line drives than home runs, but he hits the ball hard enough that some of them are going to clear the fences. His swing is especially tailored to take advantage of the short power alleys at Wrigley, like the time he hit his first major league home run right at Anthony Rizzo in left center.

As far as a pure hit tool goes, Ballesteros is the best Cubs prospect since Starlin Castro. His power projects out to be more slightly above-average at the moment, but it’s not inconceivable that he’ll add more lift onto his swing as he ages and goes from a 15-to-20 home run a year player to a 30 home run guy. I wouldn’t count on it, but it’s possible. In any case, he’s likely to add a ton of doubles.

Of course, you’re familiar with the downside to Ballesteros. He simply isn’t a good defensive catcher. While his raw arm strength is good, he struggles to get out of the crouch and takes way too much time releasing the ball. Opposing teams tend to run wild on Ballesteros. He only threw out 13 percent of baserunners trying to steal on him in Iowa last year. He also doesn’t block the plate well and he’s slow even by catcher standards, although he always hustles the best he can. The one thing Ballesteros does well behind the plate is deciding which pitches to challenge on the Automatic Ball/Strike system. That could be a plus with the majors adopting this system this year, but it doesn’t make up for all the other minuses.

Most of you are familiar with Ballesteros’ body by now and while he’s definitely slimmed down a bit over the past two seasons, he’s still a big man and all that getting up and down as a catcher is going to be hell on his knees eventually. Conditioning is going to be a key for him going forward.

Keith Law of The Athletic wrote last week that he thought Ballesteros was “OK” as a first baseman, and that may be a way of getting him some more at-bats. Most likely, he’s a designated hitter who plays occasionally behind the plate and at first base. Fortunately, he’s got the kind of bat that they you have to find a way to get into the lineup.

Some minor league highlights for Ballesteros.

And because it’s too fun not to re-live, here is Anthony Rizzo muffing Ballesteros’ first major league home run.

Thanks for reading! Please follow along with the Minor League Wrap all season long.