Category: Baseball

Thomas Saggese has proven that he is a versatile player, but does he have the skill set to transition to the outfield? There are reports that the St. Louis Cardinals are at least considering it.

I came across this story from MLB Trade Rumors over the weekend that says the St. Louis Cardinals are exploring internal options for its outfield and right-handed bat needs. In their report, they refer to a story by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch saying the Cardinals have not been seriously engaged with Randall Grichuk and that Austin Hays had chosen the White Sox over the Cardinals due to playing time expectations. Their conclusion was that the St. Louis Cardinals were considering Jose Fermin and/or Thomas Saggese for outfield playing time. The Post-Dispatch just shared video today of Chaim Bloom saying Saggese in the outfield is a possibility.

Jose Fermin has already played a handful of MLB games in the outfield, but Saggese hasn’t played in the outfield since he was a 10-year-old kid. As we have shared here previously, Thomas Saggese has solid defensive numbers at 2nd and 3rd base with less impressive metrics at shortstop. Speed plays a much larger role in the outfield than it does the infield and Baseball America rates Thomas as having average to below-average speed rated to around 45 on a 20 to 80 scale. With his work ethic, I don’t question that he can adapt and learn a corner outfield position, but his natural skill set doesn’t seem to be a comfortable fit.

The concept for possibly transitioning Saggese to the outfield would allow him more playing time since his primary infield positions will be filled by Gorman, Winn and likely Wetherholt. If he could earn outfield playing time, that would get his right-handed bat into the lineup, but that’s not the thump many of us were hoping for. My initial impressions of Thomas Saggese was that he was a scrappy hitter similar to David Eckstein. That’s not a bad thing since he did end up being a World Series MVP, but David was known as a slap hitter with limited power. To be fair to Thomas Saggese, his performance in the minors in 2023 and 2024 show he does have some pop with 26 homers in 2023 and 21 in 2024. As I recall, David Eckstein only had 35 home runs over his 11-year career.

We’re still at the genesis of Spring Training so it’s too early to know if the St. Louis Cardinals envision Thomas Saggese as a middle infielder primarily and an outfielder only on rare occasions, but it’s obvious that the team would really love for him to be able to take on the super-utility role that Brendan Donovan excelled at. Does the thought of Thomas Saggese in the outfield make you nervous or is this a brilliant use of an already versatile right-handed bat? No matter what your opinion on Saggese in the outfield is, here’s something that is guaranteed to brighten your day as shared by the St. Louis Cardinals this morning.

Three days ago, ESPN published a tongue-in-cheek article called “Why Your Team Didn’t Do What You Wanted This Winter.” In a spectrum that ran Dodgers-to-Rockies, the Mariners were thankfully much closer to the Dodgers side of things, but Bradford Doolittle, the author, did question why the Mariners didn’t get another lefty bullpen arm to help Gabe Speier, saying some not-so-nice things about Jose Ferrer in the process and giving minimal attention to Robinson Ortiz, one of the Mariners’ early moves this winter. I’m not sure that today’s move of bringing in Josh Simpson from Miami to take Logan Evans’ spot on the 40-man will make Doolittle feel like the Mariners Didmore to address their lefty bullpen issues, but there is now another lefty in the mix along with Speier, Ferrer, and Ortiz.

Simpson got dumped right before Valentine’s Day as the Marlins DFA’d him on Thursday, allowing the Mariners to swoop in and acquire the Columbia product, who has so far spent his entire career in the Marlins organization after being drafted in the 32nd round in 2019. Simpson has had some injury issues in his career, missing a year in between his sophomore and junior seasons at Columbia with TJ. After being drafted he made steady progress through the Marlins system, dominating at the lower levels; but in 2023, he struggled with both injury (shoulder impingement) and throwing strikes at Double-A. 2024 wasn’t kinder on the injury front, as Simpson missed most of the season with “left elbow ulnar neuritis,” also known as cubital tunnel syndrome; you might recognize that as the thing that sidelined flamethrowing Angels pitcher Ben Joyce.

Simpson’s fastball comes in about ten miles slower than Joyce’s, so that’s not the concern with him; it’s more keeping him on the field, which he was able to do in 2025, and throwing strikes, which he was not as able to do. Simpson has enormous strikeout potential thanks to a deep repertoire and ability to spin a breaking ball; his sweeper is a whiff-machine, especially effective against lefties, and when he has a feel for his changeup, it’s deadly:

But there is a troubling amount of his highlight film titled “Josh Simpson escapes a jam,” because he often found himself in jams due to poor command.

There is a lot of raw material to work with for the 28-year-old, who might benefit from a different set of developmental eyes on him. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, coming in around 94 and depending more on weak contact than whiffs, and he pairs that with a sinker that is supposed to be a weapon against lefties but winds up in the middle of the plate too often. The Mariners, despite popular perception, don’t tend to make a ton of mechanical adjustments with their pitchers, but just from watching a couple pitches our John Trupin suggested there’s a lack of front-side consistency with Simpson that could be addressed. Then there’s the issue of being able to consistently land his curveball, sweeper, and changeup, which seems like a big ask for a pitcher who’s struggling to throw strikes, so perhaps some selective arsenal editing could be helpful. There’s also the injury aspect to consider, although Simpson is coming off a healthy 2025.

The question in Doolittle’s article still stands; if Ferrer and Ortiz don’t merit much mention, Simpson, at this stage at least, is a tick down from either of those two. But there are a lot of interesting components here that hearken back to the previous lefty duo of Speier and Tayler Saucedo, with Speier raining down hellfire and Saucedo—when he was on—coaxing ugly swings and weak contact. It’s a good lefty one-two punch, in theory; the Mariners’ job this spring will be to find Speier the right sparring partner, and now a new contender has entered the ring.

With real baseball games just around the corner FanGraphs released their Top 100 Prospect List for 2026. Only two Braves prospects make the list this year with JR Ritchie leading the way coming in at No. 68 overall, while Didier Fuentes comes in at No. 90 on the list. This is the highest we’ve seen JR Ritchie come in on a list this pre-season, and the first one that has Fuentes on it at all.

Coming into his age 22 season Fangraphs has JR Ritchie at 68 overall, with a future value of 50 – a significant value that pretty much gives him a legitimate starting pitcher grade.

Here’s a little bit of what FanGraphs had to say about JR and it’s definitely worth the click to read the full breakdown.

Ritchie touches 97 with both of his fastballs, and after years of sitting 91-93, he added a tick and change in 2025, when his heater averaged 93.9 mph. While not a seismic breakout, it’s a meaningful step forward for a strike-thrower with a change and good feel to spin, one who has been on the 45/50 line in previous evaluation cycles. The extra velo gives him more wiggle room in the zone, and his ability to command the ball to both sides of the plate suggests he’ll fully leverage it.

Despite the rough stint in the majors for Didier last year, one that many have noted was a bit rushed, FanGraphs also gave him a 50 future value grade. Here’s a little of what they had to say about Didier.

Fuentes is advanced beyond his years. His delivery is simple and repeatable, with a quick and clean arm stroke and moderate effort throughout his delivery. He’s primarily a fastball/sweeper guy, and will sprinkle in a curve and splitter. He’s adept at spotting the fastball to the glove-side corner and the top rail of the zone, where mid-90s velo, plus extension, and a low release height all help it play as an above-average weapon.

Once again – it is definitely worth the click to read the full breakdown of Didier, one that might ease some of the concerns that have made their way around social media. With the Braves already facing several starting pitcher injuries there is definitely the real possibility that both find their way in Atlanta this year – sooner than later.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke with reporters following Monday's workouts in Port St. Lucieto discuss a number of topics surrounding the team....

'Embracing expectations' for 2026 season

Mendoza opened his availability by discussing the messaging to the team over the first couple of days at spring training. The manager made it clear how they can prepare for the 2026 season after a disappointing 2025, helping them realize the opportunity that lies ahead.

"Without getting in to much details. I think it's just embracing expectations, enjoying the meaning of putting this uniform on, what it means, what we represent, and what we're here for," Mendoza said. "So it was just more along those lines."

He added: "There's always high expectations here. Our goal is to be the last team standing, and we haven't done that the past couple of years. Understanding the responsibility and what's ahead of us, and just embrace it. We have a really good opportunity to do something special here, so that's the messaging there."

Mendoza also discussed the importance of building team cohesion, and believes some of the new players' experience can play a helpful part.

"I'm the leader, but I also feel like we have a pretty good leadership group there so I think it's a group effort. Just building relationships, connections, so we can earn the trust. That's how you start forming that foundation. I think it's important. 

"I said it the other day, these guys, even though they are new faces playing together for the first time, they've known each other for a long time. We got a lot of guys that have been around this league, so they know each other. I think it's just now a matter of us putting it together. Coming together as a team and go out there and do the things that we need to do on the field.

Christian Scott 'competing and being himself'

Mendoza was pleased with what he saw from right-hander Christian Scott, who threw a live bullpen session on Monday. The 26-year-old looks to work his way back to the big leagues after missing the entire 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery recovery. 

"It's all about health and he looks healthy today. I think he was up to 95 (mph)," Mendoza said. "The cutter is a pitch now that looks really good. Again, we got to build him up, but it's good to see him back out there on the mound competing and being himself this early."

Scott made nine starts during the 2024 season, posting 39 strikeouts over 47.1 IP, before getting injured. It's likely that he'll start the year in Triple-A to keep building up, but he could still be a valuable contributor to New York's rotation at some point during the season.

Mendoza said there isn't a definitive plan for Scott yet compared to other pitchers, but the righty's fastball has looked good and "he's put himself in this position and he's ready to go now."

"I wouldn't say so. He's got to pitch, he's got to pitch. We've got to build him up," Mendoza said. "But the fact that he's already throwing two innings, up to 30-something pitches is a good sign. Again, we need this guy. Our job is to keep him healthy and we will continue to build him up and see where we're at."

Carlos Mendoza believes Christian Scott was throwing up to 95 MPH in today's live BP:

"We've got to build him up, but it's good to see him back out there on the mound competing and being himself this early." pic.twitter.com/BHBrkCONRN

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 16, 2026

Luis Robert Jr. to benefit from new surroundings

One of New York's big offseason acquisitions was trading for Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. The outfielder became a well-known name in 2023 after hitting 38 home runs, but injuries have dampened his production the past two seasons, combining for just 28 homers over 210 games.

Chicago's overall struggles the past couple of years did not help Robert, as he was one of their few above-average players and often looked at as someone who could save the team. Now, he'll be teammates with multiple All-Stars, including Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, and Marcus Semien, allowing him to focus on playing quality baseball.

"We know what he can do when he's healthy. We saw it in 2023," Mendoza said. "The fact now that he's going to be surrounded with pretty good players, and probably you're not asking him to carry the load for the team. So I think it maybe takes something off his shoulder and just concentrate on playing baseball.

"Our job is to keep him on the field, keep him healthy. But we know that when he's healthy, he can do some things that are special. I'm excited that he's here with us. We're counting on a lot of the guys that are going to help him get to that next level."

Jorge Polanco's impressive approach at the plate

Another one of David Stearns' offseason moves was signing veteran Jorge Polanco to a two-year deal with the expectation for him to play mostly first base. While it's something he hasn't done at the major-league level, the Mets are confident in the former middle infielder's ability.

Despite his defense being a topic of conversation, it's his approach at the plate that has stood out to Mendoza early this spring.

"His ability to spread the ball around the field," Mendoza said. "He goes the other way, he puts the ball in play, he's just a tough at-bat. He'll give you a quality at-bat from both sides, righty or lefty. His ability to drive the ball, I think he drove one today. But then I also see him go the other way, foul off some pitches. 

"He's just like I said, he's a professional at-bat. So that's what we've seen throughout his career and so far in live BP, that's what we've seen."

Polanco owned a .265 batting average last season with Seattle, hitting .305 vs. LHP and .254 vs. RHP. Mendoza believes that skillset will be very valuable for New York this year, especially with his versatility from both sides.

According to Dennis Lin of The Athletic, Ty France is expected to join the San Diego Padres’ Spring Training camp as a non-roster invitee after signing a minor-league deal with the team.

France, 31, has a career .262 batting average in seven big-league seasons with five organizations. He made his debut in the majors with the Padres in 2019 before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners at the following trade deadline. 

In 2025, France split time between the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .257 in 490 combined at-bats with the two clubs. The first baseman was acquired by the Blue Jays to become a defensive replacement for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. His ability around the bag upgraded the Jays infield defense.

The veteran was honored for his elite fielding at first base by winning his first Gold Glove this past offseason. France led all first basemen with a +10 Outs Above Average (OAA) and recorded a .996 fielding percentage.

The Friars have added a reliable glove to their infield mix. France will compete with Nick Castellanos, Miguel Andujar and Gavin Sheets for playing time at first base and designated hitter.

We knew Tommy Edman was behind in spring training after undergoing right ankle surgery in November, and on Monday morning at Camelback Ranch, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts ruled out the utility man for opening day. Edman will begin the regular season on the injured list, per the many beat reporters on site in Arizona.

From Katie Woo at The Athletic:

“Just looking as to where his ankle is at, trying to play the long view,” Roberts said. “You don’t want to have any regression or setbacks, so how can we be methodical with it. For me, knowing he’s just taking swings, isn’t up to full speed doing the baseball stuff, it takes a lot to get your body into baseball shape. We’re not going to rush it. Want to put him in the best position.”

This mirrors what Edman said during Dodgers Fest at Dodger Stadium on January 31, just two and a half weeks after his walking boot was removed.

“I’m really hopeful I’ll be able to put the ankle injuries of the last couple of years behind me. It’s something I kind of dealt with throughout ’24 and ’25, and I feel like it affected the way to play the game I normally would be able to,” Edman said in January. “I’m thankful I got the surgery when I did, and everything’s gone very smooth with recovery so far. The part of the ankle that was bugging me hasn’t popped up at all during recovery. Now it’s just getting used to putting weight on that leg and pushing off in an efficient way.

“The timetable is more of as I progress, so it’s kind of hard to say when I’ll be able to hop back into a major league game again. … I want to make sure I’m a full go, and don’t have to worry about [the ankle] again the rest of the year.”

Coupled with the newly-re-signed Kiké Hernández out until roughly midseason after left elbow surgery, that opens up a few roster spots among Dodgers position players for the early part of the season, including Hyeseong Kim and Alex Freeland in the mix for playing time at second base along with veteran Miguel Rojas.

The locker room at Camelback Ranch is quite spacious, but the Dodgers are testing its capacity this spring training. The latest addition is infielder Santiago Espinal, who was signed to a minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to spring training, per the variousbeat reporterson site in Arizona.

Espinal makes 34 Dodgers non-roster invitees in camp, including 12 non-catching position players.

Espinal, 31, has played in the majors in each of the last six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. Last year in 114 games with Cincinnati, Espinal hit .243/.292/.282 with 12 doubles and no home runs in 328 plate appearances. Over his career the right-handed-batting Espinal is a .261/.316/.349 hitter with an 85 wRC+, including .291/.344/.409 with a 107 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.

The veteran has played all over the infield, with 196 career starts at third base, 180 starts at second base, 34 starts at shortstop, plus seven starts in right field, six in left, and two starts at first base.

Espinal is at least nominally part of the competition for playing time at second base with Tommy Edman set to start the regular season on the injured list after right ankle surgery in November, manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Monday at Camelback Ranch.

Should Espinal happen make the Dodgers roster, he would have the right to refuse any minor league assignment due to his five years, 149 days of major league service time.

The Royals had made moves to contend in 2014, but still, their postseason run had a “we’re just happy to be here” feel, where every day the team was playing with house money. They parlayed that attitude into a pennant, falling just short of winning one of the most improbable championships in modern baseball history.

The 2024 Royals had a more improbable postseason appearance, after improving by 30 wins that season. They had a remarkable sweep over the Orioles in the Wild Card round, but the clock struck midnight in the ALDS against the Yankees. Still, most everyone saw it as an extraordinarily successful season after losing 106 games the year before.

But expectations change, and the definition of “success” changes with it. The Royals have established they are no longer a cellar-dwelling team, but can they go from being in baseball’s middle class to reaching the penthouse?

What would you consider a successful 2026 season?

If you heard a collective sigh of relief, it came from the Friar Faithful this morning. 

San Diego Union-Tribune writer Kevin Acee reported (subscription required) the San Diego Padres and President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller have agreed on a multi-year contract extension.

The agreement ends the speculation of Preller’s potential departure that surfaced this winter. His previous deal would have expired at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

In an official team statement, Padres chairman John Seidler praised Preller for his commitment to winning and positioning the franchise for sustained success. 

The Friars are coming off consecutive 90-plus win seasons, as the club has reached the postseason four out of the last six seasons (2020, 2022, 2024, and 2025). Plus, the team set a new attendance record at Petco Park with over 3.4 million fans last season. 

Preller is affectionately known as the “Rockstar GM” by the Friar Faithful for his ability to make numerous player moves in a rapid-fire manner.

His first offseason saw Preller orchestrate 10 trades before the start of the 2015 season. He showed the willingness to trade top prospects for talent who can make an immediate impact on the field.

At the 2020 trade deadline, he completed six trades in less than 72 hours. Preller overhauled the roster, shedding 16 players while landing 10 new additions in return. The trades ignited the Friars to make their first postseason appearance in his tenure. 

Hired by the Padres in August of 2014, Preller is now the second-longest tenured baseball executive in the majors, trailing only Brian Cashman of the New York Yankees.

No terms of the contract extension were announced.

The path to the big leagues hasn't changed for Yankees top prospect Spencer Jones -- he's entered another spring training blocked by a group of veteran outfielders recognized as everyday starters.

But the slim chance of reaching the majors once camp breaks isn't lost on the 24-year-old slugger. 

In spite of the obstacles in his way, Jones realizes the opportunity to wear pinstripes in 2026 also rides upon clear progression, wherever his season begins.

"The biggest focus for me this spring is to focus on the little things I do well," he said Monday in Tampa. "Between hitting the ball, playing good defense, and stealing bases, I'm just going to try to be the best athlete I can be every day."

Jones' stock has fluctuated in recent years, largely due to alarming swing-and-miss habits. He struck out 37 percent of the time across 122 games with Double-A Somerset in 2024, and the contact troubles caused his external value to plummet.

But the 6-foot-7, 240-pound lefty discovered new power in a breakout 2025 campaign, leading all of MiLB in home runs (35) between stints with Double-A and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Overall, he slashed .274/.362/.571 with 80 RBI and an OPS of .932. 

Jones credited swing alterations to the boost in his production, and he spent the entire offseason refining his plate approach even further. He believes the changes in the batter's box will "pay off."

"The plan is to stick with [the adjustments] the whole season," Jones said. "I feel like I'm progressing well. I know the organization values me and I've had success. It's only a matter of time... I'm very confident. I'm very excited for this coming year and to show people what I can do."

While the Yankees were reluctant to move Jones as a trade chip last summer, it's unclear when -- or if -- he'll make his MLB debut with the club. 

The odds of Jones or Jasson Dominguez battling for the Opening Day job in left field took a huge hit when the Yankees re-signed Cody Bellinger, and manager Aaron Boone addressed that topic just a few weeks ago.

"The reality is that [the outlook] does change," Boone said. "We got Cody right back in the center of the mix and [Trent Grisham] back. That maybe complicates some things for [Jones and Dominguez], but we also know what potentially outstanding players they are going to be in this league."

Entering his age-25 season, Jones fell short of appearing on MLB Pipeline and Baseball America's preseason Top 100 Prospects lists for 2026.

Pitchers and catchers have reported, optimism is in the air, and the first spring training game is this Saturday! Baseball is upon us, and in less than two months, it’ll be Opening Day, and we can enjoy cheap drinks, courtesy of the Twins. All is well in Twins Territory. (besides…y’know, everything else surrounding the team).

The Past Week on Twinkie Town:

• Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
• We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
• How can you not be romantic about Twinkie Town Movie Night? Many thanks to James Fillmore for organizing our Friday movie nights. We’ve got Back to the Future III coming up this week!
• Matt Monitto rounds up the 22 non-roster invitees to spring training.
• We’re onto Round 16 of Zach Koenig’s Greatest Twins Moments and Performances list.
• The Twins made another move this past week, and Ben Jones has more on the trade for Anthony Banda.
• Zach Koenig takes us allllllll the way back to baseball in 1936.
• Ben Jones provides his first roster projection of spring training.

Elsewhere in Twins Territory:

• Dan Hayes at The Athletic has a look at Byron Buxton’s mindset heading into spring training.
• Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune checks in with new “old Twin” Liam Hendriks as he tries to make the team.
• Matthew Leach at MLB.com looks at one major change that Royce Lewis made this offseason – a new coach.
• Betsy Helfand at the Pioneer Press catches up with Joe Ryan and his eventful offseason.

In the World of Baseball:

• Old friend Ty France is back with the San Diego Padres.
• Anthony Castrovince at MLB.com has the breakdown of the new ABS system coming to Major League Baseball.
• Jeff Passan at ESPN looks at the impact of Kyle Tucker’s contract on potential labor discussions with the CBA expiring at the end of this year.

With spring training opening up this week, many people are going to start remembering that baseball is about to begin. Hearing the pitchers and catcher popping mitts again is always the best sound reminder that we have that our blessed game is around the corner and soon after that, position players will return.

Then we’ll have actual games!

As always, whenever a new season begins, there are new storylines to follow that will have a rather sizeable impact on how the season could possibly play out. The major ones have already been talked about in other formats – the health of Zack Wheeler, the happiness of Bryce Harper. Instead of simply rehashing them, let’s talk about a little more niche things to keep an eye on once practices and games start to begin.

How does Jose Alvarado look?

There has been a lot of complaining this offseason about the Phillies not making enough changes to a roster that has failed to return to the World Series since making in 2022. Some of it is fair, some of it eyebrow raising. Yet something that has been overlooked is that their bullpen is suddenly, at least on paper, one of the better overall units in the game. They have a lot of pitchers that can get outs by themselves via the strikeout and can do so from the right side. It has been a weakness of theirs the last few years, to have few right handed options that could get outs without having to rely on the defense.

Yet one of their offseason moves involved trading Matt Strahm to Kansas City, weakening themselves from the left handed side in the process. They boasted three left handed pitchers in the bullpen that were all quite good, so trading Strahm represented a belief that the other two returnees – Jose Alvarado and Tanner Banks – will be good enough to withstand the loss of Strahm.

That does put a target on Alvarado’s back to regain his form from early 2025.

We know that he was suspended for 81 games last year due to a failed PED test, which makes that success a bit more suspect. He repeatedly said it was a tainted weight loss supplement that he took, which caused him to fail. When he did return, he didn’t look right at all and needed to be shut down for the rest of the season with an elbow issue.

That return from injury is all the more important considering the sudden lack of left handed depth they have in the bullpen. In Alvarado’s absence, Strahm stepped up and had an excellent season while Banks filled in to become one of Rob Thomson’s more trusted relievers towards the end of the season. Strahm is now gone, which leaves just the pair at the major league level. They have other options on minor league deals like Tim Mayza, Kyle Backhus and Genesis Cabrera, but it’s not exactly the same as having the trio the Phillies had to begin 2025.

What Alvarado looks like this spring will go a long way easing that anxiety that they don’t have enough. There are legitimate questions around him: how is his velocity? What kind of shape is he in? The answers to these questions need to be positive. Otherwise, there might be some issues.

What does Andrew Painter’s fastball look like?

Painter’s 2025 was something of a disappointment, depending on how one chooses to view it. From a health standpoint, he was able to get through the entire season healthy, without much of a setback, so that has to be considered a success. Production, on the other hands, was lacking. He just did not come back from his surgery and dominate in the way many thought a prospect of his caliber should. A lot of that is likely because of his fastball. Matt Winkelman put it best:

The problems start with Painter’s four seam fastball. Once an elite pitch before the injury, it was a liability by the end of the season. Predictably for a pitcher ramping back up from not pitching for two years, he gradually lost a little bit of velocity month over month. His arm slot also changed, and it led to less vertical movement. Since Painter’s height is never going to give him good attack angle on the pitch, the loss of movement led to it being very hittable in the strike zone. The problem seemed to also get worse when he introduced a sinker to his arsenal midway through the season. If Painter’s 4-seam fastball is not going to be as dynamic as it was in 2022, the sinker will help him get weak contact in the zone and is a good addition to his arsenal. If the Phillies can clean up his arm slot and find consistency between the two different fastball shapes, it won’t return it to being a dominant pitch, but it will prevent it from being a liability.

It’s going to be something to watch with Painter as the spring progresses. If he does not have that power fastball back, he’s going to have to rely on contact more than he should, which could lead to baseballs being hit into places where fielders are not occupying the space. It’s so important for pitchers in the modern game to be able to get outs via the strikeout and it really does start with the fastball.

For Andrew Painter, it could be very important.

How is Justin Crawford faring against major league pitching?

It would be one thing for Crawford to find lots of success when he’s having that success in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Those are the ones where the big league pitchers have gone home, gone to stretch, gone to run and the minor league options are on the mound in auditions for their organization. Considering that he has had a good amount of success against these kinds of hitters, were Crawford to replicate it during spring training, it shouldn’t be surprising.

Instead, it would be more indicative of where his level is when we see him face major league pitching. How Crawford fares against major league pitching when he gets a chance to face them is going to be crucial to see if he is truly ready to make the leap the major leagues. The team has more or less anointed him as their center fielder to begin the season, likely putting him lower in the order to lessen the burden on his production. So, it would be more productive to make sure he is hitting at or near the top of the order when games start so that he gets a chance to face that major league hitting as often as possible. Things are going to be complicated a bit when scores of pitchers he would otherwise face during Grapefruit League games head out for WBC preparation, but there will still be some that remain in their various camps. Rob Thomson and company should make sure that Crawford is seeing these pitchers as much as possible to make sure he is as accustomed to them as can be. It’s not the same thing, of course, but it’ll be the closest the team can get to major league quality pitching.

Today we look at the switch-hitting prospect from Venezuela.

Pedro Javier Ramirez is 21 years old and won’t be 22 until April Fool’s Day, which he will most likely spend in Iowa. He has a chance to reach The Show to start the year, but it’s a relatively small chance and he can likely use the time to hone his craft.

In five years, Ramirez has risen through the Cubs system, starting at Myrtle Beach, where he was a Pelican, and moving on to South Bend and Knoxville. He sports a lifetime MiLB slash of .291/.362/.412, which is not bad at all. He has decent wheels, having stolen 86 bases during his time in the organization, and boasts a .774 OPS, again, not bad. He strikes out a bit but in general gets good wood on the ball with a level stroke — his power is limited but he looks to have an MLB future, perhaps as a utility man with starter upside.

He’s a little guy — 5’9”, 165. Unlikely that he’ll develop any more than 10-homer power, but you never know. He can flash some glove — I’ve seen him play a little, and no doubt Josh could tell you more, and probably has, but his time is next year and beyond, I’d say. He does play third, short, and second base, though his numbers have a heavy middle-infield sort of lean.

We’ll have to see how he develops, along with tomorrow’s featuree James Triantos, and the Cubs will have to determine whether they are kept in-house or dealt for other players. Both have room to grow.

But… this bears repeating. Ramirez’ glove is for real and his bat does have life to it.

Sheng-En Lin claimed the #19 spot in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, doing so after finally getting shifted to a pitch-only player after having previously been considered a two-way prospect. The results were quite good on the mound as he reached Class-A Daytona, and the hope now is that as he focuses solely on the mound that he’ll continue to improve and refine his already talented approach.

Now, we take the voting into the final spot, with #20 next up on the list!

Per usual, you can find the link to the Google Form for voting right here, yet it’s also embedded at the bottom if you want to read through first and not have to embark upon the painstaking process of scrolling all the way back up here. Both link and embed will be removed once voting closes so you can’t stuff the ballot post facto, however, so be advised that this paragraph will make zero sense if you stumble back across it a year from now.

Here’s how the list has materialized so far:

1. Sal Stewart
2. Alfredo Duno
3. Rhett Lowder
4. Hector Rodriguez
5. Edwin Arroyo
6. Cam Collier
7. Steele Hall
8. Tyson Lewis
9. Chase Petty
10. Arnaldo Lantigua
11. Jose Franco
12. Zach Maxwell
13. Leo Balcazar
14. Adolfo Sanchez
15. Carlos Jorge
16. Aaron Watson
17. Julian Aguiar
18. Tyler Callihan
19. Sheng-En Lin

A large list of talented names exists below for spot #20. Have at it with the votes!

Liberts Aponte, SS (18 years old)

2025 at a glance: .247/.368/.461 with 7 HR, 9 SB in 193 PA for DSL Rojos (Dominican Summer League)

Pros: 29/35 K/BB showed greatly improving strike zone awareness; already a plus defender at short where he projects to be excellent both with range and arm long-term

Cons: Still not viewed as a potential plus with the bat, though early returns are already better than original scouting reports; has a long way to go in terms of physically maturing

The Reds doled out $1.9 million to sign Aponte last January, and that marked the single largest contract they doled out in that particular international signing window. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the #18 player overall in that class, noting he was ‘one of the most skilled defenders in his class’ and ‘offers solid wheels’ with ‘magic in his hands’ while doling out a 65 grade on his fielding ability.

The rest, we knew, would take time, as he was just liked at 6’0” and 160 lbs, and that even felt like a slight exaggeration. To his credit, though, he mashed 7 homers as a 17 year old in DSL play while showing more power than anticipated, and if that aspect of his game grows to match what’s already known the Reds have found themselves a gem.

It will be interesting to see if the Reds push him up to Arizona Complex League play at all in 2026 or give him another year in the DSL seeing as he just turned 18 years old in November.

Luke Holman, RHP (23 years old)

2025 at a glance: ER, 2 H, 10 K, 4 BB in 9.0 IP with Daytona Tortugas (Class-A Florida State League

Pros: Two plus breaking pitches (slider, curve)

Cons: Not a ton of velocity on his fastball, which sits 91-94 mph

Luke Holman threw 109 pitches for LSU in a 6-2 loss to North Carolina on June 1st, 2024, a game in which he yielded 4 ER in 6.2 IP with 7 H, 11 K, and a lone walk. Since then, he’s thrown just 9.0 IP on a mound, total.

Holman, Cincinnati’s 2nd round pick in 2024, sat out the remainder of 2024 after being drafted, finishing his calendar year with 91.2 IP of 2.75 ERA ball that included a wonderful 0.98 WHIP and 127/33 K/BB. When his 2025 began in Daytona, all signs looked promising in his first pair of starts only for an elbow issue to subsequently sit him down and require Tommy John surgery, and we’ve not seen him since.

He sat 91-94 with his fastball (and touched 96) before, and has a pair of wicked breaking balls that he uses as his out pitches. If he returns to form in 2026 the way he ways before (or even better!), he still profiles as a back-end starter who should move quickly through Cincinnati’s system after dominating SEC play in stints first with Alabama and later with LSU.

Mason Morris, RHP (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: 9.00 ERA, 7/1 K/BB in 4.0 IP with Class-A Daytona Tortugas; 3.29 ERA, 78/31 K/BB in 54.2 IP with University of Mississippi

Pros: Fastball that can touch 100 mph; four-pitch mix

Cons: Lack of experience

Mason Morris landed with Ole Miss in 2023 primarily as a corner infielder, and the now 6’4” 225 lb righty only recently became a full-time pitcher prior to the Reds selecting him with their 3rd round pick in 2025. He’s got projection through the roof, though, with a 100 mph heater, plus cutter, and a pair of other breaking balls that look like they’ve also got the juice.

The question, though, is how Cincinnati plans to use him.

Morris only got a pair of outings as a pro after being drafted, and it appears the Reds have intentions on seeing if he can develop into a starting pitcher. That’s something he’s never really done before, however, and he’ll turn 23 years old in August of 2026. So, we’ll see how long of a leash the Reds give him with that avenue, since if they want to simply keep him in the bullpen there’s very little reason why he shouldn’t rocket through the minors and give them a legit relief arm at the big league level in short order.

Mason Neville, OF (22 years old)

2025 at a glance: .247/.333/.442 with 1 HR, 2 SB in 90 PA with Class-A Daytona Tortugas (Florida State League); .290/.429/.724 with 26 HR, 9 SB in 280 PA with University of Oregon

Pros: 60-grade power with potential plus arm and plus speed & baserunning; chance to stick in CF, though still profiles as a solid RF if moved to the corner; led Division I with 26 HR in final season at Oregon

Cons: Lots of swing and miss in his game, at times, including a 34.4% rate in his short sample with Daytona

The Reds clearly love Neville, as they drafted him in the 18th round out of high school 2022 only to watch him initially attend the University of Arkansas. After transferring to Oregon and swatting more dingers than anyone else in 2025, the Reds went back to him in the 4th round of the most recent draft.

Neville is incredibly toolsy, his left-handed swing producing significant power when he makes contact. He’s good at working walks despite his swing-and-miss proclivities, and posesses the kind of athleticism and speed to be a legitimate CF.

His tiny sample with Daytona has some red flags with the Ks, but it’s such a small sample that it’s hard to take it with too much certainty. For instance, he hit .298/.365/.526 through his first 17 games there only to go 2 for 20 with 9 Ks across his final 6 games – that could, and likely is, all small-sample noise.

Big tools, that Neville. He could well be the steal of the 2025 draft.

Ricky Cabrera, 3B (21 years old)

2025 at a glance: .187/.276/.240 with 0 HR, 0 SB in 89 PA with High-A Dayton Dragons (Midwest League)

Pros: Above-average power, speed, and hit tool, with an arm that’s good enough to play at 3B (if he can find his accuracy)

Cons: An absolutely lost 2025 season that included a season-ending knee injury

The optimist in you sees that Cabrera only just turned 21 years old in October, and in 2024 posted a 110 wRC+ with 11 HR and 19 SB in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Florida State League with Daytona (with said wRC+, along with his OPS, both ranking among that league’s top 10). That same optimist probably would point out that 2025 saw the Venezuela native play in the cold April weather of the Midwest League with Dayton for the first time, and he struggled mightily in those new conditions before a knee injury rendered his 2025 completely lost.

There’s still a lot to like about Cabrera, even though he’s physically matured off shortstop at this juncture and likely profiles as a 3B, or potentially at 2B defensively – with his defense needing just as much improvement as his bat at the moment, too. If the batting cage stuff can begin to translate onto the field again post-injury, there’s still a ton to like about the former $2.7 million signee and Top 5 overall international prospect from the 2022 class.

I’m assuming there is no pessimist in you, for now.

Hansel Jimenez, SS/3B (19 years old)

2025 at a glance: .269/.374/.445 with 5 HR, 12 SB in 147 PA for DSL Reds (Dominican Summer League); .229/.345/.364 with 4 HR, 3 SB in 142 PA for Sydney Blue Sox (Australian Baseball League)

Pros: 70 grade raw power (per FanGraphs) with potential to be a plus runner, fielder, and have a plus arm

Cons: Potential swing and miss issues (25.9% K-rate in the DSL, 64% contact rate); may end up at 3B long term

Signed for an undisclosed amount during the 2024 international signing period, Jimenez has immediately hit the ground running in prospect circles with his mix of potentially elite athleticism and batted-ball metrics that jump right off the page.

After dabbling in DSL play in 2024 at age 17 (6 for 14 with a double and 4 steals in 5 G), he repeated that level in 2025 and more than held his own with an .820 OPS. Those solid surface stats hide his pretty monumental 45% hard-hit rate, 106 mph EV90, and maximum exit velocity of 113 mph – all numbers posted by an 18 year old. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs has him ranked 12th (right behind Tyson Lewis) and notes the multiple similarities between the two, though Jimenez is a full year younger.

We’re pretty partial to FanGraphs here at Bless You Boys. They combine outstanding writing with all the statistics you could want to understand baseball and baseball players, and their subscription cost is extremly reasonable and has remained low for years now. They also have Eric Longenhagen, probably the most thorough analyst on the national prospect scene.

So, the drop of their spring top 100 prospects list is always a notable occasion. It doesn’t hurt that the Tigers’ farm system is pretty great at this point, either. What’s particularly nice, is that you can go over and read their extensive reports on each top 100 player without a paywall, though you will then be subject to the ad-based version of the sight, as you deserve!

Seriously, FanGraphs deserves subscribers.

But I digress…the Tigers have five prospects on FanGraphs new list of 50 FV or better top prospects in the game. They go 110 players deep this year rather than the arbitrary 100 player cutoff found eldwhere.

You won’t be surprised to find Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, Bryce Rainer, and Josue Briceño all made the list, but unlike a lot of other sites, FanGraphs still has Thayron Liranzo as a 50 FV prospect. Most of the national sites and a lot of local prospect coverage dumped Liranzo all the way down to the 45 and even 40+ tiers after a tough season in which he made the leap to Double-A full-time at age 21 and struck out 31.7 percent of the time, while looking very run down in the summer months and not playing that much behind the pate.

Personally, I kept Liranzo at 45+, just outside of top 100 level, knowing that he’d had some personal issues, and that a switch-hitting, 21-year-old catcher has an enormous workload and level of responsiblity compared to anyone else on the roster. Not only do they have their work behind the plate and plenty of extra drilling on framing, blocking, and throwing, but he’s also learning to hit upper level pitching from both sides of the plate rather than just one. That’s a lot for a player who was still younger than most of the 2025 draft class.

Evan Woodbery of MLive had a great article over the weekend detailing the difficulties of that season. That is paywalled, but the short version is that Liranzo’s long-time trainer, who was like a second father to him, died unexpectedly during the season, and fatigue really started crushing him in the second half of the season as the swing and miss piled up.

Here’s a key quote from Scott Harris in Woodbery’s article, which can be found right here.

In the middle of the season, Liranzo’s longtime trainer, whom he considered a father figure, passed away. He dealt with family problems back home in the Dominican Republic. A shoulder injury limited him to designated hitter duty at times.

“All these things were affecting me, and I didn’t really know how to handle it,” he said. “It was my first time going through something like that, and I wasn’t having a good year on the field either. Everything kind of piled up on me, and I felt like I lost my head a little bit.”

The Tigers pushed him to get leaner over the offseason, and Liranzo got his diet sorted out and went all out on the strength and conditioning program laid out for him heading into the offseason. He lost a ton of weight, showing up to camp looking much leaner and stronger, it’s glaringly obvious in pictures from camp, and put plenty of work into refining his defensive game.

This is still a catcher who switch-hits and has double plus power hitting left-handed and a good eye from the strike zone. His power is closer to plus hitting right-handed. Reaching Double-A at age 21 is already a minor accomplishment, but particularly impressive with all the added demands on a catcher. This is still the guy who mauled Arizona Fall League pitching back in October of 2024, and he’s still four years younger than Dillon Dingler was when he finally estabished himself as an everyday big league catcher last year. The jump to the upper levels is no joke.

There is still plenty of swing and miss in the zone, and Liranzo does need to clean up some wasted motion in his swing mechanics to simplify his hand path. He’s probably always going to strike out quite a bit, but as a catcher and first baseman who walks and has 40 home run power, the risk in his hit tool is counterbalanced pretty nicely by his enormous potential. So, a high risk, high reward prospect, still 22 years old. He’s not McGonigle or Clark, but that’s a lot of young player as the fifth ranked prospect in the system. With luck, the Tigers will essentially get something like a switch-hitting Alex Avila who is better as a second catcher on a squad rather than the everyday guy.

McGonigle, interestingly, checks in as FanGraphs 5th ranked prospect after landing in the second spot on most other rankings. Clark is 7th, with both of them getting 60 FV grades. Shorstop Bryce Rainer is 23rd as a 55 FV prospect. Briceño comes it at 63rd with a 50 FV grade, while a pretty deep group of prospects in that 50 FV tier leaves Liranzo 105th out of 110 prospects graded 50 FV or higher.

You find FanGraphs rankings and full reports on all 110 players here.