Category: Baseball

Good morning.

Shawn McFarland checks out what we’ve recently learned from camp as the Texas Rangers enter their final week in Arizona.

Evan Grant writes that Skip Schumaker has named Nathan Eovaldi as the Opening Day starter for Texas for their upcoming season opener in Philadelphia.

Kennedi Landry writes that 2023 World Series hero Eovaldi will be making his sixth career Opening Day start and will become the first starter to make three Opening Day starts in a row for Texas since Kevin Millwood started four consecutive openers a couple of decades ago.

Grant has a few observations from camp from yesterday where Marc Church made his spring debut and the bullpen battles continued.

Jeff Wilson writes that prospect Cam Cauley put himself on a trajectory to eventually contribute to the big league team with a head-turning spring.

Grant notes that despite his impressive spring, Cauley was among the players who were cut from big league camp yesterday.

In her weekly newsletter, Landry writes about how the late-spring signing of Jalen Beeks could impact how the Rangers construct their pitching staff.

Grant writes that the Rangers were needing to see something quickly from Andrew McCutchen, and the veteran former MVP has already delivered in his short time in Surprise.

As a standout for the Rangers this spring, Jim Bowden writes that Evan Carter could be due for a breakout year for Texas.

Landry tabs Rule 5 reliever Carter Baumler as a young player who has made a big impression for the Rangers so far this spring.

And, McFarland names 2025 prized international signee Elorky Rodriguez as the Rangers’ No. 9 prospect on the DMN’s top 30 list.

Have a nice day!

There was only one game, so let’s get right to it.

United States 2, Dominican Republic 1

I’ll admit, I was a little biased here. I wanted to see the United States come out and destroy the Dominican Death Star, hoping they would continue marching towards a WBC title. However, in my heart of hearts, I kind of thought there was no way it was going to happen. Even with Paul Skenes on the mound for at least four innings, my thought was that the Dominican lineup would eventually rise up against the bullpen of the United States and pound them into dust.

I was quite wrong.

A game fraught with tension, it got off to an unspectacular start as both starters, Skenes and Luis Severino, came out and handled the lineups. Skenes made one mistake to Junior Caminero that the Rays third baseman did not miss.

However, from there, Skenes shut the lineup down. He was helped by an outstanding throw from Aaron Judge to end an inning at third base.

Now, while Severino was great to start the game, eventually the adrenaline he was fueled by ran out and he started missing more often. Gunnar Henderson took one of those misses and hit a moonshot to left to tie the game at one.

Once Severino was removed in that inning and replaced with Gregory Soto, it looked as though the game would settle into a battle of the bullpens. Soto being Soto, however, he missed with a fastball to Roman Anthony and Anthony did not miss it.

The game continued like this, the United States up 2-1. Instead of the offense on display, it was the defense that sparkled in this game. In addition to his throw at third, Judge also had a diving catch to rob a hit off the bat of Juan Soto. The favor was returned in the sixth when Judge hit a drive to center that was robbed by Julio Rodriguez.

It was the seventh where the game was decided. David Bednar was brought into the game to start the inning and allowed two runners on, those two both getting into scoring position with two outs. Bednar, though, got Ketel Marte swinging to end the frame and kept the U.S. out in front. In the ninth, the Dominican lineup mustered some noise against Mason Miller, but the Padres closer was able to keep them in check, striking out Geraldo Perdomo to end the game.

Or did he?

I’ll expect to see ABS in the next round of the WBC.

The United States wins this round and moves on to the final while the Dominican Republic wonders what might have been.

Will they, or won’t they?

That’s a question many Non-Roster Invites will be asking themselves this week as teams begin trimming their rosters in preparation for the 2026 season.

Nicky Lopez is one of the NRIs invited to the Colorado Rockies spring training activities. A 31-year-old infielder from Naperville, Illinois, Lopez is veteran who has experience with a number of teams — including the 2024 Chicago White Sox.

Since making his MLB debut in 2019 with the Kansas City Royals, the lefty has earned 5.6 rWAR and a .245/.310/.621 slashline. Although Lopez can play second, third, and short, his defensive numbers have been streaky but slightly above average. That said, he was a second base Gold Glove finalist in 2024.

Now, Lopez is looking to make the Rockies team and help mentor young players.

Changing the team culture

Lopez signed with the Rockies in late November after speaking with Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta. At that time, DePodesta made clear that changing the Rockies culture was much on his mind.

“Their pitch to me was just ‘We need a veteran presence, and we’re trying to change a culture.’”

The job appealed to Lopez.

“That’s one thing I really do hang my hat on,” Lopez said.

“I’m a guy who likes to keep it light in the clubhouse and and a guy who can come in here and help change a culture, whether that’s keeping it light, picking up a teammate, always cheering for a teammate, and just being that player that a coach can count on at any position.”

He was looking for a team that would give him a chance.

“That’s all I really want, is just an opportunity to compete and try to win a spot on the team and help the team any way I can.”

A different kind of veteran experience

Actually, Lopez brings to a young Rockies team a very specialized form of experience in that he was part of the historically bad 2024 Chicago White Sox. It was a time Lopez looks back on as a learning experience.

“I learned so much about myself that year that,” he said.

“You try to find a positive in anything. And obviously everyone looks the record is like, ‘Man, that’s such a bad year.’ And in the in the midst of a bad year, selfishly, I got nominated for a Gold Glove, which means I was handling my business on the defensive end.”

But it was more than his on-field work. His clubhouse presence mattered, too.

“I think the young guys [in Chicago] can speak highly of me, just trying to get them to have fun at the clubhouse and have fun at the field, even though it was such a tough time.”

That said, Lopez’s career hasn’t been defined by his presence on losing teams, and he sees the highs and lows of his career as being valuable for a rebuilding club.

“One of the things I discussed with the front office and Schaeff is that I’ve been on 110, 115-win teams with the Atlanta Braves. I’ve been to the playoffs. I was in the Cubs clubhouse last year, and then I’ve also been on 120-loss team. So I know what both sides of it looks like, and I know what’s both sides of it feels like.”

In short, he’s been through a lot.

“There’s not many situations I haven’t really experienced in my in my career, which is something I think it can be very valuable to a young team like the Rockies, which is why in November, I signed here.”

Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros has appreciated Lopez’s willingness to share what he’s learned.

“We’ve been taking a lot of ground balls together. He’s obviously is one of the best defenders in the game. So picking his brains,” Karros said. “He was part of the White Sox when they had their tough year. So he kind of has seen what it’s like to be on a good team and what it’s like to be on a bad team. So he’s going to definitely offer some good insight on how to get us going in the right direction.”

Plus, for Lopez, signing with the Rockies represented a reset.

“Last year was a little bump in the road, both defensively and offensively in my career,” Lopez said. “But getting here kind of felt like a breath of fresh air, where I can just kind of do my thing and bounce around all over the diamond.”

Settling in at “Camp Schaeffer”

As a free agent, he had a number of teams to choose from and calls signing with the Rockies “kind of a no-brainer” in large part because of what he heard about manager Warren Schaeffer.

“A lot of these players rave about Schaeffer, so I was like, ‘You know what? This is a place I want to be, and it’s going to give me an opportunity to make a team and compete for one.’ And that’s all I all I can ask for right now in my career. So I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”

And he hasn’t been disappointed.

“I love him,” Lopez said of the Rockies new manager. “Great dude, great human being, first and foremost.”

Lopez is not alone in his praise of Schaeffer, echoing comments of other Rockies players.

“He’s a manager that a lot of guys would go to fight for, which is, I think, the ultimate compliment as a manager,” Lopez said.

Much of that stems from Schaeffer’s open communication.

“His door is always open, which is something, as a veteran, I really do appreciate,” Lopez said. “Being able to go in there and talk to him if I need to, ‘Hey, where am I at? Hey, what you know? What do you want to see more of me?’ Stuff like that is a good dialog with managers, [and] it’s something that you can’t really take for granted. So for him to be able to be open to that and be accessible to the players is huge.”

Infield versatility

Being an adaptable infielder has been a staple of Lopez’s career, starting when he played baseball at Creighton University. He’s comfortable at second, third, and shortstop.

For a Rockies team looking to build around players with “optionality,” Lopez’s background seems like a good fit.

“My whole minor league career up until I got to the big leagues, from 2016 to 2019, I was just at shortstop,” Lopez said. “And then I made my debut at second base,” a position he started learning in Triple-A while in the Kansas City Royals system. But the organization continued to develop his versatility.

“When I got to the made the majors, they were, like, ‘Hey, can you play third?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ve done it, but I haven’t done it since, obviously, 2014.’ So you have that attitude where it’s like, ‘Yeah, I can do it,’ and just go and just sink your teeth into it.”

The key to his versatility however, is taking practice seriously — an approach embraced by Rockies Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle.

“When you treat practice like it’s a game, then in the game, everything’s just going to flow,” Lopez said. And so I take practice very seriously when it comes to defense.“

This season, Ryan Ritter has left the familiar confines of the dirt for the vastness of the outfield. Is there any chance Lopez might follow a similar path?

He’s not averse to the idea.

“I have a couple big league games in left,“ he laughed.

“We have some dogs out there right now in the outfield. So, but if it takes being a bench roll where these guys need a day off because it’s a long 162, and then, yeah, I’ll go out there and play defense and play in the outfield.”

He added, “And Schaeff knows that, too. I’ve talked to him already about it, and so it’s one of those things, if your name’s called, just go in and compete as best as you can.”

Now it’s a matter of seeing if he will be afforded that opportunity.

This week on the internet

Which Colorado Rockie is most likely to search himself on the internet? atRockies asked the question:

(Cole, if you’ve Googled yourself and found this article, we think you’re awesome.)

At age 71, Rockies owner Dick Monfort insists chances of team winning World Series in his lifetime are ‘Excellent!’ | Denver Gazette

Mark Kiszla had his yearly conversation with Rockies owner Dick Monfort.

Rockies Ezequiel Tovar shines in World Baseball Classic as Venezuela eliminates Japan | SI.com

Finally, Ezequiel Tovar has the world’s attention.

Handing out offseason grades for every NL Team | The Score

You’ll have to scroll to the bottom of this article to find the Rockies grade. (Before reading, take a wild guess at what it is.) Also, the Rockies are the only team that does not have a photo accompanying the assessment. Make of that what you will.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

The ideal baseball lineup has players with high on-base percentages near the top of the order, setting the table for the sluggers in the middle. Optimizing a lineup like this can allow a team to score a few more runs per year. On a given day it may not make much of a difference, but over a 162-game season it could net your team an extra win or two. That’s nothing to sneeze at, and teams—especially those on the fringes of the playoff discussion—should be doing whatever they can to maximize runs.

This topic of lineup optimization has become a hot one as Orioles camp comes to a close. Manager Craig Albernaz was asked about it over the weekend, specifically who he planned to put in the leadoff spot on Opening Day. The skipper kept it vague with his answer.

“It all depends,” Albernaz said. “Depends on the hitter, depends on the pitcher, depends on the team we’re playing. Depends on a lot of different stuff.”

It also depends on who is healthy. That is what has really complicated things this spring. Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg are two guys that would probably top the list of consideration. But both will open the season on the IL instead.

MLB.com’s Jake Rill indicates that Albernaz won’t be committing to any one guy day in and day out. But he does seem to prefer either Gunnar Henderson or Taylor Ward in the role for now. While Henderson has been with Team USA, Ward has been getting a lot of at-bats in the top spot.

Ward does not scream “leadoff hitter” when you look at his recent numbers. He’s been a run producer that hits home runs. But he has experience in the role. The 763 plate appearances he has batting first are his most of any spot in the order, and the numbers have been good (.259/.326/.456, 32 homers). He’s also a patient hitter that doesn’t chase much and walks at a solid clip (11.3%). Putting him first and then, presumably, Henderson second, could benefit both. Pitchers may be more likely to give Ward pitches to hit, and it would also give Henderson traffic on the bases more often.

For whatever it’s worth, Ward does not seem to care when or where he hits.

“Really, it doesn’t matter to me. I mean, hit me ninth, eighth, I really don’t care,” Ward said. “I try to treat it like the same thing, just all the same. I like to keep it simple like that. So wherever Alby wants to put me, I’m good for it.”

The leadoff spot has also been Henderson’s most frequent role throughout his career. Over 789 plate appearances he owns a .276/.347/.533 line with 42 homers. Clearly, he is better than Ward, but putting Henderson first could be a waste of his slugging potential. He’s healthy this year and swinging the bat well for Team USA. If he is going to bounce back and return to the 37 home run form he had in 2024, it would be wise to have that happen with more runners on base. Moving him down a spot in the order makes sense.

But before we go and etch all of this in stone, let’s be clear that committing to any one lineup at this point in the year is foolish. So much is going to change throughout the summer. Players will get hurt. Hot streaks and cold streaks will pop up. A certain pitching matchup will present itself. Someone other than Ward or Henderson will lead off at some point. All of this could completely change Albernaz’s way of thinking.

Consider a few alternatives.

When healthy, Holliday and Westburg are going to be in the conversation. Holliday led off more than any other Orioles hitter in 2025. It didn’t go great (.236/.311/.366), but he is still young. You have to think the Orioles want him to eventually own the role if he can produce. Westburg has hit all over the lineup, usually settling into the second or fifth spots. But he can do a a job anywhere. He feels like the guy they will turn to if the lineup is in the midst of a bad run and needs some sort of spark.

Colton Cowser began the 2025 season as the Orioles’ leadoff hitter. At the time, he had a reputation for controlling the strike zone. His nightmarish campaign may have altered some perspectives, but it’s entirely possible he gets back to that point.

Dylan Beavers showed impressive plate discipline during his first taste of big league baseball. He walked 19 percent of the time and rarely chased pitches out of the strike zone. Putting a rookie atop a lineup with playoff aspirations right out of the gate might be a bit much, but Beavers could force the Orioles hand at some point.

And what about Adley Rutschman? His performance over the last season and a half suggests he should be in the bottom third of the order rather than the leadoff spot. But it wasn’t that long ago when he looked like the best hitting catcher in baseball. His 2023 season saw hime finish with a .374 on base percentage. If he could get back to that sort of production, he might be the team’s best option to hit first. He will need to prove that he’s actually back to that level before getting the distinction as everyday leadoff hitter.

The reality is that the Orioles do not have an “ideal” leadoff hitter on their roster. But they have plenty of competent big league players that they can cycle in and out to find advantageous matchups and put runners on base ahead of Henderson and Pete Alonso. That should be a recipe for success no matter who actually ends up in the top spot day to day.

For someone who’s never taken a big-league at-bat, there’s been an awful lot of talk about Spencer Jones. Taken by the Yankees in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-7 outfielder immediately drew the obligatory Aaron Judge comparisons that follow anyone with his physical profile. It didn’t hurt that he carried with him a prodigious power swing and an ability to play center field. Jones has risen steadily through the Yankees’ system during his four seasons as a pro, consistently showcasing a varied skill set to dream on. He was Baseball America’s No. 46 prospect entering the 2024 season and broke out in a major way last year between Double-A and Triple-A, swatting 35 homers.

And yet, his prospect stock has waned as his real-life performance has taken off. The reason is as simple as it is confounding: the man swings and misses too much.

2025 Stats (Double-A/Triple-A): 506 PA, .274/.362/.571, 35 HR, 80 RBI, 35.4 K%, 11.5 BB%, 153 wRC+

Last year, Ryan McMahon led all big-leaguers with a 32-percent strikeout rate. Jones’ 37-percent rate at Triple-A dwarfed that number and, while his overall offensive package was still highly productive due to his power, it’s difficult to project success for the prospect against MLB competition if he continues to demonstrate those kinds of contact issues. And 2025 was not an anomaly — the year prior, he had an even higher strikeout rate as he was punched out an astonishing 200 times.

To his credit, this offseason the 24-year-old tackled these concerns head-on, retooling his swing and modeling it after another lefty-hitting masher, Shohei Ohtani. “He’s a great reference of a really good mover with a great swing,” Jones said of the four-time MVP in what amounts to a bit of an understatement. “He’s one of those guys that I look at with some of the stuff he does, and I try to apply it in whichever way I can.”

Success followed in spring training, where he posted a 1.345 OPS while striking out at a more tenable 29-percent rate, albeit in a sample of just 28 plate appearances.

His fellow 6-foot-7 outfielder was impressed. “The minute he puts that foot down with that little toe-tap, he’s ready to hit,” Judge said of Jones’ new swing. “They might have gotten him with a lot of high heaters in the past, or even last season. I think that’s just going to help him.”

The Yankees reassigned Jones to minor-league camp last Monday. With the Yankees’ outfield set to feature Judge alongside lefties Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, there would be limited opportunities for Jones and Jasson Domínguez, a switch-hitter who fared much better from the left side of the plate last season. Both are expected to start the year at Triple-A, with Domínguez, who appeared in 123 games with the Yankees last year and showcased strong lefty hitting and plus speed, the clear favorite as the next man up should the need arise. This is why, while FanGraphs’ Depth Charts projections expect Jones to make his Yankees debut this year, they only project him to get into five games.

Upon sending him out to minor-league camp, the prospect’s manager provided some advice. “As much as you can, don’t focus on things that right now might be out of your control a little bit,” Aaron Boone said. “Reality is, he’s coming off a really strong season. He continues to make really solid adjustments. He came in here this spring and has represented really well and has performed. You’ve seen the signs of him continuing to get better.”

It’s good advice. If Jones can demonstrate an ability to avoid the strikeout, his combination of power and outfield defense will be impossible to keep down at Triple-A for long, regardless of the other outfielders ahead of him on the depth chart. Given the team’s depth in the outfield, it’s possible that shot could come elsewhere, with Jones (and, for that matter, Domínguez) theorized throughout the offseason as potential trade bait to help out elsewhere on the roster.

This year will be a make-or-break campaign for Jones. If he can get his strikeout rate down, he’ll get some run to show he can fulfill the potential that made him a first-round pick and top-50 prospect. If not, Jones, who’ll turn 25 in May, will start to look like a former prospect whose time has passed.

See more of the Yankees Previews series here.

As the Red Sox approach Opening Day, it’s time to start taking at look at the other American League playoff contenders. Next up, a team that may still be recovering from baseball heartbreak.

What’s this team’s deal?

The Toronto Blue Jays were inches away. Minutes away. One play or bounce away. They took the Los Angeles Dodgers to Game 7 of the World Series and nearly had it won. But the Dodgers found a way. That’s baseball. But don’t think for a second that when the game was over the Jays were ready to take a step back. After missing out on free agents and being lost in the shuffle of the Yankees and Red Sox as powerhouses, Tampa Bay as a relentless underdog payroll wise, and the Baltimore Orioles with their young core of stud prospects, the Jays aren’t a flash in the pan. They want to be here to stay.

Being in the World Series last fall is a step in the right direction for the Jays’ ambitions. And it may or may not have paid off in their recruiting. The money was there for the infamous Shohei Ohtani plane flight but no signing actually happened. This year?

• Kazuma Okamoto, third base. Coming over from Japan, Okamoto signed a four-year deal to play in Toronto. In NPB the 29-year-old hit .277/.361/.521 over eleven seasons. If he’s close to that, watch out. For example, Alex Bregman, after his two big seasons and the COVID 2020 year has hit .264/.352/.447 from 2021-2025.
• Dylan Cease, starting pitcher. The 30-year-old signed to play for the Blue Jays a long time. Seven years. Cease finished second in AL Cy Young voting in 2022 and 4th in NL Cy Young voting in 2024. Chris Bassitt moved to the Orioles over the winter and that’s a nice upgrade.
• Cody Ponce, starting pitcher. Ponce is returning to North America after 3 years in Japan and one year in Korea. He shined in the KBO last year and the Jays’ think the changes are real. He’s in town for three seasons.
• Max Scherzer, a familiar starter, is back for one more year at 41 and showed some life in the World Series.
• Old friend Josh Winckowski signed a minor league deal with the club.

How good are they?

They’re good. Right now FanGraphs projects they Jays to finish with about 85 wins, one or two behind the Yankees, and essentially tied with the Red Sox. Will the AL East winner win more than 86 games? Almost certainly. That’s not what’s important here. The general feeling that the Jays are going to be in the fight for the top of the division.

Their rotation includes the two new members mentioned in the signings above, Max Scherzer, 2025 rookie sensation Trey Yesavage, and veteran stalwart Kevin Gausman. Plus Shane Bieber and José Berríos who are a little behind dealing with some injuries.

George Springer rediscovered himself in 2025 and hopes to continue playign like his younger self. Alejendro Kirk is one of the best catchers in the American League.

Addision Berger and Ernie Clement had breakouts in 2025 to help get the team to their first World Series in 30 years.

Oh, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Who’s their most likable player?

At least for Red Sox fans it’s going to be Vlad Jr.

‘Nuff said.

Who’s their least likeable player?

George Springer was part of the Astros cheating scandal. Max Scherzer is kind of a hothead on the mound, although seems to mostly yell at himself. Kevin Gausman has really owned the Red Sox at times. He’s unlikable for that.

Do people have strong feelings about any Jays players?

Schedule against the Red Sox

As an AL East opponent, the Sox will see a lot of the Blue Jays.

April 27-29 in Toronto.

June 16-18 in Boston.

July 24-26 in Boston.

August 10-13 in Toronto.

Season Prediction

The Blue Jays won 94 games last season and are arguably better this year. They also have a lot of places where there could be some regression in the lineup and maybe the rotation. Vlad also didn’t hit for tons of power so maybe that comes back to balance things out.

They’re going to win between 92-96 games because the Orioles should be better, although the Rays may be worse. The Jays are going to finish first or second again in the AL East assuming they’re about as healthy as they are right now. The question will be who in the AL East finishes third and if that is a playoff trip or not.

If you are a fan of the Braves and baseball in general, this weekend was we worth the wait. From WBC moments to multiple Braves pitching prospects looking highly impressive, it was a great reminder that baseball is here to stay for the next 6+ months. On Sunday for the Braves, JR Ritchie once again was spectacular. It remains to be seen whether or not it will translate into a Opening Day roster spot, but in terms in what he can control, Ritchie has made a strong case to make his MLB debut in the near future.

Braves News

Didier Fuentes discussed his own impressive outing from Friday, as it was a dream come true to pitch well vs. the Yankees.

Many hope the strides Michael Harris II has shown in plate discipline this Spring will carry over in the season.

MLB News

Paul Skenes and the USA bullpen were amazing in a 2-1 victory over the Dominican Republic to make WBC finals.

It is looking promising that Francisco Lindor will be ready for Opening Day.

The final week of spring training is upon us, with the Dodgers having just five more Cactus League games in Arizona before coming home to Southern California (and seeing a presenting sponsor on the field???). A lot of things will be decided this week.

As of Monday morning, 51 players remain in big league camp, a number that will be trimmed nearly in half within the next 10 days.

Hyeseong Kim already returned from the World Baseball Classic and played on Sunday, battling for a roster spot and a share of second base duties at the start of the regular season.

Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Edwin Díaz will be back from the World Baseball Classic, perhaps as soon as Monday, so we’ll get to see them in games this week. Ohtani last played for the Dodgers on February 21, so it will be nice to see him back in the fold.

After pitching for Japan on Saturday Yamamoto could presumably start again for the Dodgers on Friday, which would presumably line him up for the opening day start, which would be his second in a row. The Dodgers have not yet announced their plans for Game 1.

There are still rotation spots up for grabs, with River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, and Justin Wrobleski all in the mix. Depending on how things shake out, all three might make the opening day roster, perhaps in the bullpen.

Ryan is healthy and thriving this spring after missing all of last season. Same for Kyle Hurt, who could pitch his way into the bullpen after an impressive swing.

I’m sure I missed a few things, so I’ll throw the rest out to you: What are you looking forward to seeing in this final week of spring training camp in Arizona?

Meet the Mets

Hey, remember Francisco Lindor? He’s back, in leadoff form!

While Lindor won’t officially commit to being ready and in the lineup on Opening Day, he isn’t saying he won’t, either.

On Tuesday night as Team USA goes for the gold, Nolan McLean will be on the mound.

He may not get the attention or have the pedigree of McLean, Tong, and Scott, but Zach Thornton is having himself a nice Spring Training.

The Mets made another 11 cuts to their Spring Training roster, bringing the number on the big league side of things down to a very football-ish 53 players.

Around the National League East

Over at The Good Phight, more than half of the fans who responded think that 2026 is a season of winning or getting the heave-ho for Rob Thomson.

Is the Washington Nationals’ lack of offense this Spring just another thing to chalk up to the randomness of the month-long warm-up or an actual problem that they’ll have to face?

Around Major League Baseball

The United States took down the dominant Dominican Republic team in a 2-1 game and punched their ticked for a third consecutive trip to the World Baseball Classic finals.

Italy and Venezuela will collide tonight to determine who gains entry to the finals to battle it out with the Americans.

It seems likely that Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena will get into game action before the end of Spring Training, but nobody will know if he’s ready to play in the regular season until he tests out his finger on the field.

One out away from a perfect game, the Giants proceeded to lose the perfect game, the no-hitter, and the shutout all in a row.

They’ll still have to do some tests to make sure it isn’t anything structural, but Jose Ramirez is day-to-day for the time being with what the Guardians are describing as shoulder inflammation.

Just a week into his stint as a Texas Ranger, Andrew McCutchen is more motivated than ever before and winning people over with his performance out of the gate.

Designated by the Rangers at the start of the weekend, Alexis Diaz went unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Triple-A.

Venezuelan Francisco Cervelli will be managing for Team Italy against Team Venezuela. Weird.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore took a look at what is going to be Clay Holmes’ second season with the New York Mets and as a member of a big league rotation.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1961, Shea Stadium was officially funded by the New York City government.

Good morning.

• We’re coming off a terrific World Baseball Classic semi-final between the US and Dominican Republic with a controversial end. We’ll have more on that game later this morning. Here are some takeaways from the Team USA win.
• Some of the best photos from the game.
• Players from the Dominican Republic explain how baseball is like a religion in their country. Michael Clair with the story.
• The DR was managed by Albert Pujols. Cody Stavenhagen looks at Pujols’ ambitions and chances of being an MLB manager. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Mike Trout couldn’t play in the WBC this time around, but he’s thrilled so many people are getting excited about it this year.
• Tarik Skubal is defending himself against criticism (The Athletic sub. req.) that he betrayed Team USA by leaving the team early. On the one hand, Skubal has to do what’s right for him and he shouldn’t be criticized for not making a second WBC start. On the other hand, I love that American fans are getting this passionate enough about the WBC that they’re willing to be jerks about the whole thing. OK, I’m not thrilled about the jerks part. Just the passion part.
• Matt Snyder believes this time, the US has really bought into the joy of the WBC.
• Matthew Trueblood argues that the WBC is a wonderful celebration of baseball culture from around the world, and that includes US culture.
• USA catcher Cal Raleigh refused another in-game fistbumb from a teammate, but this one with Team Canada’s Josh Naylor was pre-arranged. Sort of.
• However, Kathryn Xu argues that no one is having more fun that Team Italy. (free reg. req)
• Tyler Kepner writes about how the mostly-American Team Italy is firmly embracing Italian culture as the Cinderella underdogs. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Italy has been celebrating home runs with espresso. Rustin Dodd looks at how caffeine affects athletic performance. (The Athletic sub. req.) Italy is juicing!
• Johnny Flores Jr. has a preview of tonight’s Italy/Venezuela semifinal. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Venezuelan native Francisco Cervelli manages Team Italy. He says that when he’s wearing the uniform, he’s all Italian.
• Venezuelan manager Otto López says his objective is to bring joy to his home country.
• Jake Mintz writes that Japan was simply outplayed by Venezuela in the semifinals.
• Japan manager Hirokazu Ibata resigned after the loss.
• Bob Nightengale talks to Shohei Ohtani and asks how Ohtani is processing something he has little experience with: failure. I mean, he was on the Angels for six years, Bob.
• Jake Mintz has the story of Ohtani’s first ever international game, and 18-and-under loss to Canada. Team Canada, which included Josh Naylor and Cal Quantrill, were still impressed with him.
• Here’s what many of you want to know about Samurai Japan: Which players on Japan’s WBC team could be coming to MLB next? Jorge Castillo with the story.
• Union president Bruce Meyer has warned that a work stoppage in 2027 could affect MLB player participation in the 2028 Olympics.
• Meyer also said that if MLB players do play in the Olympics, MLB is considering exhibition games between major and minor leaguers to fill the time the league shuts down for the Games. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Katie Woo reports that the Dodgers have sold naming rights at Dodger Stadium to the Japanese company Uniqlo. (The Athletic sub. req.) It will still be Dodger Stadium, it’s just going to be something like “Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.” One, that’s a terrible name. Second, the Dodgers already have enough money and don’t need to do this.
• Kevin Acee reports that four bids have been submitted to buy the Padres.
• Jeff Passan has a short season preview of all 30 teams.
• Six darkhorse candidates to win MVP.
• Six darkhorse candidates to win the Cy Young.
• One player from each MLB team who has made the biggest impression in Spring Training.
• Giants pitcher Hayden Birdsong is getting a second opinion after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 right forearm strain and ulnar collateral ligament sprain. Obviously Tommy John surgery is a possibility.
• The Giants named Logan Webb as their Opening Day starter for the fifth-straight year. Only Juan Marichal, with six, has more consecutive Opening Day starts in Giants history.
• Here’s an interesting article with lots of quotes from Pete Crow-Armstrong in it. How difficult is it for outfielders to play in each MLB park?
• And finally turning to college baseball, Georgia beat Tennessee on Sunday thanks to this amazing walk-off home run robbery.

We continue our series previewing each position on the Brewers by looking at the outfield, and we’ll also discuss the designated hitter spot, as Christian Yelich’s transition into full-time designated hitting continues. As for the actual outfield, two of these three spots are firmly spoken for. But the third outfield spot is, if not necessarily in flux, a position where there’s likely to be a decent amount of rotation throughout the season. Let’s take a look.

Jackson Chourio

There is something worth remembering about Jackson Chourio: he only just turned 22 last Wednesday. Anyone hinting at the idea that Chourio’s first two seasons in the big leagues were disappointing would be, in a word, wrong. While some were perhaps hoping for a bigger leap in his second season, Chourio has still put together two productive seasons, back-to-back 20/20 seasons in which he’s averaged about three WAR per season. That makes him one of the most productive Brewers, and to bring it back to where we started, I want to re-stress that he has not yet played a regular-season game over the age of 21.

All of that said, it would be great to see Chourio level up in 2026. There have been times, including in the postseason, when Chourio looked pretty clearly like the best hitter on the team. The defense has been a bit up and down, but there have been encouraging signs. You’d like to see him lower his caught-stealing rate, but he’s very fast and clearly has some base-stealing ability. And, most encouragingly, after starting last season with an alarmingly bad walk rate, his plate discipline has looked rather good this spring.

Chourio can hit a baseball. He has extremely quick hands, and he can get to pitches that maybe he shouldn’t be able to get to. Simply improving his plate discipline — which improved quite a bit over the course of last season — and making modest gains in his consistency in the field and on the basepaths would make him a borderline All-Star.

But we can all kind of feel that he’s going to make gains, one of these days, in batting average (he’s hit .275 and .270 in his first two seasons) and homers (21 in both years). Who knows? Maybe we’ll get a 30/30 season.

Sal Frelick

Frelick almost feels like a solid, we-know-what-we’ll-get veteran at this point in his career, even though he’s not quite 26 yet and he’s only played two full seasons in the big leagues. It’s also worth remembering that Frelick improved quite a bit last season — his OPS went up by over 100 points, he hit six times as many homers as in 2024, and his wRC+ went from 87 to 114. Defensively, Frelick didn’t quite perform at the level he did when he won a Gold Glove in 2024, but he was still one of the better corner outfielders in the league.

What can we expect from Frelick in 2026? It seems unlikely that his power is going to creep up a whole lot more, and he did benefit from a solid .317 BABIP (though that was at .306 the year before, and Frelick, because he’s fast and hits a lot of weird little ground balls, might just be a guy who always has a pretty good BABIP). There seems to be a feeling that Frelick, with that 114 wRC+ in 2025, was pretty close to his ceiling.

I’m not completely sure. Frelick hit only 20 doubles last year, and he seems like a guy who could be a classic doubles hitter. Even if he plateaus near his .288 batting average and 12 homers from 2025, there’s a lot of room for improvement in the doubles category, and his 2021 college season and 2022 minor league season both make him look like a guy who could easily hit 30 doubles in the majors.

Beyond that, the Brewers just need Frelick to keep doing Frelick things — run hard, crash (safely) into walls, play good defense — and he should be one of the more reliable contributors on the 2026 squad.

Christian Yelich

We’re going to put Yelich here because he used to be an outfielder once. He isn’t anymore, really. Yelich played left field 19 times last season, and it’ll almost certainly be less than that in 2026.

But Yelich will be the Brewers’ most-used designated hitter, and even at age 34 with a balky back, he will probably be one of their best offensive contributors when he’s available. It was a rough end to the 2025 season, but Yelich still finished with an OPS near .800 (121 OPS+) and team-high 29 homers while playing in the most games he’s appeared in since 2022.

There’s some real concern about the back, though. Yelich missed a week at the beginning of September to rest that back, and upon returning, he hit .233/.291/.370, and then he went 6-for-33 (.182) with five singles and a double in the postseason. The optimist would say that Yelich was just tired and needs more rest — reasonable, given that he turned 34 in December.

It seems reasonable to limit Yelich to about 135 games next year, even if he’s more-or-less healthy the whole year. They could certainly find ways to put him in an at least occasional platoon situation; Yelich last season was a legitimate stud against right-handed pitching (.274/.356/504, 25 homers in 438 plate appearances) and struggled against lefties (.242/.316/.344, four homers in 206 plate appearances, an OPS 200 points lower than against RHP).

Either way, I’m not out on Yelich, no matter how rough it looked at the end of last season. While I’m hoping that Chourio is ready to become the team’s best hitter, there is absolutely no denying that when he was feeling good, that title still firmly belongs with the former MVP.

Blake Perkinsand Brandon Lockridge

I’m going to group Perkins and Lockridge because there’s a lot of overlap in skillset, here, and whichever of them is in the big leagues at any given time, they’re going to fill a similar role.

That role is to play great defense and run fast.

Neither will hit a whole lot (though Lockridge, surprisingly, has three homers this spring), but both should be able to play Gold-Glove-level defense when they’re on the field. Brewers fans are probably hoping that they won’t be on the field all that much, but right now it looks like one of them — probably Perkins, who has a lot more big league experience — will be in the lineup on Opening Day.

Perkins seems to be a favorite of manager Pat Murphy, and it’s not difficult to see why. Murphy loves a guy who doesn’t make mistakes in the field, and Perkins is one of the smoothest fielders in the league. Offensively, though, Perkins has never had an OPS+ above 85, and his offensive shortcomings were laid especially bare in the postseason, when the Brewers probably asked too much of him.

Lockridge doesn’t have a lot in his profile to suggest that he can be much better than Perkins at the plate, but what if the power he’s showcased this spring is somewhat real? Perkins has just 13 homers in almost 800 career plate appearances. And while Lockridge has only one in his major league career (79 plate appearances), he did hit 13 and 14 homers in less than 110 games in each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons in the minors.

There’s probably not room on Milwaukee’s roster for both of these guys, and Perkins should have the inside track on the big-league roster spot. But I’m sure we’ll see Lockridge in Milwaukee at some point this season, and if he’s swinging for the fences, it might be an interesting wrinkle as the Brewers look for just a little bit of offense out of this defensive duo.

Garrett Mitchell

The assumption is that Garrett Mitchell will start the season on the Brewers’ roster. His pedigree and previous flashes have probably earned him that.

More than anything, Mitchell needs to prove that he can stay healthy. I don’t need to elaborate much here. As much promise as he has shown, it doesn’t matter — this is a good place to drop in the painful cliché that the greatest ability is availability.

But… Mitchell also needs to prove that he’s a good baseball player after all the injuries he’s been through. It was only 25 games, but Mitchell struggled in 2025 with a .206/.286/.294 batting line in 78 plate appearances before his season-ending injury last year. This spring, Mitchell has hit the ball hard when he has hit it, and he’s been patient, but he’s also struck out an alarming 10 times in 22 plate appearances (an unsustainable 45.5% strikeout rate, 12 points higher than his career regular season rate).

Mitchell is probably still pretty good, but he’s 27 now, and he’s really got something to prove. If this season doesn’t go well, either because of injury or because of a lack of production, he may not have a place with the team by the end of the summer.

Who else?

It looks like Jake Bauers: left fielder is going to be a thing. (See more about Bauers in our first base preview.) He appeared in left field 21 times last season (compared to 40 at first base), and it seems extremely likely that he’ll appear in the outfield more than Yelich will this season. Is he a good left fielder? No, I don’t think so. But if they limit his exposure and don’t need to rely too much on him, he’ll probably be okay.

I’ve already talked about him extensively a couple of times in this series, but if I were a betting man, I’d say that the most likely place that Jett Williams gets playing time with the Brewers this season is in the outfield. That might mean center field, but we’ll have to see how the Brewers choose to align from the outset; if Bauers is playing a lot of left field this season, that likely means Chourio plays a lot of center, and if Milwaukee thinks Chourio is a better center fielder than Williams, then Williams — who has played mostly shortstop and center in the minors — could conceivably move to a corner.

In a somewhat similar boat to Williams is Tyler Black, who seems not to have a real position. The general consensus is that if he’s going to play in the field for the Brewers, it will be in an outfield corner — he’s only played four games with the Brewers this spring because he’s been away with Team Canada, and he played three games at first base and one in left field. Black could conceivably slide into the Bauers’ role (a left-handed hitter who plays mostly first base and a little left field) if Bauers gets hurt, but the most likely route to playing time for Black might be at designated hitter in the event that Yelich misses time. Black still has time, but he’s quickly moving to the outside of the Brewers’ prospect situation, and it’s going to take one or more injuries to get him time in Milwaukee this summer.

The Brewers signed Akil Baddoo to a small major league contract this season, but it’s difficult for me to see how he gets into the mix here. Baddoo also injured his quad late last week and won’t be ready for the beginning of the season. He should be back in April, but being behind schedule doesn’t exactly help a guy who didn’t have an obvious route to playing time anyway.

Steward Berroa is also still on the Brewers’ 40-man roster, but he hasn’t played in the Cactus League and is reportedly nursing a shoulder injury.

Beyond that, there aren’t many options near the top of the minors, and the outfield is one of the few places where the Brewers lack prospect depth. (This is why I think Williams most likely ends up in the outfield.) If Lockridge and/or Perkins weren’t with the team, Luis Lara could conceivably be a late-season defense-only option, but he’d be worse — possibly much worse — than either of those guys at the plate. There are no other real outfield prospects close to the big leagues in the system.

Vinnie Pasquantino, Jac Caglianone and Team Italy defeated Seth Lugo and Puerto Rico on Saturday.

On Saturday, Lugo — representing Puerto Rico — took the mound against Italy in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals at Daikin Park in Houston. He stood squarely across from Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone.

“No, to be honest with you,” Caglianone told reporters of any pregame banter. “I know Seth’s a very smart player. I spent a lot of time last year just talking game plan with him in the dugout. He definitely sees the game differently. But I think as long as we can keep doing what we’ve been doing, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”

Vinnie is becoming a star in Italy.

“I opened my phone after the game to like 60 DMs and it was in words … I didn’t know how to say,” the pitcher explained Sunday of his direct messages. “So definitely going to have to do some Google translate, for sure.”

And he is proud of his Italian heritage.

“I’m just trying to take in as much as I can because I know that there’s a lot of people that are upset that we represent Italy, being Italian-American, but I take so much pride in it because it is my roots,” Pasquantino said. “My family came over for a better life to America and, I honestly don’t have any issue representing those members of my family and it’s just super cool to be given this opportunity from these guys.”

Rustin Dodd at The Athletic writes about the benefits of drinking espresso in the dugout. [$]

Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez lead Venezuela over Japan.

The Royals have been featured very prominently in the World Baseball Classic.

“It’s been a lot of fun watching our guys go out there and have big games, come through in clutch moments,” Michael Wacha said. “That’s building confidence for them coming into the regular season, finding their swings, finding their pitches, it will only help us out during the regular season.”

“That’s the buzz that has been going around here, seeing what those guys have been doing over the last two weeks,” Schreiber said. “We’re super proud of them.”

Kansas City had the highest TV ratings of any market for the WBC pool play.

Anne Rogers writes the Royals are considering a six-man rotation at times.

“We’re talking about that all the time,” Sweeney said. “It could happen at different points of the year: ‘Is this the right thing to do?’ We have those first games and then the off-day, and then we’re 12 in a row in early April. That’s where a lot of injuries happen. ‘Should we do it there?’ We have to be really smart with these starters because workload matters for a healthy guy and a guy that was injured last year. How do we keep these guys running through the finish line and through October?”

She has a Jonathan India update.

MLB.com lists one player who has made a spring training impression for each team.

ROYALS: UTIL Nick Loftin

Most of the roster seems set for the Royals, except for the final spots. That includes the bench, and Loftin has established himself as a frontrunner to grab hold of it, not only because of his performance in Cactus League games, but also his defensive versatility. He’s played everywhere, including the corner outfield, his main positions in the infield and more first base than ever before. He’s also hitting the ball hard and making good swing decisions. Every one of those things has him inching closer to being on the roster come Opening Day.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wonders if the WBC spotlight previews bigger things for Maikel Garcia.

The Giants came one within one out of throwing a spring training perfect game.

José Ramírez suffers a shoulder injury in his spring training game Sunday.

Francisco Lindor is increasingly likely to be ready by Opening Day.

Seiya Suzuki bangs up his knee in the WBC quarterfinal on Saturday.

The Mets claim reliever Richard Lovelady off waivers.

Three Statcast highlights from WBC pool play.

What are some career milestones to watch for in 2026?

Chris Davis and Storm Davis will be inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame.

The MLBPA says a work stoppage could impact player participation in the 2028 Olympics.

What it’s like to be an official scorer.

Drew Brees plays for the Savannah Bananas in the Superdome.

10 takeaways from the men’s NCAA tournament bracket reveal.

UConn is the top seed in the women’s NCAA tournament bracket.

YouTube face has infected the internet.

A study may detail why cats always seem to land on their feet.

Here is a full list of 2026 Oscar winners.

Your song of the day John Mellencamp with R.O.C.K. In The USA.

After an incredibly long drought of middle infielders since the days when Willy Adames and Eugenio Suarez were young Detroit Tigers shortstop prospects, a new golden era is upon us as the Tigers farm system is suddenly packed with middle infielders. This has been a clear focal point to the club’s revamped draft strategy in the last three years. The theory is sound. If you draft shortstops and center fielders, you’re improving the overall athleticsm of your club, even if those prospects don’t ultimately stick at those positions. 20-year-old Franyerber Montilla was signed in the Al Avila years, but his emergence over the past year adds yet another athletic middle infielder to the Tigers’ prospect hoard.

Montilla was signed in January of 2022 out of Caracas, Venezuela. The Tigers paid him a $500K signing bonus and sent him to the Dominican Summer League at age 17 and 18. The slick fielding, switch-hitting shortstop arrived in Lakeland at age 19 in 2024 and tore up the Complex League. He got a quick look at Single-A ball that summer, and then returned in 2025 mainly playing second base while Bryce Rainer handled shortstop. Once Rainer damaged his shoulder in early June, Montilla moved over to play more shortstop over the next six weeks, until he too suffered a major injury, blowing out his his right ACL in his knee on an infield collision in late July.

The injuries, both in pitcher attrition and just plain back luck for Rainer and Montilla, have really been a plague over the past two seasons system wide. Hopefully they come back with arm strength intact in Rainer’s case, and footspeed intact in Montilla’s case, as those two tools are big parts of their secondary skills beyond the most important factor, their hit tools.

Montilla is a really slick, efficient defender with good hands and range, and a strong throwing arm. He profiles well at shortstop, and it was only Rainer’s absolute cannon at the shortstop position that had the Tigers focusing on him as the regular Flying Tigers’ shortstop. That range is a function of good instincts, but also plus speed, which he put to good use on the bases as well. He stole 27 bases in 67 games last year.

At the plate, Montilla has an efficient, pretty level swing and sprays line drives around the field from both sides of the plate. His big strength is his plate discipline. He walked in 12.7 percent of his plate appearances last year and rarely chases much out of the strike zone. He did strike out 24.7 percent of the time, and at times his discipline can perhaps slip into passivity, allowing pitchers to get ahead with fastballs for strike one and forcing him to battle out long at-bats. The fine line between grinding out pitchers, and failing to jump on mistakes early in counts, is a zone he’s still working to master.

The biggest issue before Montilla is strength and batspeed. He consistently squares up pitches, and he handled all pitch types to an above average level, but it’s below average raw power and he can be a little overwhelmed by good velocity in the zone. Montilla has a pretty slender six-foot tall frame, and needs to keep adding muscle to build a little more batspeed and both get to average power, which is roughly his ceiling, and handle velocity more consistently. He’s closer to getting there as a left-handed hitter, but the samples for him hitting right-handed against lefties are still very small, so more info is required.

Assuming his foot speed isn’t impacted by the ACL, which is usually but not always a safe assumption, the Tigers have a speed player who switch hits, steals bases, and should be capable of playing plus defense either at shortstop or second base. He takes his walks and makes plenty of good contact, but the batspeed still has to improve quite a bit to be able to project him for 15-20 HR level production down the road at the big league level. There’s a very strong floor in place, because Montilla screams utility player, but if he can get past the injury with some strength gains in the rehab process and look like he’ll get close to average power, suddenly the Tigers will have a player that projects like Zach McKinstry with more speed and better defense. If Montilla really maxes out his hit tool, then we’re talking about an everyday infielder anywhere you want to put him.

Unfortunately, ACL tears are usually nine months to a full year to completely rehab, so he may not be back on the field until July, when he’ll be 21 years old. Still, there’s plenty of time to make those strength gains and build on what is a very strong set of secondary tools. Like so many of the Tigers talented youngsters, patience is still required. Hopefully he can get back into a groove this summer and play for West Michigan, then look to take the next step sometime in 2027.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The San Francisco Giants are back for their last week of Spring Training baseball. So here’s what’s on deck for this week.

Monday

The Giants will visit the San Diego Padres for today’s game, starting at 1:10 p.m. PDT. This game will have audio available on the MLB At Bat app.

Tuesday

No Game

Wednesday

The Giants head to Glendale, AZ on Wednesday to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1:05 p.m. PDT. This game will have a national broadcast on MLB Network, however it’s unclear if that will be available for in-market fans or not. There will be radio coverage on KNBR, at least.

Thursday

The Giants keep their road games going with a visit to the Colorado Rockies on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. PDT. Currently there is no broadcast information available for this game. But it is the Rockies, so that tracks.

Friday

Friday is another split squad day.

The road team will visit the Texas Rangers at 5:05 p.m. PDT. There is no San Francisco broadcast information available at this time.

The home team will take on the Kansas City Royals also at 5:05 p.m. PDT. This game will have audio available on the MLB At Bat app.

Saturday

Saturday will be the last Spring Training game of the year, as the Giants welcome the Cleveland Guardians for a game at 12:05 p.m. PDT. There will be radio coverage on KNBR.

Sunday

The Giants will head to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento on Sunday for an exhibition game against the Sacramento River Cats at 5:07 p.m. PDT. The game will have video coverage on MiLB.TV, with River Cats radio coverage available on KNBR.

I don’t believe there has been a time in Cardinals history where a prospect with the resume of Yhoiker Fajardo has been considered the 19th prospect in the system. The closest comparable player in recent years is Darlin Saladin, but Saladin was 21 (not 18), he pitched at both Low A and High A, and I’m pretty sure his stuff is worse than Fajardo. Well Saladin was considered the 16th best prospect last season. Working against the same prospects Saladin did last year, surely Fajardo could do even better than 16 last year? And he’s all the way down to 19 this year. Kind of insane. Current list:

1. JJ Wetherholt
2. Liam Doyle
3. Rainiel Rodriguez
4. Quinn Mathews
5. Jurrangelo Cjintje
6. Joshua Baez
7. Leonardo Bernal
8. Jimmy Crooks
9. Brandon Clarke
10. Tink Hence
11. Tekoah Roby
12. Tanner Franklin
13. Brycen Mautz
14. Nathan Church
15. Cooper Hjerpe
16. Ixan Henderson
17. Yairo Padilla
18. Deniel Ortiz
19. Yhoiker Fajardo

Why not him?

I thought I’d create a new section and basically explain why a player you liked and may have voted for if given the chance was not added to the voting for the top 20 or in some cases, even added to a comparable player poll. For any player in the Dominican Summer League, which had a fairly strong team, or a recent international signing, I promise you: this crowd would not vote for them. Yairo Padilla and Rainiel Rodriguez were 15th and 18th on last year’s list. In a weaker system. And those guys got national attention. Your favorite DSL prospect was not getting selected.

Ramon Mendoza I think would have had trouble, because Deniel Ortiz had trouble basically. He’s all stats. I have no scouting report for him. Fangraphs did not rank him as a prospect. He’s closer to the MLB than Ortiz, but Mendoza also has a longer history of being at best mediocre, and he’s not young for his level. It would not make sense to me that this crowd would wait until 18 to select Ortiz, and then choose Mendoza two players later. And I’m comparing them because neither are as of yet considered “real” prospects by national publications near as I can tell. (The Cardinal Nation has Ortiz 15th, but even they did not rank Mendoza as a prospect)

In the underwhelming stats department, I think Jack Gurevitch had no shot at being selected because he kind of sucked in his draft year. And if you’re wondering why I’m even mentioning him, he was ranked 20th by Baseball Prospectus. Also underwhelming is Ryan Campos, who actually made last year’s BP top 20 list, but I can’t see this group voting for a catcher with okay offensive stats and no power who is undersized. Jonathan Mejia didn’t make last year’s list and then went out and had a worse season so he was pretty easy to leave off the voting.

A lot of guys had an opportunity to be put in the voting, but lost their comparable player polls: Bryan Torres got destroyed by Blaze Jordan, still in the voting; Travis Honeyman got destroyed by Chase Davis, who is not that close to being selected for the top 20; Braden Davis lost his head to head poll to Pete Hansen, not that close to being selected; Andrew Dutkanych personally knocked out a lot of players, beating Mason Molina, Jacob Odle, Hancel Rincon, and Blake Aita in different head-to-head polls. Molina himself defeated Nate Dohm and Frank Ellisalt. Aita beat both Sem Robberse and Leonel Sequera. Won-Bin Cho and Zach Levenson did not get more votes than Colton Ledbetter and actually lost fairly easily.

And lastly, Colton Ledbetter is not on this current vote, because he was in either last or second-to-last in every single poll since I added him. He got just two votes total for the 18th vote. There is no way that guy can go from that to winning the 20th vote. To be clear, that is why he is not being added, I’ll also add I don’t think there’s a very good argument for him being in the top 20 this particular year, because well he’s not a barely worse prospect than Yhoiker Fajardo. I think he’s a slightly farther along Zach Levenson, who nobody really thinks is close to the top 20. Last year, when being in the top 20 meant being better than Zack Showalter or Travis Honeyman or Matt Koperniak, yeah I could see him being there, but not this year.

New Add

Once again, I am adding a new player just to get a new name onto the voting. Dutkanych pretty easily won most of his comparable player polls, but one of them was an actual contest and in addition, this is a guy I can actually see being selected maybe. Or to phrase it differently, of all the possible choices not yet added to the voting, this guy seemingly has the greatest chance to be selected. That would be last year’s 4th round pick, Cade Crossland.

Jesus Baez, IF – 21

Stats (High A): 416 PAs, .244/.327/.397, 10.3 BB%, 18.5 K%, .153 ISO, .270 BABIP, 116 wRC+, 121 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding

Baez was a fairly strong hitter in High A with a good walk rate, solid K rate, solid pop. He has so far been reasonably good at making contact despite the 45 potential hit tool, although maybe that scouting is being felt from his .270 BABIP with him trading some potential strikeouts for weaker contact. DRC+ saw him as a little bit unlucky in that regard. I’m not real sure of the run environment for High A for the Mets’ affiliate, but he should have plenty of opportunity to show his power at Springfield this upcoming year at 21-years-old.

Cade Crossland, LHP – 22

Stats (SEC): 16 G, 68.1 IP, 26.6 K%, 10.4 BB%, .331 BABIP, 6.32 ERA/4.43 FIP

Scouting: 45/50 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 45/50 Curve, 50/55 Change, 30/45 Command

Those stats are going to be a hard sell admittedly, but we’re missing some very important context: I could not find any stats on his groundball tendencies. A .331 BABIP against for example does not exactly suggest a flyball pitcher. And if he was a heavy groundball pitcher, there’s a good chance he had a high HR/FB%, which would not necessarily be predictive of how he’ll perform as a pro. Fangraphs thinks he’s very close to having four at least average pitches although not a huge fan of his command yet.

Chase Davis, OF – 24

Stats (AA): 494 PAs, .242/.358/.353, 13.6 BB%, 29.6 K%, .111 ISO, .345 BABIP, 105 wRC+

Scouting: 30/35 Hit, 30/45 Game Power, 60/60 Raw Power, 50/50 Speed, 45/55 Field

Davis started as a power-hitting outfielder when the Cardinals drafted him in the 1st round back in 2023 draft. That advertised power has never really come and really disappeared last year, although as we saw in spring training, it might be in there somewhere. Not necessarily advertised for his defense, it seems like it’s going to be better than originally expected, which is certainly necessary considering his bat has been worse than expected.

Andrew Dutkanych, RHP – 22

Stats (CPX): 3 G, 3.1 IP, 22.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 38.5 GB%, .462 BABIP, 10.80 ERA/2.07 FIP/3.04 xFIP

Low A: 6 G, 14.1 IP, 35.6 K% 16.9 BB%, 46.4 GB%, .269 BABIP, 2.51 ERA/4.52 FIP/3.22 xFIP

Fangraphs did not give him any scouting grades, but they did write a short blurb on him: “The Cardinals still took him in the seventh round, and saw him return to action late last year, where he sat 91-94 mph and flashed a promising vertical slider from an over-the-top slot that looks difficult to reach.” He had no problems with the swing-and-miss, he did have some issues with control that can be explained away by recovering from Tommy John surgery, but that explanation probably evaporates during this upcoming season.

Luis Gastelum, 24 – RHP

Stats (AA): 46 G, 62.2 IP, 35.4 K%, 6.5 BB%, 48.3 GB%, .343 BABIP, 4.02 ERA/2.19 FIP/2.31 xFIP

Scouting: 45/45 Fastball, 40/40 Slider, 65/65 Change, 50/55 Command

Gastelum has one phenomenal pitch, and two other pitches just to make the hitter think he’s not a guarantee to throw a change. But his entire plan of attack is structured around the change. And he seems to have fairly good command, which is supported in the numbers so far at least, with pretty low BB rates. Hitters know the change is coming, and it hasn’t really helped so far. Although, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that when hitters do make contact, and it’s not very often, for some reason they’re hits a lot more than you’d expect. He has run pretty consistently high BABIPs in his pro career, like .343 is actually his professional low (when he throws at least 9 innings), which is just crazy.

Pete Hansen, LHP – 25

Stats (AA): 26 GS, 137.1 IP, 21.1 K%, 6.3 BB%, 46.2 GB%, .306 BABIP, 3.93 ERA/3.65 FIP/3.71 xFIP

Scouting: 35/35 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 40/40 Curve, 50/55 Change, 55/60 Command

Hansen is very likely to throw his pitch where he wants to throw it, the question is are his pitches good enough for that to matter. Obviously, command is a very important part of pitching, especially starting pitching, but all pitchers make mistakes and it’s easier to live with mistakes with hard to hit pitches in all locations. According to the scouting by Fangraphs, Hansen has a get me over curve, and will have to spot his fastball in order to get to both his slider and change, which are probably the pitches he wants hitters to swing at.

Blaze Jordan, 23 – 1B/3B

Stats (AA): 176 PAs, .320/.415/.513, 12.5 BB%, 10.8 K%, .193 ISO, .333 BABIP, 167 wRC+, 145 DRC+

AAA: 368 PAs, .248/.291/.423, 5.7 BB%, 11.1 K%, .175 ISO, .247 BABIP, 83 wRC+, 101 DRC+

Scouting: 40/50 Hit, 40/50 Game Power, 60/60 Raw Power, 30/30 Speed, 40/45 Fielding

Jordan has had a long route to get to this point, so it’s kind of easy to forget that he’s still just 23-years-old despite being in the minor leagues since 2021. Jordan was impossibly young when he was drafted, not turning 18 until December after his draft year in 2020. One advantage of that is that it can take you the better part of five seasons just to get to AAA and a little bit longer to truly excel at AAA and still be considered young for your level. The question for him will be can he swing at the pitches he is supposed to swing at and resist swinging at pitches that’ll produce weak contact because he’s plenty good at making contact, just not necessarily good contact.

Chen-Wei Lin, 24 – RHP

Stats (Low A): 12 GS, 38.2 IP, 27.2 K%, 17.2 BB%, 50 GB%, .283 BABIP, 4.89 ERA/3.69 FIP/4.17 xFIP

High A: 4 GS, 9.2 IP, 41.7 K%, 18.8 BB%, 50 GB%, .412 BABIP, 9.31 ERA/4.80 FIP/2.76 xFIP

Scouting: 60/70 Fastball, 40/45 Slider, 40/60 Change, 30/40 Command

From Lin’s perspective, he just has to forget about his 2025 season, because it did not go his way, even though he did end up getting a promotion to AA. One would assume if your season ends with a promotion to a higher level, that your season went as expected. Clearly in Lin’s case, it did not. What he did show was genuine swing-and-miss even though it seems like he rarely knew exactly where it was going. That profile typically sounds like a reliever, but a more healthy Lin walked just 7.8% of hitters in 2024 with over 5 innings per start. There’s still a chance.

Ryan Mitchell, 19 – OF

No stats

Scouting: 25/55 Hit, 25/50 Game Power, 40/55 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 25/50 Fielding

Also kind of a hard sell: voting for a player where you are relying on scouting, albeit scouting that led the Cardinals to draft Mitchell 55th overall in the draft. So the Cardinals certainly believe he’s a prospect. He is a speedy, athletic guy who will have the chance to prove he is a good outfielder – plenty of time honestly – who seems to have a good hit tool and good potential power. Like I’ve said before, I wish I had the power to know how quickly they would advance him to Low A, because that would tell us a lot about him as a prospect.

Tai Peete, OF – 20

Stats (High A): 529 PAs, .217/.288/.404, 8.7 BB%, 30.6 K%, .187 ISO, .282 BABIP, 79 wRC+, 79 DRC+

Scouting: 20/30 Hit, 30/50 Game Power, 50/60 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 45/55 Fielding

A vote for Peete is a vote for upside essentially. You’re certainly not voting for him based on his performance. In hindsight, I kind of think the Mariners should have started him in Low A last season. He did manage an above average line, but he struck out a lot and had a .391 BABIP. BABIP can be a talent in the minor leagues, but he was clearly not ready for High A. On the flipside, despite being mostly overmatched, he displayed a surprising amount of power. So his power seems legit, he’s fast, scouts think he’ll be a good fielder, but just needs to figure out how to get his K rate to a manageable level.

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