Category: Baseball

Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter shined in his regular-season debut in Cleveland’s 6-4 win over the Mariners in Thursday’s Opening Day matchup at T-Mobile Park.

His family and his girlfriend, Isabella Fitzwater, couldn’t contain their excitement when DeLauter hit his first career home run in the top of the first inning to give Cleveland an early 1-0 lead.

But before they could celebrate, they had to make sure the hit was legit.

Chase DeLauter's family wanted to be sure it was a homer before they started celebrating https://t.co/XBf71RV4u9pic.twitter.com/QpyEJdjPxf

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2026

The broadcast focused on DeLauter’s family standing and waiting for the umpire to signal his finger in the air and circle it — and when he did, they began cheering, as seen in an X video by MLB.

The 24-year-old DeLauter went 3-for-5 with two home runs to become the first player in Cleveland franchise history to hit multiple home runs in his regular-season debut.

The broadcast showed his family again cheering during his second homer to right field at the top of the ninth inning, which gave the Guardians a 6-4 lead over Seattle.

DeLauter became the seventh player in MLB history to hit two homers in his first regular-season game, and the first since Trevor Story in 2016, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

A 2-HR game for Chase DeLauter!

His first two homers in the Majors pic.twitter.com/Cgx9ETs5jL

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2026

His girlfriend praised him in an Instagram Story post.

“AN OPENING DAY HOMERUN!!!!!” Fitzwater wrote, including a few teary-eyed emojis and a photo of him blasted on the scoreboard. “@chasedelauter you never fail to amaze me.”

View this post on Instagram

After his second homer, she wrote, “ARE WE SERIOUS @chasedelauter the most deserving I love you.”

DeLauter’s dad, his stepdad, mom, brother, best friend and his best friend’s mom were all in attendance, according to MLB.com.

He shared that his dad flew to Seattle from back home in West Virginia and had not flown in a while.

“It’s unbelievable,” his dad, Jason, said. “I know the debut in the playoffs, he was super excited about that. We were blindsided by it, to be able to get called up like that. He’s just worked. He’s continued to work. None of this was guaranteed.”

The Guardians and Mariners face off again Friday night at T-Mobile Park.

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 can’t possibly be expected to keep so many streaming services for the sake of watching a handful of baseball games in a season. Will all of this streaming of baseball games have a point where it stops expanding? Or, perhaps a better question is will we ever go back to a one-stop service where an out-of-market family can watch ALL the games in a season?

Everyone is looking ahead to the 2027 season and the labor dispute that’s sure to boil over into a lockout, and with good reason, but the media rights landscape that MLB is navigating may just be the second-biggest issue facing the sport right now. The league is pushing streaming heavily these past couple of years, securing deals with Apple, Amazon Prime, and now Netflix among the biggest names to get a foothold on covering regular season games. They’re hardly the only league to be doing so, but MLB faces the dual issue of being a more regional broadcast sport compared to the others in the North American big four, and those regional networks are struggling right now. Turnover from bankruptcy has seen the likes of Bally Sports and the FanDuel Network already come and go in a lot of places, leaving many franchises in a bit of a bind with their day-to-day broadcasts.

The Yankees haven’t felt this side of the issue as much, thanks to the success of the YES Network freeing them up to be one of the few flagship stations that’s thriving. However, that success then gets cut into by the league forcing a foothold for streaming, because any media rights deal is going to demand to see a premier franchise like the Yankees on their site. This leads to a massive headache for the fans, and at the same time isn’t even pulling many new eyes towards the league — but it is bringing in a wave of revenue. I don’t know how they can remedy these issues, but one thing is for sure: the league isn’t slowing down on this front anytime soon, unfortunately.

Russo Radio asks: Why are we holding onto Blackburn as a sure ‘pen member? What am I missing? It looks to me like he gave up basically five runs a game for years and still does the same now!

The simple answer is that bullpen depth is bullpen depth, and the team sees enough in Paul Blackburn to give him some room to throw in the bottom of the ‘pen — at least to start the year out. He’s only been with the team since the back-half of last year, but his numbers largely showed improvement since coming over from the Mets: his strikeout rate spiked from 16.4 percent to 24.6 percent, his walk rate dipped a bit to 6.2 percent, and while his ERA remained high at an unsightly 5.28 his FIP was a much more manageable 4.39, while his expected rates were significantly lower than that mark at 2.92 and 3.54 respectively. That’s enough to showcase room for tinkering with Matt Blake and company, so while the early reserves of the pitching staff are being used to support the starting rotation with three regular members still out, Blackburn can stick around and work with the mop up role. There’s the potential that he earns his way into some middle leverage, but at worst-case the Yankees move on once pitchers start to return and push the fringe starters back into the bullpen.

treatycity asks:This applies to Winquest. Drafted as Rule 5 player the Yanks must keep him on their MLB roster the entire season, so he’s on their 40-man. Let’s just say that he stays on their 40-man the entire season, would he have three options available starting next season, if they need/want to use them?

To clarify, it’s not enough for Cade Winquest to sit on the 40-man roster all year — he has to stay on the active 26-man roster, barring IL stints, all season in order for the Rule 5 restrictions to be lifted. Should he accomplish that, and log more than 90 days on the active roster in the case of a long-term IL trip, then he’ll be freed up to the larger 40-man roster and regain the options in his rookie contract starting next year.

Opening Day for the Atlanta Braves is finally here and they will actually be playing a home game. The last time they had a home game to open the season was back in 2022 against the Cincinnati Reds where Max Fried gave up five earned runs, resulting in a loss.

Today they will be taking on the Kansas City Royals and their ace Cole Ragans. Ragans had a hard year last season with a groin injury and a rotator cuff injury which shortened his season to only thirteen starts. In 61.2 innings he struggled to a 4.67 ERA, but had a solid WHIP of 1.18.

Ragans is good example where a small sample size hurt his ERA. According to Statcast he had an expected ERA (xERA) of 2.67, which would be in the best 4.0 of MLB. He also struck out 38.1 percent of the hitters he faced, which is good for top 3.0 percent of all qualified pitchers. Hitters only had an expected batting average of .187. Needless to say, he showed many signs of his ERA dropping over time, even in an injury riddled season. The Braves may have their hands full trying to squeak out runs today, which is why it is odd that as of right now Jonah Heim is slotted to start.

Kyle Farmer is second on the ream with eleven at-bats against Ragans and has struggled to an OPS of .606, albeit with a .273 average. This may be why Heim is in the lineup and Farmer is not.  Mauricio Dubón leads the team with twelve at-bats and has been successful against Ragans with a .333 average and .916 OPS. He could be the key to winning this game.

Of all the other players that will start, no one has more than two at-bats. Austin Riley hit a two-run HR in his only at-bat against Ragans and Michael Harris had a double in one of his two at-bats. Everyone one else is hitless. Ragans’ lone appearance against the Braves was in 2023 as a member of the Rangers where he came in as a long reliever to pitch 3.0 innings and surrendered four ER.

Chris Sale will be getting the ball as the Opening Day starter for the Braves yet again this season. This is seventh time in his career to get that honor.  Three with the White Sox, two with the Red Sox, and two with the Braves.

Of the players that Sale will likely face today, no one comes close to the number of at-bats that Salvador Perez has against him. Perez has faced him an astonishing sixty-eight times. No one else on the Royals has faced him more than seven. In those sixty-eight at-bats Perez has one HR with a .265 average and .628 OPS. Lane Thomas and Starling Marte have each faced Sale seven times and have an OPS of .679 and .572 respectively.

With the Braves’ rotation being as depleted as it is, every Chris Sale start will have even more importance. Today is only the first game of many this season, but it would be encouraging to get a Chris Sale dominated start and prevent on the first day this season what happened last season when the Braves got swept to start the season.

The first pitch is at 7:15 EDT at Truist Park.

Game Notes

Time: Friday, March 27 at 7:15 p.m. EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Ga

TV: BravesVission, Gray TV

Streaming: MLB.TV audio

Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan

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Reigning division champs collide again at T-Mobile Park as the Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners lock horns — and it’ll take some special hitting to top last night’s home run blitz.

These teams combined for six dingers in yesterday’s season opener, with Cleveland picking up a 6-4 win, and my Guardians vs. Mariners predictions expect Jose Ramirez to lead the charge for the visitors in this rematch.

Get the lowdown on this clash with my free MLB picks for Friday, March 27.

Guardians vs Mariners predictions

Guardians vs Mariners best bet: Jose Ramirez Over 1.5 total bases (+140)

If you’re in the market for consistent production, look no further than Jose Ramirez. His hit totals for the past four seasons read: 168, 172, 173, 168 – and there’s no sign of decline for the wily veteran.

Ramirez thumped a two-RBI double last night to turn the contest in the Cleveland Guardians favor, and he’s had success against Seattle Mariners starter George Kirby to the tune of a 6-for-12 record, with three doubles and a homer.

When the Mariners go to the bullpen, it’s worth noting that Ramirez also has a pair of hits against key relievers Gabe Speier and Andres Muñoz.

COVERS INTEL: George Kirby allowed a .264 average to left-handers last season, and that lines up nicely for the switch-hitting Ramirez and the other lefties in the Guardians lineup

Guardians vs Mariners same-game parlay (SGP)

I’ll take the run line with a pesky Cleveland offense that’s packed with lefties, while trusting that Gavin Williams – coming off a 3.06 ERA last year – can match Kirby.

The visitors, and they’ve got a real lead-off weapon in rookie Chase DeLauter, who marked his first regular season outing with two solo dingers last night.

Then it’s all about the elite hitting on show. Ramirez has already opened his RBI account for 2026, and Julio Rodriguez can point to three career hits against Williams. J-Rod went 0-for-4 yesterday, but he finished with 174 hits and 95 RBIs in 2025.

Guardians vs Mariners SGP

• Guardians +1.5
• Jose Ramirez Over 0.5 hits
• Julio Rodriguez Over 0.5 hits

Guardians vs Mariners home run pick: Cal Raleigh (+290)

After a magical run last year, Cal Raleigh didn’t do himself any favors during the WBC, but look for his bat to do the talking tonight. Another regular season with 60 homers might be a stretch, but I’m wagering on The Big Dumper to mash his first long ball of the year here.

Guardians vs Mariners odds

• Moneyline: Cleveland +143 | Seattle -158
• Run line: Cleveland +1.5 (-150) | Seattle -1.5 (+130)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-105) | Under 7 (-115)

Guardians vs Mariners trend

The Over is 7-3 in the past 10 meetings between these teams. Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Mariners.

How to watch Guardians vs Mariners and game info

Guardians vs Mariners latest injuries

Guardians vs Mariners weather

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First Half Record: 31-44 (7/10, International League East Division)

Second Half Record: 46-29 (2/10, International League East Division)

When the 2025 season began, the Syracuse Mets had an assortment of the Mets’ top prospects and an additional nineteen players with major league experience. Syracuse had ended the second half of the 2024 season as one of the worst in the International League, but with so much talent on board, expectations were that the team would turn things around.

All in all, the team got off to a sluggish start and struggled to really build momentum, with the promotion-and-demotion of players augmenting the Mets’ lineup really having an effect on the team. They ended the first half with a 31-44 record, 7th in the International League East Division, 16.0 games behind the first place Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and were one of the bottom teams in all of Triple-A baseball. In the second half, Syracuse benefited from promotions from Double-A Binghamton, with top prospects such as Carson Benge, Jett Williams, Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean, and Ryan Clifford all suiting up for Syracuse. Additionally, a handful of players who had otherwise struggled in the first half righted the ship to some degree. The team went 46-29 in the second half, their magic number running out in the last week of the season.

Dick Scott will be returning as team skipper, his fourth year as manager. Joining him will be John Nogowski, who will be serving as bench coach, A.J. Sager, who will be serving as pitching coach, and Nate Irving, who will be serving as hitting coach. Nogowski will be replacing 2025 bench coach J.P. Arencibia, while Sager will be reprising his 2025 role and Irving will be replacing 2025 hitting coach Rick Guarno.

The 2026 season will be Dick Scott’s thirteenth year in the New York Mets organization. Besides coaching Syracuse for the last four, he also served as Coordinator of Coaching Development and Instruction in 2021-2022, New York Mets bench coach in 2016-2017, Director of Player Development in 2012-2015, and was a Minor League Field Coordinator in 2011-2012.

The 2026 season will be John Nogowski’s first season not just with the Mets, but as a coach. The infielder attended Florida State University and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 34th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, the 1,032nd player selected overall. He was released in 2017, signed a contract with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association a few months later, and then was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals a few weeks later. He remained in their organization for the next few years, making his MLB debut in 2020, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations in July 2021, getting released by them at the end of the season.

A.J. Sager will be returning to the role that he held last season for Syracuse and will be returning to the Mets for his sixth season. Prior to serving as pitching coach for the Syracuse Mets, he was the pitching coach for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2022-2023 and was pitching coach for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2021. Before he was a coach in the Mets organization, he was a coach for twenty years with the Detroit Tigers.

The 2026 season will be Nate Irving’s first season as Syracuse hitting coach and will be his second season with the Mets. In 2025, he served as Binghamton Rumble Ponies hitting coach. Prior to joining the organization, he coached in the Cincinatti Reds system, serving as hitting coach for the Single-A Daytona Tortugas in 2024, the ACL Reds in 2023, and as bench coach for the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in 2022. Additionally, he served as a hitting coach for the Bravos de Margarita of the Venezuelan League during the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 seasons.

The Syracuse Mets will be opening the 2026 season against the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park this afternoon at 4:05 PM EDT. And here’s their full Opening Day roster.

Pitchers

• Nick Burdi
• Alex Carrillo
• Bryce Conley
• Daniel Duarte
• Carl Edwards
• Joey Gerber
• Ofreidy Gomez
• Dan Hammer
• Joe Jacques
• Ryan Lambert
• Jonathan Pintaro
• Anderson Severino
• Joander Suarez
• Jonah Tong
• Austin Warren
• Jack Wenninger

Catchers

• Hayden Senger
• Onix Vega

Infielders

• Christian Arroyo
• Ryan Clifford
• Jackson Cluff
• Yonny Hernández
• Ronny Mauricio
• José Rojas

Outfielders

• JiHwan Bae
• MJ Melendez
• Nick Morabito
• Cristian Pache

There’s another television vendor that will be carrying BravesVision. An actual cable-like streamer, FuboTV, is part of the BravesVision family.

FuboTV and Braves has agreed a multiyear partnership to carry BravesVision, the Braves’ owned and operated network. BravesVision will be available for the customers in Atlanta’s television footprint, which contains Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and western North Carolina.

FuboTV has undergone a multitude of changes in the last decade. They attempted to carry all sports channels from Fox, Disney, NBC, and Paramount. They were blocked via their cable partners from doing so. Then they sued when Fox, Disney, and Paramount attempted to build Venu, which was to combine all their sports offerings. Now Disney owns 70 percent of the streamer. The BravesVision addition may be a swipe at fellow cableish streamer YouTube, who hasn’t carried the Braves for about a half decade.

So this might be good news for those wishing to watch the Braves on YouTube TV. But for now, BravesVision is on FuboTV. The recent BravesVision announcements haven’t stated which tier or what the price point will be. But like Spectrum and Xfinity customers, you have your option.

Before we dive into an analysis of Matthew Liberatore’s arsenal changes from spring training, let me take a second to introduce myself. I’ve been reading VEB for as long as I can remember. It’s always been an awesome place for analysis and fan commentary. I hope, in some small way, to be able to contribute to that ethic and help grow this community. I’m looking forward to the journey!

Like any good Rachel Ray pie, I’m constructing this before opening day and so Libby has just pitched yesterday. So, he was awesome – all star game here we come! Or, break out the torches and pitchforks while we chant “We want Fitts!” (That felt like the safest thing to chant for him, by far.) Here’s the thing, either way, Libby is going no where as Grand Poobah Chaim Bloom is solidly in his corner.

The Cardinals organization has gone from a lonely western tumbleweed as a player development staff to a team beefed up with former Guardians, Mariners, Dodgers, and Rays employees. Can we notice anything different in Libby? The answer is a resounding yes. At least as far as spring training shows, Libby is evolving. Let’s go ahead and issue the small sample size boilerplate response here – I know spring training stats don’t matter, you know it, frankly everyone but Mike Matheny knows it. But sometimes a change in approach does carry over.

Over on the Redbird Rundown podcast (if audio/visual is your thing, we have a ton of fun diving into numbers over there), we quickly brought up Libby’s name in Cardinals that will define the season. Check it out here if you want – Apple or Spotify!

Here’s the thing, Libby’s arsenal has expanded. (I was considering an Iran reference here, but I’m not going to test the limits of the first amendment in my first article for this hallowed site) He has debuted a splitter that is designed as an additional weapon against righties. News flash: a majority of MLB hitters are righties. This is going to determine just what caliber of pitcher he can be.

The splitter debuted in spring training with some fairly good metrics. It measured 6.2 in. IVB (10.1 in. offset from fastball), 5.6 in. armside run (2 in. offset from FB), and 88.2 MPH (6.9 MPH offset from FB). If these metrics have you smelling a changeup, you’ve got a good smeller. In fact, Fangraphs is noting a distinct uptick in the changeup usage – the splitter is likely to be the cause of that. This gives Libby seven pitches to play with.

Now this is where things get downright fascinating. In spring training (yes, I still know it’s spring training and that he has to prove it on repeat), Libby’s fastball was more effective than it’s ever been. According to Fangraphs, his fastball had a 2.1 run value. That’s the only time in his career that it’s ever been positive. Libby has always been a use-the-fastball-to-set-up-his-breaking-stuff guy. Now, maybe he’s not? The interplay between his increased offspeed offerings, in this case with the shape of his splitter, and his fastball produced some very interesting early results. (Yes, I know it’s spring training still, kindly refrain from thinking I’m not aware)

The downstream effects of Libby having a plus fastball are like the butterfly effect. He struck out 33.9% of all batters he faced and, brace yourself here, only walked 3.6% of hitters. That’s Dylan Cease level strikeouts with Tarik Skubal walk rates. Are those sustainable? Probably not, but if the fastball keeps playing up then it’s obvious that he doesn’t have to nibble on the edges as much. 

You want more proof? You guys have a higher burden of proof than an Old Testament stoning. But here’s some more magic. Batters, in spring training, swung at rates that are average for Libby’s career. But their contact rates fell by 20%. His swinging strike percentage was double his career average. Yeah. Libby missed some serious bats this spring. Did you guys know the Cardinals need more swing and miss in their rotation? Huh, crazy.

There’s one last piece of Libby’s very strong spring that is intriguing. Batters made contact to the opposite field 42.9% of the time. His career rate is 26.7%. He’s baffling hitters into being behind and avoiding the deadly pull side contact more often than he ever has in his career.

Look, all this is likely to normalize. A leopard doesn’t change its spots often. But, the organization around Libby has certainly changed its spots and the very best development teams in baseball seem to be able to grow talent at will. Perhaps, just perhaps, this Cardinals franchise really is on the march back to relevance and will be powered by developing new talent and maximizing the guys they already have. So, it’s possible this new splitter is a weapon that will lead to a serious evolution in what Libby is capable of. I’m rooting for that. Shouldn’t you?

Regardless of how he pitched yesterday, the arsenal changes that Matthew Liberatore is making deserve our attention and, frankly, our respect. I’ll be watching that splitter closely going forward, but I think the secret is whether or not it continues to increase the effectiveness of his fastball or not.

Let me know what you’ve been seeing in the comments!

The Royals open their 2026 season tonight against the Atlanta Braves and manager Matt Quatraro has posted the first lineup of the season. The lineup is right-handed heavy against Braves left-hander Chris Sale, with Jac Caglianone and Kyle Isbel on the bench. Lefties hit just .162/.250/.302 against Sale last year.

3B Maikel Garcia (R)

SS Bobby Witt Jr. (R)

CF Lane Thomas (R)

C Salvador Perez (R)

1B Vinnie Pasquantino (L)

RF Starling Marte (R)

2B Jonathan India (R)

LF Isaac Collins (S)

DH Carter Jensen (L)

Cole Ragans gets the Opening Day start for the Royals, the sixth pitcher in club history to get the nod in the first game in three or more consecutive seasons.

Game time is tonight at 6:15 CT, and you can watch on Royals.TV.

Unsurprisingly, the vibes were good after the Mets’ 11-7 Opening Day victory over the Pirates at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon. That reflected in the post-game comments, where there were a lot of positive things to say about the team’s performance in the win.

Carlos Mendoza

On the team’s approach against Paul Skenes in the five-run first inning: “If you want to beat guys like this…you’re going to have to play perfect baseball, pretty much, not only putting together some pretty good at-bats, but running the bases, putting the ball in play. That whole inning, the way everything unfolded, was pretty impressive. Overall, one through nine, pretty solid day, and it says a lot about our offense.” (MLB)

On the team getting contributions from the entire lineup: “They continued to add on. Not only that first inning, but that fifth inning was as good as the first one, where they’re controlling the strike zone, they’re creating traffic, we’re putting the ball in play with two strikes, we’re going the other way when we need to, that’s the sign of a good offensive team from one through nine. When you get contributions from Marcus [Semien], from [Carson] Benge, and Alvy [Francisco Alvarez], and we’re able to turn that lineup over, we’re going to be in a good place.” (MLB)

About Benge’s debut: “Who he is is super consistent. He’s 0-for-2 with a couple of strikeouts and he still feels pretty good about his chances. He controls the strike zones, he walks…and then he gets a pitch where he can do damage and goes to the pull side like that. I’m not surprised by it.” (SNY)

About Peralta’s Mets debut: “Other than the two mistakes there to Lowe, I thought he was pretty good. They put together some really good at-bats…he was able to get through five on a day where, like I said, a couple of missed pitches there where they clipped him. But overall, I thought he was very good.” (SNY)

Carson Benge

On his first major league home run: “I kind of blacked out running around the bases. I don’t really remember too much. I know I got it good off the bat.” (SNY)

On his support system in his major league debut: “It means the world, you now. Having all the people that have sacrificed so much for me come up and watch that happen is definitely big.” (SNY)

On his approach following the two strikeouts: “Just calm down. Deep breath, calm down. Great atmosphere, great fans, just trying to bring myself back down so I can compete.” (SNY)

On the Citi Field crowd: “It was amazing. The crowd was the loudest I’ve ever heard, times five.” (SNY)

On the reaction from the fans: “I just got chills that this is where I’m supposed to be and just having fun every day playing baseball.” (SNY)

On the dead bird incident: “I heard a thud, I looked over and it was just down. Down for the count.” (SNY)

Freddy Peralta

On the atmosphere at Citi Field: “Amazing, man, amazing. I think, personally, something that helped me to get better. But it’s amazing and I can’t wait to see it in the rest of the season that same way.” (SNY)

On the offense picking him up: “Amazing! I asked them earlier today before the game, ‘I need some runs from you guys.’ But damn, that’s crazy!” (SNY)

On the feeling of walking to the mound in a different uniform: “I don’t know how to explain to you right now what is the difference, but it feels different. The energy from the first pitch to the last one, you can feel it.” (SNY)

On his plans for a barbecue after Opening Day: “I wish. I don’t know, you never know. I’m going to keep it a secret. It may happen, yeah!” (SNY)

Bo Bichette

On his competitive at-bats: “The goal of our team should be to have the most competitive at-bats every single day.” (SNY)

On the mindset after getting down 2-0 in the first: “I mean it’s the first game, but it could give us a glimpse into what we want to be as a team. You know, getting down early and coming back against you know, maybe the best in the game. That’s good stuff, so we’ll try to keep it going.” (SNY)

Brett Baty

On contributing to the team’s Opening Day victory: “That was awesome. That was a really fun game. Our lineup was really special, put together a lot of scrappy at-bats, and then Freddy, the bullpen…it was awesome.” (SNY)

On Benge’s debut: “Unbelievable. Really, really cool. I think if I’m remembering correctly, Alvy hit a home run his first hit, maybe, and I think I did it, too. Well, I know I did it. But no, it was really really special, and I’m super happy for him.” (SNY)

On the team’s lineup: “It’s huge, that’s what we harp on. We’re a complete lineup. If you wear the pitcher down, then somebody in our lineup’s going to get a mistake and do some damage with it.” (SNY)

MLB Spring Training is over, and the 2026 baseball season is upon us! As teams put the final touches on their Opening Day rosters, let’s look at some of the biggest headlines across the league.

10. Grayson Rodriguez starts on the Angels IL

The Angels have always struggled with pitching, but missing the ace they traded for ranks high on the Halo’s biggest worries this year. Rodriguez didn’t throw a single regular-season pitch with Baltimore in 2025 after missing the season due to a right lat strain, and his return has been delayed due to severe arm weakness, known as ‘dead arm.’ Rodriguez’s absence makes trading Taylor Ward away look like a huge mistake right now.

9. Konnor Griffin misses Opening Day

MLB’s No. 1 prospect will have to wait to pencil in his debut date. The Pirates’ 2024 first-round pick made a splash in his first year in the minors, slashing .333/.415/.527 while belting 24 home runs and 94 RBIs from Single to Double-A ball. For the first time in a blue moon, Pittsburgh is making the right call not to rush Griffin to the majors. While he has the highest odds of being the NL Rookie of the Year, he can wait an extra month or two to earn the accolade.

8. Atlanta’s rotation is plagued with injuries

What should’ve been a bounce-back year is already starting on the wrong foot for the Braves. Atlanta can create their own rotation from injured starters alone. Ace Spencer Strider is out for at least two weeks, with Spencer Schwellenbach also sidelined for a few months. Losing that much production will sting.

7. Hyeseong Kim starts season in Dodgers Triple-A

Dave Roberts has too many great players and not enough roster spots. Utility player Kim was optioned to the Oklahoma City Comets ahead of Opening Day. His strong .280/.314/.385 slash line and 13 stolen bases off the bench last year wasn’t enough to beat out LA’s No. 8 prospect Alex Freeland. Kim won’t be in Triple-A long, though, whether it’s with the Dodgers or another organization.

6. No lefties in the Dbacks bullpen

The MO for general managers is to have a fair mix of lefty and righty pitchers to keep batters on the tips of their cleats. Still, the Arizona Diamondbacks took an unconventional, and likely unintentional, approach to finalizing their pitching staff. Maybe GM Mike Hazen is taking a Billy Beane approach, ignoring the psychology- and performance-driven strategies that have dominated roster construction and pitching changes. Or, perhaps it’s just a fun coincidence. Either way, it will be fun to see how this decision shakes out.

5. Top prospect JJ Wetherholt makes Cardinals roster

The projected best player in St. Louis will headline the lineup on Opening Day. Although he struggled during Spring Training, Wetherholt taxed pitchers last year with a .306 batting average, .421 on-base percentage, and 72 walks. His high offensive ceiling and speed should be enough to bring fans to one of the most underrated ballparks in the league.

4. Rangers break Opening Day news to Carter Baumler on the mound

What’s the best way to learn that you’ve made the Opening Day roster as a Rule 5 Draft pick? If you didn’t say during a game during a mound visit, you’re wrong. Texas manager Skip Schumaker marched to the mound after five straight outs from Baumler, not to send him to the dugout, but to break the great news. This is another reason why it’s impossible not to be romantic about baseball.

3. Luis Gil loses Yankees rotation gig

The Bronx made the tough decision to option 2024 Rookie of the Year Gil to Triple-A. Despite pitching well after spending nearly half the season on the IL, Aaron Boone claims that the Yankees don’t need a fifth starter until mid-April, with roster priority being given to reliever Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest and relievers Jake Bird and Brent Headrick. Why give the ball to a reliable guy when you can experiment with three less-proven players?

2. Detroit’s Kevin McGoingle set to make his debut 

The Tigers’ star shortstop prospect is ready to get to work. The 2023 draft pick has quickly made a name for himself, tallying three-straight .300+ batting average, .400+ on-base percentage, and .850 on-base plus slugging percentage seasons across his minor league stints. Detroit is making an interesting decision to have McGoingle skip Triple-A and go straight to the majors, but if it works out, it’ll look genius.

1. Chase DeLauter secures locker in Guardians clubhouse

MLB’s No. 46 overall prospect will be in Seattle’s right field to start the season after a Spring Training that went exactly how Cleveland fans hoped. DeLauter’s exceptional .459/.535/.838 slash line, three home runs, 10 runs driven in, and 10 runs scored with only four strikeouts in 14 games has the Guardians and baseball fans across the nation pumped to see this young stud’s first at-bats.

Alex Vesia’s wife was happy to be back at another Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, but she noted it was very difficult to be there without her and Alex’s daughter, who passed away in October.

Kayla Vesia attended Los Angeles’ season opener against the Diamondbacks, and in an Instagram post, she called her evening at the ballpark “very bitter sweet.”

View this post on Instagram

“What I would give to have my Sterling girl here,” Kayla wrote, “carrying her in my heart always.”

Alex and Kayla announced on Nov. 7 that Sterling Vesia, their newborn, died on Oct. 26. They wrote at the time there were “no words to describe the pain we’re going through.”

Alex missed the Dodgers’ World Series win over the Blue Jays while he and his wife processed the tragedy.

Alex wrote a sweet note to Kayla in the comment section of her post later Thursday night.

“I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH!!” he said, adding three red heart emojis.

At a spring training workout last month, Alex read a lengthy statement to reporters in which he touched on the heartache he and Kayla endured last fall.

“The lessons we’ve learned from this is that life can change in an instant,” Alex said. “Ten minutes is all it took. Sterling Sol was the most beautiful girl in the world. We got to hold her, change her diaper, read to her and love her. Our time together was far too short. Kay and I will keep those precious moments and memories to ourselves. I hope that anyone listening can empathize and respect our wishes for privacy as we continue to heal, and as we navigate the ups and downs of a baseball season.”

While Alex didn’t appear in the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory over Arizona, he is expected to toe the rubber at some point in the series.

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One of the most intriguing baseball betting options is the “run first inning” market, where you can wager on whether there will be a scorer plated in the opening frame.

With two potent offenses facing off in tonight’s NL West duel between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, my MLB picks expect early fireworks. 

Check out the rest of my free NRFI and YRFI bets for Friday, March 27.

Best NRFI/YRFI bets today

Pick	Odds
/ - NRFI	-125
/ - YRFI	-102
/ - YRFI	-113

Rockies at Marlins: NRFI (-125)

The Colorado Rockies have the worst offense in the majors, especially on the road, where they posted a pathetic .589 OPS and averaged just 2.81 runs per game last year.

Meanwhile, the Miami Marlins had a .693 OPS with 3.91 runs per game at home. Neither team has made significant lineup upgrades, and 10 mph winds are blowing toward the infield at LoanDepot Park tonight.

Miami is handing the ball to former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, who struggled last season coming off Tommy John surgery. Now two and a half years removed from the procedure, he could be in line for a resurgent campaign.

• Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Marlins.TV | Rockies.TV

Angels at Astros: YRFI (-102)

Although Houston Astros righty Mike Burrows looked good in the preseason, I’m not convinced he’s a true No. 2 starter.

Burrows posted a 4.33 xERA last year, and the Los Angeles Angels ranked third in the majors in first-inning scoring percentage (33.3%). The Halos lack depth, but they’re strong at the top of the lineup — at least when Mike Trout is healthy.

L.A. will counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who had a 4.48 xERA last year and sported a 6.00 ERA in the first inning. The Astros hit well against lefties, and with a healthy Yordan Alvarez back in the lineup, they should be more productive offensively this season.

• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Apple TV

Dodgers at Diamondbacks: YRFI (-113)

These were two of the most productive offenses in the majors last year, with the Los Angeles Dodgers leading the NL in OPS (.768) and the Arizona Diamondbacks sitting third (.758).

L.A.’s murderers’ row has gotten even stronger after adding Kyle Tucker. Meanwhile, the top of the D-Backs’ lineup remains formidable with Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, and Ketel Marte.

Arizona is starting Ryne Nelson, who posted a 3.93 xERA last year and ranked in the bottom fifth percentile in average exit velocity.

• Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: MLB Network

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There are eight games on the MLB slate today, and prediction markets like Kalshi allow baseball bettors in every state (excluding Nevada) a chance to lock in their favorite MLB best bets.

We've asked our baseball experts for their favorite MLB picks today — as well as offering extra MLB expert picks from the rest of the Covers staff for Friday, March 27.

MLB expert picks for today

Pick	Price
Josh Inglis: DET ML	+104
Jon Metler: MIA ML	-186
Joe Osborne: MIA/COL o7.5	+100

Prices courtesy of Kalshi.

Josh Inglis' expert pick: Tigers ML

Price:49¢ (+104) at Kalshi

The Detroit Tigers hold a clear starting pitching edge in Game 2 after an 8–2 win over the San Diego Padres yesterday, who got just nine outs from Nick Pivetta in the opener. I’m backing Detroit on the moneyline at 49% and would buy at 52% or better, with a projected fair price closer to -122.  Framber Valdez has a significant edge over Michael King, who struggled this spring (20 runs allowed in 17+ innings) and tends to lack efficiency — opening the door to the Padres’ bullpen early. Detroit’s young bats also looked legit in Game 1, and this lineup has real upside.

Jon Metler's expert pick: Marlins ML

Price:65¢ (-186) at Kalshi

The Colorado Rockies can’t catch a break — it’s Opening Day, and they’re already being targeted as a team to fade. The Miami Marlins are priced at 65 cents, and I think that number should be closer to 69 cents, so I’m hitting the button. Miami has a clear platoon advantage here, with a starting lineup featuring eight right-handed hitters against Kyle Freeland, a lefty who allowed right-handed batters to hit .300 with an .821 OPS last season. With a lineup built to exploit that matchup and Sandy Alcantara unveiling his revamped sweeper, I’ll back the Marlins in this spot.

Joe Osborne's expert pick: Marlins/Rockies Over 7.5 runs - Yes

Price: 50¢ (+100) at Kalshi

This total of 7.5 is showing way too much respect for these starting pitchers. Alcantara is coming off an awful season, where he posted a 5.36 ERA and looks nowhere close to regaining his 2022 Cy Young form, and Freeland is average at best, yet somehow posted a 4.51 FIP on the road in 2025 — which was worse than his mark at Coors Field. He also got smacked for eight hits and six earned by Miami late last season. While bullpens can change year to year, both of these units were consistently among the worst in 2025.

More MLB best bets for today

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The Gwinnett Stripers have released their initial roster for the 2026 season today, ahead of today’s first game of the season. The roster below is mostly as expected, though there is one big, surprising omission in Jhancarlos Lara not being part of it after spending a good chunk of time in Gwinnett last season.

Starters

The biggest story is probably that Lara is not here, though Brett Sears is also not after reaching Gwinnett last year and making 15 quality appearances in Columbus last season. Among the guys who are here, top prospect JR Ritchie is the best prospect on the team, and a candidate to quickly be promoted to Atlanta with a strong start to the season. Fellow prospect Lucas Braun is also back here after making three starts with the Stripers last year. The 39-year-old Carlos Carrasco may be the biggest name on the entire squad, making 286 career big league starts. They may also be looking to Dylan Dodd and Elieser Hernandez to round out the starting rotation. It is also in the plans for Didier Fuentes to join this group at some point, and this group will further deepen when Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and potentially AJ Smith-Shawver return to action at various points in 2026.

Relievers

Hayden Harris is probably the top relief prospect who is here, after the lefty dominated in his stint last year. Anthony Molina and Rolddy Munoz are also a pair of younger relief arms that the Braves like. Ian Hamilton, Javy Guerra, Tayler Scott, and Hunter Stratton are relievers with a decent amount of big league games on their resumes, and candidates to help the big club in some capacity this year – however the most interesting arm of the bunch may be James Karinchak. Karinchak seemed on his way to being one of the top young relievers with the Guardians not too long ago, but has dealt with injuries and hasn’t appeared in a big league game since 2023. Anderson Pilar and Austin Pope are the other arms here, though both of them are guys the Braves wanted for their Triple-A affiliate, which makes this a deep and talented relief corps.

Catchers

Sandy Leon is arguably the biggest name among this group, as the 37-year-old has 559 games of big league experience under his belt, but he will have to split time here. Chadwick Tromp has received big league time in Atlanta in each of the past four seasons, and figures to factor in heavily in the playing time. Jair Camargo is a younger option who has five games of big league experience back with the Twins in 2024. While they may not have a guy who stands out as THE guy, all three of these options are more than capable at the Triple-A level.

Infielders

Nacho Alvarez is easily the most interesting young hitter on this roster, though he has lost his prospect status last year as he surpassed the rookie maximum for at bats. That would make Jim Jarvis the most interesting hitter prospect on the roster, which is kind of telling as he is more of a utility type of prospect. Recent minor league signing Rowdy Tellez could absolutely mash in Triple-A, and is likely the reason David McCabe isn’t here to open the season. Former Georgia Bulldog and 2019 second round pick Aaron Schunk is also here and should add even more offense to a Striper team that has been inconsistent in recent years with their bats. Contact oriented Luke Waddell and utility piece Luke Williams round out the infield. This is another group which looks improved heading into 2026, as it isn’t hard to picture a group led by Alvarez, Tellez, and Schunk holding their own offensively.

Outfielders

Although there aren’t any true prospects, this may be the most talented outfield we’ve seen in Gwinnett since the group with Cristian Pache and Drew Waters, back in 2021. Ben Gamel, Brewer Hicklen, and even DaShawn Keirsey Jr should provide power, and will be candidates to get called up to Atlanta this year should a temporary bat be needed. Jose Azocar is more of a speed guy with limited power, and he too has some big league experience on his resume.