Category: Baseball

Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

ReadingYankee asks:I am starting to worry about the production of Stanton. He is aging and proved less effective in the postseason last year, although it would be foolish to expect his 2024 production again. He has another year or two, and he has not been trusted in the outfield more than a game or two in the last couple seasons. At what point do the Yankees pull the plug on an oft-injured, DH-only type player? And when that happens, what will be their plan for the DH spot?

Much like the offense at large, I’m willing to give some grace to Giancarlo Stanton’s performance in the postseason because of the heater he was on in the regular season, especially given the strong performances he’s shown in nearly every other October run. The team isn’t going to cut bait on one of the veterans of this clubhouse while he still has some juice left in his bat, and his absences aren’t that big of a hit because they free up space for the rest of the team to cycle through quasi-rest days as a DH. Between getting their superstar Aaron Judge some half-days, flexing Ben Rice’s spot in the lineup around, and working in playing time for Jasson Domínguez should he be on the major league roster, there’s plenty of options to fill the gap.

The concern going forward, however, is just how much mileage is actually left on those legs. Stanton’s been a notorious slow-returner from his injuries (which makes the run he put on in 2025 even more incredible), so if he has a season where he’s a frequent flier on the IL instead of going through one big injury, that could spell disaster for his productivity. There’s also the concern that Stanton’s good year was a product of how little he actually had to play, and while there’s a running assumption that he’s going to miss time in every season going forward the goal is to still field the best team possible — if Stanton is gassed from the rigors of a 162-game season by the end of it all, he may not find himself penciled in when the chips are down.

jmack1775 asks:Why did we get Goldy to platoon with Rice when Rice should be an everyday player and learn to be at least passable against lefties? And if the plan is for Rice to catch a significant amount of games and Goldy to fill in at 1b, isn’t Rice’s value diminished at catcher?

Paul Goldschmidt’s place on the team this year is more of a mentor figure for Rice to learn the position, as the Yankees likely see him as their everyday first baseman of the future. He’ll get the lion’s share of starts at the position, and then for the games where Goldschmidt takes over against lefties that frees Rice up to see time behind the plate and still get in the lineup for the experience (and hopefully, improvement). It shouldn’t be a significant amount of games where Rice is catching, since J.C. Escarra is still the backup catcher and Rice will be going in as the defined starter at first as opposed to bouncing around looking for playing time. Was it the ideal fit? No, and the Yankees outright acknowledged this when Aaron Boone discussed the signing, but there are ways that it can work out quite well for New York.

Shoducky asks:What would it take to pry Mason Miller away from the Friars? Would a package of Dominguez and Gil do it?

Trade packages are generally a tricky thing to speculate on considering the strengths of one system aren’t going to be the same as another, and organizations have internal scouting on prospects that differ from the outside publications — that being said, the Padres traded the No. 3 prospect in baseball at the time to acquire Miller as the headliner of a four-player package at last year’s deadline. The Yankees don’t have a prospect anywhere close to that ranking on any board, and even considering that the cost would be lowered with one less year of control on Miller’s contract it’d be a tough pitch for the Padres to listen in on. New York has also shied away from the flashier bullpen additions as of late, both in terms of free agent deals and in trades, with their deal for David Bednar being an exception that still only cost the team their eighth-best prospect. If they wanted to change direction on that they certainly could, but that’s likely a discussion for the summer when there’s a clearer field of targets to acquire.

Pablo Lopez will miss the 2026 season. 

The Twins right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John Surgery next week after it was discovered that he had a torn ulnar collateral ligament earlier this week. 

Lopez, who turns 30 next month, had felt something in his elbow during a bullpen session on Monday. 

The injury also takes Lopez out of the World Baseball Classic, during which he was set to take the mound for Venezuela. 

The typical recovery timeline for Tommy John is roughly 12-to-18 months, meaning Lopez could be back on a big league mound by early next season. 

It’s the second time in Lopez’s professional career that he will undergo Tommy John, having previously done the surgery in 2014 while he was in the Mariners’ organization. 

Lopez has been Minnesota’s starter in each of their last three Opening Days since being traded over by the Marlins before the 2023 season. 

In three seasons with the Twins, Lopez has posted a 3.68 ERA across 78 starts. 

During his debut season with the team in 2023, Lopez had the best season of his career, making his first and only All-Star team and finishing 7th in the AL Cy Young voting with a 3.66 ERA across 194 innings. 

Last season, Lopez dominated with a 2.74 ERA, although he was limited to just 14 starts with a shoulder and forearm strain. 

After finishing 70-92 last season, Twins management cleaned house this offseason. 

Shortly after the regular season’s end, Minnesota fired manager Rocco Baldelli after seven seasons at the helm, later replacing him with Derek Shelton. 

Late last month, with spring training just weeks away, the Twins and president of baseball and business operations Derek Falvey “mutually” agreed to split ways.

The team announced general manager Jeremy Zoll would continue “leading” the baseball department after Falvey’s departure.

The Yankees’ first Grapefruit League game is in the books. For those hoping for some offense, that was always going to be a tough ask for a lineup that had just four major leaguers, especially when they’ve all been subbed out by the middle of the sixth. Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled in the first, but they managed just two more singles in the final 8.1 innings of the game, Orioles pitchers tallying 13 strikeouts on the afternoon. By far, the bright spot of the game was the performance of top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez, who pitched three scoreless innings after earning the start in the spring training opener. Pete Alonso crushed a two-run bomb in the sixth to account for all of the scoring in this game as the Yankees drop the spring opener to the Orioles, 2-0.

The Orioles had their ace Trevor Rogers on the mound coming off 18 impressive starts in 2025 when he posted a 1.81 ERA. His velocity was already at mid-season form, but that didn’t prevent Chisholm from logging the first hit in all of spring training, the second baseman dumping a two-out single to right on a 1-1 slider at the bottom of the zone.

first base hit of Spring belongs to @j_chisholm3 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hmXswcjfGK

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 20, 2026

In the bottom half, we got our first look at the Yankees’ top overall pitching prospect, Elmer Rodríguez. The 22-year-old righty was named Baseball America’s Yankees Minor League Player of the Year in 2025 after posting a 2.58 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A and the second-most strikeouts in the minors (176). He looked impressively sharp in his first taste of pitching against major league hitters, getting Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso to roll over a pair of soft grounders before striking out the Orioles’ top overall prospect Samual Basallo on an elevated heater, Rodríguez’s sinker touching as high as 97 in the first.

Rodríguez had his first brush with traffic on the bases in the second and passed that test as well. Baltimore had runners on the corners following a Tyler O’Neill leadoff single and Adley Rutschman one-out single, but Rodríguez worked himself out of the jam by getting Heston Kjerstad to bounce into the inning-ending double play on a perfectly located 1-2 changeup on the corner low and away. We also got our first ABS challenge earlier in the frame, Rodríguez having a strike two call confirmed after Colton Cowser challenged.

Rogers departed after two innings, replaced by reliever Keegan Akin, while Rodríguez was allowed to pitch the third. The Orioles started to barrel up the baseball the second time the top of the order faced Rodríguez, Henderson lining a two-out single to center and Alonso clubbing what looked like a sure-thing RBI double into the gap in left center, but non-roster invitee and former minor league Gold Glove winner Kenedy Corona made a fabulous diving catch to save a run and end the inning for the first web gem of spring.

Despite the harder hit balls to end his outing, Rodríguez was nothing short of impressive in his spring debut. His sinker had decent velocity, averaging 94, while the changeup and slider look like his go-to weapons to induce whiffs. Overall, he posted a very good 29-percent called-strike-plus-whiff rate and an even better 70-percent groundball rate. Most notably, Rodríguez exhibited sharp command of four different pitches, able to find the edges of the zone with the sinker, cutter, changeup, and slider. He departed after three scoreless innings having allowed three hits and no walks with one strikeout on 42 total pitches.

Jake Bird was the first reliever out of the bullpen for the Yankees, and he maneuvered around an O’Neill one-out single by inducing the inning-ending double play from Cowser. Austin Wells unsuccessfully challenged a pair of called balls that weren’t particularly close in the fourth and fifth innings, meaning the Yankees were out of challenges for the rest of the game. New York subbed out all their starters shortly thereafter, but not before Alonso provided the only offense of the contest, a booming two-run blast to left off a hanging first-pitch curveball from career minor-leaguer Bradley Hanner.

The Yankees offense went hitless for a six-inning stretch, their two other singles coming from substitutes Jackson Castillo in the seventh and Jonathan Ornelas in the ninth. Outside of Hanner in the sixth, you have to admire the job done by the Yankees pitchers, Rodríguez, Bird, Kervin Castro, Carson Coleman, and Dylan Coleman combining to toss seven scoreless frames. I also reckon there will be more excitement on offense as more lineup regulars are worked into spring games.

The Yankees return to Tampa to host the Tigers in the spring home opener at George M. Streinbrenner Field. Aaron Judge is penciled in to right field, while Rodríguez’s fellow top pitching prospect Carlos Lagrange draws the start against Keider Montero. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET with the broadcast moving to YES.

Box Score

As many suspected once the news of Pablo López’s ligament tear broke, the right-hander’s season is over.

One day into the 2026 season, the Twins lost their #1 starter to an elbow injury during live batting practice. López will now spend the season recovering after doctors reconstruct his elbow.

In terms of roster construction, this immediately knocks askew any perceptions of trying to win with this roster constructed from pockets sewn shallow. Joe Ryan, who spent last year in Cy Young contention, stays at the top of the rotation unless or until he gets traded; behind him, the Twins have a handful of back-of-rotation players, at least one of which now have to elevate their play if the team hopes to, as ownership insists, win with the guys they have.

We’ve already discussed on the site the different options Minnesota has to fill out their rotation, whether through elevated an untested player or bringing in someone still on the market. But whichever option the front office chooses, the team now lacks one of their best players, an energetic fan favorite.

The news of López’s surgery was not a surprise, but to all Twins fans, it was a disappointment, and fewer and fewer will be looking forward to the 2026 season. It’s still baseball, but the excitement that comes with spring has faded.

After that Canada/Finland, I’m sure I’m five pounds lighter.

Tomorrow, we get our first real fake baseball game of the year. The Jays are playing the Philles in Dunedin. It is a 1:00 pm start time and it will be on Sportsnet 1. Eric Lauer is listed to start the game.

And speaking of Lauer, he told Gregor Chisholm that, he felt, the Jays told him he would be in the starting rotation this season. But, after adding, Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, there might not be a spot for him.

“It is a little frustrating,” Lauer admitted during an interview with the Star this week. “I mean, I was told last year some things, like, for certain would happen this year, and then we made some moves.

“We got some great guys, so I’m not mad about that, but I think I’m still in a position where I’m in a great spot to produce and all I have to do is go out there and do it.”

I do feel for him. He was terrific last year, and, generally, that would mean he would have a spot in the rotation. But the team does have to do what they think is best, they had the chance to improve the pitching staff. It would be wrong not to do it.

Having the extra arm is great for the team, but not so great for Eric. If he starts the season in the bullpen and stays there for a couple of months, it would be hard to see him switching back to the rotation. If he really wants to be a starter, I guess he could ask for a trade, though it might be hard to leave a team that made it to the World Series.

He is a free agent after the season. If he were to get 30 starts and pitch the way he had last year, he’d be looking at a big contract. If he is a long reliever, he would likely be looking at far less of a payday.

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Beyond that there isn’t a lot for Jays’ News:

• Kevin Gausman talked about the possibility of retiring after the season. I’m expecting that he’ll be good enough this year to get offers that he would have a hard time refusing.
• Shane Bieber is further ahead than the Jays thought he would be. He’s throwing ‘120 feet’. There is no rush to get him onto the mound, but he might get there sooner than we figured.
• Shi Davidi tells us that Ricky Tiedeman feels good, thinks he’s ready to contribute and that he threw two simulated innings yesterday.

Happy Friday.

And so, it begins! The first time our D-backs have taken the field since September 28, and we now begin the slow march towards Opening Day, in slightly less than five weeks. You may be looking at the line-up above, and be going “Who?” with regard to our first starting pitcher of the season, Thomas Hatch. Well, unless you did the smart thing, and have been reading our series on non-roster invitees, anyway. 🙂 But to save you a click, he seems very much like a depth piece, with underwhelming numbers, and the peripherals don’t exactly stand out at great either. Still, someone has to throw these innings.

Nature is healing. Baseball is back. pic.twitter.com/f38tCTqBMX

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 20, 2026

After Hatch, we should expect to see some or all of these over the rest of the game: RHP Andrew Hoffmann, LHP Philip Abner, RHP Isaiah Campbell, RHP John Curtiss, RHP Taylor Rashi and RHP Bryce Jarvis.

Otherwise, and with the obvious exception of right field, this looks – at least for the first couple of innings – quite close to what might be our Opening Day line-up. But plenty of time for things to change, between now and then. The good news. Today’s game will be a free broadcast through dbacks.tv. You just need to register with an email address. The bad news? It’s the Rockies broadcast, so you should probably expect only tangential mention of the Diamondbacks. Still, it’s baseball, and you can watch it. Beats working, certainly.

I don’t have anything especially profound to share with you other than one new fact. We’ll have live game discussion threads for all of the St. Louis Cardinals regular season games obviously, but also now for all of the Spring Training games.

In a normal world, there wouldn’t be a lot to talk about during Spring Training, but the St. Louis Cardinals are in a pivotal year where there should be plenty to discuss. How does JJ Wetherholt look so far? Do Jordan Walker’s swing decisions look any better? We’ll have so many opportunities to overanalyze and overreact to everything and anything the St. Louis Cardinals do until they break camp for the regular season.

First Spring Training game is Saturday, February 21 at 12:05pm central time as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Washington Nationals. I plan to be here and I invite you to the Spring Training baseball discussion party, too.

One upshot of the Mariners’ deep playoff run in 2025 is that fans have been gifted with the shortest offseason in Mariners history. It’s been exactly four months since Game 7 of the ALCS. Those four months have contained multitudes: a rollercoaster of emotions, the stages of grief, one of the most exciting free agent signings of the last decade in Josh Naylor, and somehow the same offseason discourse that we have every year.

All of that has led us here.

It’s not quite an Opening Day lineup. Julio isn’t playing the field. Luke Raley is leading off. Michael Arroyo and Colt Emerson are getting some run, which means Cole Young and Brendan Donovan will wait to make their Spring Training debuts. Dane Dunning is neat, but hopefully won’t be a significant part of the 2026 Mariner rotation.

But it doesn’t particularly matter who’s in the lineup. It’s baseball. It’s televised baseball. The frigid weather in Seattle tells us it’s still winter, but the sunny warmth of Peoria we can see through the screen gives us a preview of what’s to come.

Oh yeah, and the Padres play too.

It’ll be all Dane Dunning can do to keep Padres legends Nick Castellanos and Ty France under control, lest this game get out of hand.

Game time: 12:10 PM PT

Watch: The shiny new Mariners.tv (the successor to Root, if you were living under a rock all winter)

Listen: Seattle Sports 710 AM

If you’ve never commented before, a game thread is a great place to get your feet wet because the energy tends to move quickly. Think of the game thread like you’re watching a game with friends (or a friend of a friend, if you’re new here) – sort of a virtual living room or neighborhood bar – and treat it with the same respect you’d give the time and talents of real-life people (including your overworked and underpaid bartenders, aka the mods and staff). Even if you’re not ready to jump into the conversation yet, signing up for an account and signing in gives you a better experience on the site and is recommended, and as a bonus helps us out as a site as well.

Even if there are some of you out there who, for whatever twisted reasons, root for the White Sox to lose, on one thing we should be able to agree: Beat the Cubs, always.

That includes a Cactus League opener on the road, with roughly three players likely to be in the White Sox lineup on Opening Day:

Jonathan Cannon, possibly THE mystery man at Camelback Ranch with regard to outcomes (heck, anywhere from Opening Day starter if he kills in Arizona to outright released if he picks up where he left off in 2025), gets the nod to start. As Malachi Hayes surmised earlier today, Cannon is on the outside looking in to the 2026 rotation — but the competition is open.

And there are a number of bubble players in the lineup as well, who figure to see a lot of game action as the White Sox bench gets sorted out: Curtis Mead at third base, Derek Hill in center, Korey Lee DHing, Tristan Peters in right and Tanner Murray playing shortstop.

No White Sox TV broadcast today, but you can catch the radio call at WMVP-AM 1000. First pitch is at 2:05 p.m. CT.

We’re officially one night’s sleep away from getting the Grapefruit League underway for the Atlanta Braves. With that being said, the team sure took their time before letting everybody know who’d be playing and most importantly, who’d be starting on the mound over in Port Charlotte against the Tampa Bay Rays.

As it turns out, ol’ Cookie Carrasco will be getting the ball to start the first game of spring training for the Braves. Atlanta Braves beat writer for MLB.com Mark Bowman also reported that Mike Yastrzemski, Jonah Heim, Eli White and Jorge Mateo will be playing as well.

Mike Yastrzemski, Jorge Mateo, Eli White and Jonah Heim will be the veterans in the Braves' lineup for tomorrow's Grapefruit League season opener against the Rays. Carlos Carrasco will get the start. John Gil will come off the bench.

— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) February 20, 2026

As you would imagine since this is a spring training road game in February, we aren’t going to see too many big names in action away from CoolToday Park in North Port. Instead we’re going to see a very young squad with the aforementioned veterans peppered in there, alongside Carlos Carrasco making the start. Carrasco figures to be a very long shot to make the rotation for Opening Day but he’ll be getting the opportunity to hopefully make a good impression in his spring debut.

Bowman also mentioned that John Gil will play, albeit coming off of the bench. There’s a lot of excitement surrounding John Gil lately, as he is entering 2026 following a very good 2025 campaign and has already been garnering a lot of positive attention during spring training so far. It sure seems like he’ll be one of the main prospects to keep an eye on as the spring training progresses and he’ll certainly be one to keep an eye on during tomorrow’s contest.

Braves shortstop prospect John Gil has been turning heads this spring

And he’s not alone — the Braves’ farm system is loaded at shortstop pic.twitter.com/jtHS3I8Klc

— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) February 19, 2026

So while we won’t see a lot of the familiar faces that we’ve grown used to over the years with this current era of the Atlanta Braves, we’re still very, very close to seeing the Atlanta Braves in action once again. Happy days are here again.

Last season was a year of roster transition for the Dodgers, who cut ties with longtime mainstays Chris Taylor and Austin Barnes in May, then Clayton Kershaw retired after 18 seasons. Those were the three longest-tenured players on the team.

So let’s look at the current roster and find the new deans. If we go by date added to the 40-man roster, Max Muncy is the longest-tenured Dodger, having joined them on April 17, 2018. If we go by date joining the organization, it’s catcher Will Smith, who signed on June 21, 2016 after getting drafted in the first round. Each are second on the other list, and both will be around for a while. Muncy signed through 2027 with a club option in 2028, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that goes even longer through the end of his career. Smith is signed all the way through 2033.

For purposes of accounting, if a player reached free agency and re-signed with the Dodgers without going anywhere else, I included them as having stayed continuously. Evan Phillips, who was non-tendered in November but re-signed last week, still counts has having been a Dodger since they claimed him off waivers during the 2021 season, for instance. Neither Smith nor Muncy have reached free agency since joining the Dodgers.

A few other fun facts about the Dodgers 40-man roster:

• Edgardo Henriquez, born in June 2002, is both the second-youngest Dodger on the roster (one month older than Ronan Kopp) and fourth-longest-tenured, having signed in September 2018.
• Andy Pages, born in December 2000, is the fifth-youngest Dodger and the third-longest-tenured, having signed in March 2018.
• Ryan Ward was just added to the 40-man roster in November but has yet to play a game in the majors, but he was drafted in the eighth round in 2019 and is the fifth-longest-tenured player by date acquired.
• Mookie Betts and Brusdar Graterol are tied for fourth-longest on the 40-man roster, both acquired back on February 10, 2020, and are tied for seventh-longest in the organization.

Pos	Player	2026 age	Birthdate	40-man	Acquired
3B	Max Muncy	35	Aug 25, 1990	Apr 17, 2018	Apr 28, 2017
C	Will Smith	31	Mar 28, 1995	May 27, 2019	Jun 21, 2016
RHP	Blake Treinen	38	Jun 30, 1998	Dec 15, 2019	Dec 15, 2019
RHP	Brusdar Graterol	27	Aug 26, 1998	Feb 10, 2020	Feb 10, 2020
SS	Mookie Betts	33	Oct 7, 1992	Feb 10, 2020	Feb 10, 2020
LHP	Alex Vesia	30	Apr 11, 1996	Feb 12, 2021	Feb 12, 2021
RHP	Evan Phillips	31	Sep 11, 1994	Aug 16, 2021	Aug 16, 2021
1B	Freddie Freeman	36	Sep 12, 1989	Mar 18, 2022	Mar 18, 2022
OF	Andy Pages	25	Dec 8, 2000	Nov 15, 2022	Mar 1, 2018
IF	Miguel Rojas	37	Feb 24, 1989	Jan 11, 2023	Jan 11, 2023
SP	Gavin Stone	27	Oct 15, 1998	May 2, 2023	Jun 17, 2020
RHP	Bobby Miller	27	Apr 5, 1999	May 23, 2023	Jun 22, 2020
SP	Emmet Sheehan	26	Nov 15, 1999	Jun 16, 2023	Jul 23, 2021
IF/OF	Kiké Hernández	33	Aug 24, 1991	Jul 25, 2023	Jul 25, 2023
RHP	Kyle Hurt	28	May 30, 1998	Sep 12, 2023	Feb 12, 2021
SP	Landon Knack	28	Jul 15, 1997	Nov 14, 2023	Jun 29, 2020
DH/SP	Shohei Ohtani	31	Jul 5, 1994	Dec 11, 2023	Dec 11, 2023
SP	Tyler Glasnow	32	Aug 23, 1993	Dec 16, 2023	Dec 16, 2023
SP	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	27	Aug 17, 1998	Dec 27, 2023	Dec 27, 2023
OF	Teoscar Hernández	33	Oct 15, 1992	Jan 12, 2024	Jan 12, 2024
LHP	Justin Wrobleski	25	Jul 14, 2000	Jul 7, 2024	Jul 26, 2021
SP	River Ryan	27	Aug 17, 1998	Jul 22, 2024	Mar 28, 2022
IF/OF	Tommy Edman	31	May 9, 1995	Jul 29, 2024	Jul 29, 2024
RHP	Ben Casparius	27	Feb 11, 1999	Aug 18, 2024	Jul 23, 2021
RHP	Edgardo Henriquez	24	Jun 24, 2002	Sep 24, 2024	Sep 25, 2018
LHP	Jack Dreyer	27	Feb 27, 1999	Nov 19, 2024	Aug 3, 2021
SP	Blake Snell	33	Dec 4, 1992	Nov 30, 2024	Nov 30, 2024
2B/CF	Hyeseong Kim	27	Jan 27, 1999	Jan 3, 2025	Jan 3, 2025
LHP	Tanner Scott	31	Jul 22, 1994	Jan 23, 2025	Jan 23, 2025
SP	Roki Sasaki	24	Nov 3, 2001	Mar 17, 2025	Jan 22, 2025
C	Dalton Rushing	25	Feb 21, 2001	May 14, 2025	Aug 1, 2022
RHP	Will Klein	26	Nov 28, 1999	Jun 2, 2025	Jun 2, 2025
IF	Alex Freeland	24	Aug 24, 2001	Jul 29, 2025	Aug 1, 2022
RHP	Paul Gervase	26	May 23, 2000	Jul 31, 2025	Jul 31, 2025
OF	Alex Call	31	Sep 27, 1994	Jul 31, 2025	Jul 31, 2025
RHP	Brock Stewart	34	Oct 3, 1991	Jul 31, 2025	Jul 31, 2025
LF/RF/1B	Ryan Ward	28	Feb 23, 1998	Nov 6, 2025	Jun 11, 2019
LHP	Ronan Kopp	23	Jul 28, 2002	Nov 18, 2025	Jul 23, 2021
RHP	Edwin Díaz	32	Mar 22, 1994	Dec 12, 2025	Dec 12, 2025
OF	Kyle Tucker	29	Jan 17, 1997	Jan 21, 2026	Jan 21, 2026
OF	Michael Siani	26	Jul 16, 1999	Feb 3, 2026	Feb 3, 2026

Baseball is finally back!

After one of the most interesting offseasons in franchise history, the new era of Colorado Rockies baseball finally begins today with the first game of Cactus League play. The Rockies open up play against their roommates, the Arizona Diamondbacks, at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

Antonio Senzatela will take the pill for the Rockies, kicking off what may be an important spring training for the veteran right-hander. 2025 was a disastrous year as Senzatela struggled to be effective and was eventually relegated to the bullpen. However, one of the important things was that he was able to stay healthy. Under the new leadership, Senzatela is aiming to expand his pitch-mix and prove himself a capable starter in the final guaranteed year of his contract.

For the Diamondbacks, Thomas Hatch will make his first start of spring training. Hatch signed a minor league deal with Arizona after posting a 5.82 ERA in 12 appearances, including one start, with the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins last year. He made 18 starts with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate, recording a 4.22 ERA in 91 2/3 innings and joins a field of players battling for one of the few rotation spots for the Snakes.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 1:10 MDT

TV: Rockies.TV

Radio: 850 KOA

Lineups:

For the visiting Diamondbacks:

Nature is healing. Baseball is back. pic.twitter.com/f38tCTqBMX

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) February 20, 2026

and the home Rockies:

Baseball, we've missed you.

Watch today's game for FREE on https://t.co/DQSFgj6oQO! pic.twitter.com/T3Xg5QVGxA

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) February 20, 2026

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Previous Winner

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.

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
15	Slater de Brun	OF	10	25	40%	NA
16	Nathan Flewelling	C	8	26	31%	NR
17	Trevor Harrison	RHP	9	26	35%	10
18	Jose Urbina	RHP	13	26	50%	25
19	Tre’ Morgan	1B/LF	15	25	60%	4

Morgan pulled 15 votes in the previous round, tied for the second most in any poll this off-season. We didn’t get a poll up on Wednesday, sorry about that friends, but we are back at it for an interesting vote over the weekend. In the round for No. 19 only one player had multiple votes other than Morgan, and that was Baumeister (8). Next round adds Fabricio Blanco.

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.

Fabricio Blanco, SS
17 | S/R | 5’11” | 161

A bat-first middle infielder, the Venezuelan is an elite prospect within the context of the international signing process, with some believing he’s the best Rays signee this off-season, despite gathering only a $1 million bonus. He can barrel up from both sides of the plate, but may settle into a right handed swing in the long term, with quick hands. He has the ability and instincts to stick at short, with a high-IQ approach and gritty demeanor.

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.

Cooper Flemming, SS
19 | L/R | 6’3” | 190

One of the best high school bats in the 2025 draft, Flemming surprisingly fell into the Rays laps in the second round. He has a too-quiet swing that lacks the load necessary to hit for power, but he’s historically compensated for that with a high contact rate that would have rated him as first round material if his defense projected to stick. The Rays were able to convince him to forgo an education at Vanderbilt by going above slot ($2.3m, Comp-A money).

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.

OF Victor Mesa Jr.
24 | L/L | 5’11” | 195
AAA (MIA) | .301/.368/.510 (136 wRC+) 171 PA, 7 HR, 4 SB, 9.9% BB, 16.4% K
MLB (MIA) | 6 H (1 HR), 5 BB, 5 K (81 wRC+) 38 PA

This Cuban power bat already made his major league debut with Miami last year after bouncing back from a spring hamstring injury, and was dealt to the Rays in February. He profiles as a fourth outfielder but has an option remaining, so the organization may send him down for regular playing time and one last chance for something more in development. If not, he’s a center field capable on defense, which goes a long way for a platoon bat. In the running for the nicest guy in baseball.

Austin Overn, OF
23 | L/R | 6’0” | 175
A+ (BAL) | .242/.367/.386 (127 wRC+) 341 PA, 8 HR, 43 SB, 15.5% BB, 28.2% K
AA (BAL) | .266/.326/.427 (112 wRC+) 136 PA, 5 HR, 21 SB, 6.6% BB, 25.0% K

Acquired in the Shane Baz trade, Overn was once a top draft prospect after committing to baseball over football at USC, but surprisingly struggled as a draft-eligible sophomore. That didn’t stop Baltimore from taking him in the third round (97th overall) in 2024. Now a professional, Overn overhauled his swing in the first half of 2025, and earned an early promotion to Double-A for his efforts, where he didn’t look overmatched. His biggest threat is his speed, which raises his floor and gives him an easy projection to a major league bench thanks to plus defensive instincts (BA gave 70’s to his run and field tools). His offensive profile is buoyed by his ability to work the count, but evaluators would like to see him punish fastballs more often for him to be considered a regular.

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.

Victor Valdez, SS
17 | R/R | 6’1” | 186

A pretty swing with a low whiff rate earned Valdez a big payday this winter — $3.5 million — with as good of a power projection as you can reasonably ask for from a a teenage bat, having been given a 25+ home run projection by Baseball America, who also praise his plus foot speed, bat speed, and control of the zone. Reports say he has ever improving lateral movements on defense, with smooth actions and a strong arm. If it all clicks, it’s a middle-of-the-order bat on the left side of the infield. At signing, the Rays gave him a comp to Francisco Lindor. It will be interesting to see if his first professional season can solidify the five tool profile.