Category: Baseball

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Spring training is a chaotic endeavor, particularly when betting. There are fewer markets available, and picking a moneyline winner can be stressful, especially when a team throws out a less-than-stellar bullpen to throw the whole wager in the bin.

I'm looking at a variety of moneyline MLB picks for my spring training predictions today, highlighting a favorite, a slight underdog, and a bit of a long shot on Thursday, March 19.

Spring Training predictions for March 19

Pick #1: Red Sox moneyline

With the exception of Roman Anthony not being in the lineup, the Boston Red Sox batting order looks close to what the Opening Day edition will be. 

Like Anthony, Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton won't be in the starting nine in the wake of the World Baseball Classic. They mostly cancel each other out, leaving Boston as the better offense from top to bottom.

Twins starter Mick Abel has been sharp this spring (1.35 ERA, 0.75 WHIP), and may seem the better choice over Brayan Bello (9.72 ERA, 1.68 WHIP), but the Red Sox righty has been a bit unlucky, as evidenced by an unsustainable .440 BABIP and his 3.55 FIP. He also allowed just one run and one hit in five innings at the WBC.

I want a better number than +120 on Minnesota if I'm taking the underdog here.

Pick #2: Astros moneyline

If Juan Soto isn't back in the New York Mets lineup tonight, then I'll feel even better about this.

Kodai Senga is an electric starter, but his struggles to stay on the field have limited him over the last calendar year. He's also thrown just 5 2/3 innings this spring, so New York is slow-playing the right-hander. He may not be in this game very long.

I'll take the plus money on the Houston Astros. This line may even tighten up if Soto doesn't play, so it's worth a sprinkle now.

Pick #3: Rockies moneyline

The Colorado Rockies are the long shots of the day. It makes sense. San Francisco Giants right-hander Logan Webb is excellent. However, he also traditionally pitches to contact, and is prone to giving up runs in bunches when his defense can't make the plays behind him.

This also isn't at Coors Field, so I'm less concerned about Tomoyuki Sagano getting lit up by San Francisco's suspect lineup.

I like the value on +150 more than anything else here, but I'm also encouraged by several of Colorado's young hitters. 

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

You’ve already seen Jefferson Rojas and Pedro Ramirez play for the Cubs this Spring Training. Both have hit well and Ramirez, in particular, has flashed some glove at third base, shortstop and second base.

In 14 MLB spring games this year, Ramirez is batting .357/.429/.607 (10-for-28) with a double, two home runs, 11 RBI and five stolen bases. Rojas, in 18 MLB spring games, is batting .227/.277/.523 (10-for-44) with four doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI.

Ramirez was added to the 40-man roster last November, and even though he’s not quite 22 (turns 22 on April 1), it’s not impossible that we might see him at Wrigley Field this year.

The two will lead a roster of top Cubs prospects against top Padres prospects in a game this Saturday at Sloan Park. Game time is 8:05 p.m. CT and the game will be televised via Marquee Sports Network. There will be a game thread here Saturday both for this game and the MLB Cubs vs. Mariners game at Peoria, scheduled for 8:10 p.m. CT.

Other top Cubs prospects on the Spring Breakout roster:

• Catcher Owen Ayers, who had a good showing in the Arizona Fall League
• Jonathon Long, who has returned from an early spring injury and is playing well again
• Brett Bateman, a speedy outfielder who is 8-for-18 with three steals in MLB spring games
• James Triantos, the team’s No. 10 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline

Here’s the complete Cubs Spring Breakout roster. The article has some more information about the game, the players, and how they were selected for this game.

There will be other Spring Breakout games in both Florida and Arizona beginning today. Here’s the entire Spring Breakout schedule, along with more information.

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Tommy Kahnle and, like most relievers in their mid-to-late 30s, he comes from all over the league. As one of the rare baseball players to grow up in upstate New York, Kahnle settled for Division II baseball in college before being selected by the Yankees in the 2010 amateur draft. But he made his big league debut with the Rockies, who swiped him from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft, and has since spent 11 years in the majors, dividing his time between Colorado, the South Side of Chicago, the Bronx, Chavez Ravine, the Bronx again, and Detroit. The Sox signed him to a minor league deal yesterday

Is he any good?

Kahnle was a big part of those Yankee super-bullpens of recent vintage, which is probably where you know him from. In fact, for the entire stretch between 2016 and 2024, Kahnle’s 3.11 ERA ranked 28th amongst relievers who threw at least 250 innings. He was a flat-out solid and dependable late-inning option for years, heavily relying on one of the game’s best changeups, which darts down and in on the arm-side. Earlier in his career he complemented that change with a fastball that approached 100 MPH, but that’s now down to the mid-90s.

Kahnle has battled injuries recently. From 2020 through 2023, he made just 14 appearances, missing significant time to both Tommy John surgery and subsequent forearm issues, and he then missed the first two months of the 2024 season with shoulder inflammation.

2025 was an up-and-down season for Kahnle in Detroit. He was outstanding for the first three months of the year, posting a 1.77 ERA in 35.1 innings pitched. But then he gave up five earned runs without recording a single out in his first appearance in July and looked cooked for the rest of the season, yielding 32 hits and 22 walks over 27.1 innings en route to an ugly 7.90 ERA. He made 32 appearances from July through the end of the season and gave up at least 1 run in 12 of them.

Tl;dr, just give me his 2025 stats.

63 IP, 51 H, 31 BB, 8 HR, 4.43 ERA

Show me a cool highlight.

Remember when I wrote that Kahnle relied heavily on his changeup? Well he once threw 61 of them in a row in 2024 playoffs while allowing just 2 earned runs over 8.2 innings.

Here’s a video of the first 56 of those:

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

Celebrating the fact that he now gets to join a bullpen with Garrett Whitlock, who, like him, is another quality reliever the Yankees lost in the Rule 5 draft. Lol, losers!

What’s his role on the 2026 Red Sox?

He’s signed to a minor league deal, but I fully expect him to be in the big league bullpen as soon as they deem him ready. He’ll start in a middle-innings role and whether he stays there will depend on whether he can figure out what went wrong in the second half of 2025.

Discuss the Cleveland Guardians’ Spring Breakout game below! Here is the starting lineup for the Guardians’ prospects:

Kahlil Watson CF

Cooper Ingle C

Ralphy Velazquez 1B

Milan Tolentino 3B

Angel Genao SS

Alfonsin Rosario RF

Jaison Chourio LF

Wuilfedo Antunez DH

Dauri Fernandez 2B

Yorman Gomez SP

Okay, so we’ve got to talk about Didier Fuentes. I think everybody here knows by now that spring training results should usually be taken with a grain of salt. The level of competition can vary from “everyday big league starter” to “ Guy who is really hoping to make it to Double-A this season” and then you also don’t know if the other player is working on something specific instead of going full tilt, themselves, so it’s not like there’s anything concrete that can be gleaned from spring training game results.

With that being said, holy smokes — Didier Fuentes has been on a tear. The Atlanta Braves are clearly very high on the guy as in their desperation during last season’s pitching injury debacle, he got the call-up to the bigs during his Age-20 start and made four starts during that span. Granted, they were four starts that ranged from “okay” to “disastrous” which showed that he clearly wasn’t ready for the big leagues at that point in time.

So now, his excellent performance during spring training (as noticed by Matt Powers in an article from earlier today) begs the question: Is he ready now? On its face, the answer to that question is still “No” but we’re officially in the territory of that answer being “Probably not” rather than “Absolutely not!” A lot of that has to do with the fact that Fuentes has reportedly taken leaps and bounds in development since the 2025 season ended. MLB.com Braves beat writer Mark Bowman talked with Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner last week about Fuentes and he did mention that while Fuentes is still a work in progress, things are starting to come together:

“He has three above-average pitches,” Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “The changeup is still coming in terms of location, but the shape is really good. He’s taken to this harder slider, and the fastball is real, obviously.”

The fastball is most certainly real — last season during his brief stint in the bigs, Fuentes averaged 96-mph with his four-seamer. That’s still above average for righties but not particularly eye-popping or anything like that. However, he’s been sitting at 97 here in spring training and as that linked article above mentioned, he reached 99 on the gun while striking out Yankees OF Cody Bellinger. Part of that may have been that Fuentes was amped up to be facing one of his favorite childhood teams in the Yankees and one of his favorite childhood players in Cody Bellinger but then you fast forward to Wednesday’s action and Fuentes was still sitting in the 97-mph range against Philadelphia’s organizational depth.

Still, even if the guys that Fuentes was facing at CoolToday Park weren’t exactly the formidable nine that you’ll expect to face on a typical night at Citizens Bank Park, it’s still impressive to look at his stuff on display. Plus, he did get to face guys like Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Randal Grichuk and Ryan McMahon during his start against the Yankees so he did show that he could get it doe against guys who have done it before in the bigs. That’s what makes it a bit impressive that Fuentes’ line so far in spring training has been 9 IP, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 hit-by-pitch, 17 strikeouts. Yes, you read that correctly: Fuentes has essentially pitched a complete no-hitter so far during spring training and has been dominant while doing so. Sheesh!

Like I mentioned earlier, a strong performance like this doesn’t guarantee that Fuentes will be breaking camp as part of the Opening Day rotation for the Braves. I’d imagine that the organization still wants him to get some seasoning in the minors before eventually calling him up for some more big league action. While I’m still very skeptical that he’ll make the Opening Day roster, I’m pretty certain that we’ll be seeing Fuentes again at some point down the road if needed in a spot start situation. I also have more faith now than last season that Fuentes would be able to pitch his way into sticking around.

So as far as right now is concerned, the minors better get ready to deal with this guy since he looks like he’s going to mow down hitters at that level here in 2026. Whether that’ll translate into big league success this year remains to be seen. Still, if you’re excited about seeing Didier Fuentes pitch soon, you’ve got very good reason to feel that way since he’s absolutely giving us fans a glimpse of what the future may hold for him as a starter for this Braves ballclub.

Earlier this month, Jurickson Profar shocked the baseball world with his incredibly foolish decision to take Performance-Enhancing Drugs the year after he had been suspended for 80 games in the past. Upon failing another test, Major League Baseball suspended Profar for the entirety of the 2026 regular season and Postseason.

However, the MLBPA did their due dilligence and launched an appeal and grievance on Profar’s behalf. While this was always a longshot, the hope was that the suspension could be reduced so that Profar could at least make some money from playing in games this season since PED suspensions are unpaid. Unfortunately for Profar, the appeal didn’t work. Jeff Passan of ESPN is reporting that the situation has been “resolved” and the result is that the suspension has been upheld and that Profar is officially done for 2026.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar will miss the entire 2026 season after his appeal of a positive PED test was resolved. He will serve a 162-game suspension for testing positive a second time and will be ineligible for postseason play.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2026

I can’t imagine that anybody is surprised by this turn of events. As I mentioned earlier when the suspension was initially announced, these types of appeals don’t usually go anywhere in terms of any substantial overturns. This was simply MLBPA doing what they could to support a union member — whether that union member made an incredibly dumb mistake or not. It was always very unlikely that Profar would get this overturned since MLB usually does a solid job of proving intent whenever this turns into an investigation.

The main thing that’ll come of this latest development is that the Braves now know that they’ll have $18 million to play with. Whether they use that now on another free agent who’s still available or wait until the trade deadline to use for any potential deals remains to be seen. For now, we now know officially that Profar won’t be on the field for a single pitch of this upcoming season and I’d imagine that it’s an open question as to whether or not Profar will put on a Braves uniform ever again. We’ll see what happens but we won’t be seeing Profar during the 2026 season, for sure.

TAMPA – Carlos Rodonwas still walking off the field after throwing the equivalent of two innings to Yankees hitters Thursday when someone popped out of the dugout with questions galore.

"How did you feel?" an eager Gerrit Cole asked him. "Did you like the curve?"

The answer to the first question was "good." The answer to the second was "better." No one can relate to the zig-zagging process that is a return from elbow surgery quite like Cole, who is navigating his own version of that process these days, too. He knew Rodon didn’t like the way the curve felt in one of his two previous live sessions, but he also knew that it would probably feel better next time. It had for him.

"[I felt] physically fine. I’m just working to get a feel for things," Rodon told SNY afterward. "Obviously, I would like everything to be crisp, but it’s hard to do that when you have to build up and come back from surgery. It’s coming. Trying not to get frustrated with myself."

Rodon was scheduled for 35 pitches Thursday. He threw them against Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Spencer Jones, and Zack Short. He threw them to catcher Ben Rice, with whom he was in constant conversation between pitches, seeking feedback from his catcher and the screens Yankees coaches had behind the mound. The surgery he underwent in October removed loose bodies and a bone spur that limited his range of motion last season. But with increased range of motion comes more possibilities for variation around his arm action and release point, which means his spring training has been as much about building stamina as rebuilding his sense of where his arm needs to be and how best to get it there repeatedly.

"My arm moves a lot more, so it’s just understanding that leash I have, how far I’m going," Rodon said. "I just need to throw more, so I build the proprioception, build the feel of that."

The 33-year-old will not travel with the Yankees when they head to Arizona for next week’s spring-ending exhibition games. Instead, he said he will stay in Tampa to continue his progression – a progression Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he hopes will lead to a return in April.

"It feels like a normal progression. It’s just refining every day. Every day I play catch is taking in a lot of information," Rodon said. "It’s not like, drastically different. But building a new feel."

Howie Rose announced he is retiring at the end of the 2026 Mets season. The longtime broadcaster has been behind the mic for a myriad of signature sports moments across Mets, Rangers and Islanders games. Here are eight of his best calls.

1. Stéphane Matteau’s double-overtime game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals against the Devils. 

Matteau’s epic goal sent the Rangers into the Stanley Cup Final, where they would capture their first championship since 1940.

2. Shawn Bates’ penalty shot in Game 4 of the 2002 first round.

Bates became the first Islander to score on a penalty shot in the playoffs. He was the second American-born player and 13th NHL player overall to do so. The goal won the game for the Islanders and tied their first-round series against the Maple Leafs, 2-2, before Toronto won the series in seven.

3. Mike Piazza’s home run in the first baseball game in New York after Sept. 11.

After the horrific terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Mike Piazza homered in the first baseball game back in New York. His home run secured a 3-2 victory for the Mets in an emotional moment for the city.

4. Johan Santana throws the first no-hitter in Mets history.

On June 1, 2012, Santana threw the first no-hitter in the Mets’ 50-year franchise history. He did it on an unfathomable 134 pitches.

5. Mets win the 2015 NL pennant to reach the World Series

The Mets swept the Cubs in the 2015 NLCS, snapping a 15-year drought since their last National League pennant in 2000.

6. Pete Alonso’s go-ahead, ninth-inning home run in Game 3 of the 2024 NL Wild Card round.

Entering the ninth inning down 2-0, the Mets rallied to win the 2024 Wild Card against the Milwaukee Brewers. Alonso was the hero, hitting a go-ahead, three-run home run off Brewers closer Devin Williams. 

7. Francisco Lindor’s grand slam in 2024 NLDS Game 4. 

Entering the sixth inning down 1-0, Lindor hit a go-ahead grand slam in Game 4 of the 2024 NLDS. It was off Philadelphia Phillies closer Carlos Estévez, which led the Mets to their first NLCS appearance since 2015.

8. The Mets clinch the 2006 NL East title

In one of the best seasons in franchise history, the Mets clinched their first division title since 1988 with a 4-0 win over the Marlins on Sept. 18.

The roster is starting to come into focus with just over a week to go before the season opener. On the pitching staff, the Royals shipped out Ryan Bergert, Mason Black, Helcris Oliváres, and Mitch Spence this week. Here’s what the bullpen looks like at this point:

Locks, barring a trade or injury: Lucas Erceg, Carlos Estévez, Nick Mears, John Schreiber, Matt Strahm

On the bubble: Luinder Avila*, Steven Cruz*, Bailey Falter, Alex Lange, Daniel Lynch IV*, James McArthur*

Probably on the outside looking in: Jose Cuas*, Eli Morgan*, Héctor Neris, Aaron Sanchez

Probably on the IL to start: Stephen Kolek*

*-have options remaining

With five starters, and five locks in the bullpen, that leaves three bullpen spots remaining. Who would you carry on the roster?

As we close in on Opening Day for the 2026 season, now is a time to start to take a look at some of the prospects who have seen their stock rise this spring within the Atlanta Braves system. Making this list isn’t just based on what we have seen in spring training games – though that is a big part of it. Reports from the backfields or a player showing up in great shape can also get a player mentioned here.

Owen Carey, OF

Owen Carey has impressed enough this spring that he has been able to earn himself nine at bats in big league spring training games. He may be just one for nine, but he has had some flashes at the plate against much more advanced competition – making it important to remember he is still just 19-years-old and hasn’t played above Low-A yet.

Didier Fuentes, RHP

Fuentes was brought up to Atlanta a bit too soon last season, and got hit pretty hard – not unexpected for a kid who had barely turned 20 and had limited Triple-A experience at the time. He responded well to that in the minors after being sent back down, and has come back this spring looking like he has completely put that behind him. In five innings over two appearances, Fuentes has a 0.00 ERA and WHIP with nine strikeouts to no walks – the only base runner he has allowed is a single hit by pitch. The Braves may be a little extra cautious with him this year after being a bit too aggressive last year, but he is looking better than we’ve ever seen him look this spring.

John Gil, SS

Gil ended last season with a short look at Double-A after a bit of a power spike to close out this season. He followed that up by coming to camp with a little added weight, and has shown that the power increase may be for real. Although he will never likely be a plus power guy, adding average power to a guy with his speed and hit tool makes him very dangerous. In 19 at bats this spring he is hitting .158, but has two homers and a .778 OPS. That should give him slightly heightened expectations heading into the season, which he is likely to open back in Double-A.

Hayden Harris, LHP

Harris is another arm who made his big league debut last year, but he seems to have built on it this spring. He has pitched five innings over five games, pitching to a 1.80 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 12 strikeouts to two walks. Harris has already been optioned down on the roster, but his continued success is worth noting, as he will be an in-season promotion candidate anytime the Braves need a relief arm.

Cody Miller, SS

The Braves third round pick out of East Tennessee State last year came in with a Trea Turner-like skill set of contact, speed, and a bit of power from the shortstop position. There were some questions about the adjustments he may need to make as the level of competition is set to really increase for him, and although he did show well in a small sample size after signing last summer, going three for four in big league games this spring is a positive sign that the competition jump won’t phase him.

Jose Perdomo, SS

It’s been a rough couple of years for Perdomo since signing as a top international free agent. Injuries basically wiped out his 2024, and a combination of injury and ineffectiveness ruined his 2025 season. The positive with him is that he showed up to camp in the best shape he has been in since he signed with the Braves – important since there were some reports from scouts last year which said he didn’t look at all like the guy the team expected to sign just over two years ago.

JR Ritchie, RHP

Ritchie came into the spring as a real long shot to make the team out of camp, but between injuries to other starters and his own stuff ticking up, he has pushed himself into the conversation as training camp winds down. Ritchie has pitched 12 innings over four games, with a 2.25 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, and 14 strikeouts to just five walks. As great as his stat line has looked, his velocity has ticked up and his secondary offerings have also been even better than what we saw last year when he shot up to Triple-A after opening the year in High-A. Ritchie has assured himself that even if he doesn’t claim a spot in the opening rotation, he will be up for his big league debut sooner rather than later.

JR Ritchie dazzles in his fourth outing of the spring 🤩

4 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 6 K

MLB's No. 90 prospect has allowed just two hits over 12 frames for the @Braves. pic.twitter.com/kZc95lCvvh

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 15, 2026

The St. Louis Cardinals are now one week away from Opening Day and will begin the final week of preparation with a Spring Training game against the Washington Nationals at Roger Dean Stadium today. Josiah Gray will make the start for the Washington Nationals according to MLB.com. Quinn Matthews will make the start for the Cardinals.