Category: Baseball

On Sept. 1, 2025, San Diego Padres reliever Jason Adam attempted to field a ground ball in a game against the Baltimore Orioles. After pivoting off his left leg, Adam fell to the ground in obvious pain. He was immediately carted off the field while holding his left thigh. The subsequent announcement from the team detailed a ruptured left quadriceps tendon that would require immediate surgery and end the season for Adam.

The injury normally requires a 6-9 month recovery time and Adam notably later stated he wanted to be ready for Opening Day of the 2026 season. March would be the best case scenario for a return, so it isn’t a surprise that the Padres opted to slow-play Adam in his return to the team. Keeping Adam healthy for the entire season is the real goal and rushing him back would not serve either party.

Adam made two appearances in Cactus League games before the Padres left Arizona. He pitched two innings over two games with two strikeouts and no hits or walks allowed. He began the season on the 15-day IL, retroactive to March 22. He is able to return April 6, if all goes well.

Adam pitched on March 28 for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, throwing 1.1 innings and allowing one hit with no walks and no runs. That was his first test of pitching an up/down during his recovery. He was also required to field his position over a that stretch.

Today, Adam with be with the Lake Elsinore Storm, pitching a simulated game where the conditions can be controlled by the staff and Adam can be stressed in particular ways to ensure that he is fully recovered.

That will be followed by a back-to-back appearance with the San Antonio Missions in Tulsa, Okla. Adam will pitch April 3 and April 4 for the Missions, the last significant test for the reliever before he is eligible to come off the IL and make his season debut with the Padres. (Update per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune)

If all goes well, Adam will then be back with the Padres. If he comes off the IL on April 6, he will be available in Pittsburgh for the start of the series against the Pirates. When activated, the organization will need to send another member of the bullpen to the minors to make room for Adam.

Considering the status of the rotation, it is unlikely that pitcher will be lefty Kyle Hart. The other long-man, righty Ron Marinaccio, is out of options and can’t be sent down without being exposed to waivers. While having two long-relief options is a bonus, the ineffectiveness of the rotation so far indicates a definite need for both.

The pitcher sent down will most likely be either Bradgley Rodriquez or Jeremiah Estrada. Estrada has struggled with control so far this year, both in Spring Training and his appearance in the second game of the season against the Tigers. Rodriguez has been excellent and would be the better option to stay with the team.

Yuki Matsui status

Lefty reliever Yuki Matsui threw both bullpens and live BP in Peoria, Ariz. before the Padres broke camp and returned to San Diego. He was placed on the 15-day IL on March 25, retroactive to March 22, due to a left groin strain suffered early in camp. He missed pitching for Japan in the WBC as well as not appearing in any Cactus League games before the end of spring. After making the introductions on Opening Day, Matsui returned to Arizona for extended spring and has not made an appearance in a minor league game yet.

Back in August, I began a series here at Pinstripe Alley where I was going to put together an All-Star Yankee team of players who were born in a given month. Since then, we as a staff have started doing daily posts for the year 2026, highlighting a Yankee from history whose birthday happens to land on that day. I thought, what better way to put a cap on a month’s worth of birthday posts then by using the all-month teams as a way to look back on who we covered — and maybe some we didn’t cover who shared a birthday with someone else.

With that in mind, here are my choices for the All-March Birthday Yankee Team.

Pitcher: Vic Raschi (March 28th birthday post)

There are other pitchers who had better overall careers who happened to pitch for the Yankees, such as Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance, but the “Springfield Rifle” is probably the best starting pitcher to have a career as a Yankee (though we’ll always love Chien-Ming Wang). When he’s out, the March Yankees could bring in Dellin Betances from the bullpen.

Catcher: Francisco Cervelli (March 6th birthday post)

He’ll be pitching to the long time Yankee and Pirate catcher, who just helped lead Italy on a wild run in the World Baseball Classic.

First Base: Oswaldo Cabrera (March 1st birthday post)

It’s not his most natural position, but Waldo is flexible enough to play at first, and he’ll have to do with not a ton of good options in the rest of the month.

Second Base: Mariano Duncan

We didn’t get to profile Duncan, as he shares a March 13th birthday with another member of this team, but “We play today, we win today… das it!”

Shortstop: Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Shortstop is another bit of a weak spot on this team, so IKF will have to do.

Third Base: Home Run Baker (March 13th birthday post)

Current manager Aaron Boone also has a March birthday, and you maybe could’ve put him on the team, just for one moment in particular, but Baker had a far more distinguished career, both in pinstripes and overall. Boone would also get beaten out for the manager position for this team by Miller Huggins.

Outfield: Willie Keeler (March 3rd birthday post)

The March Yankees have some solid outfield depth, and that includes Keeler, who was one of the first stars of the franchise, back when they were still the Highlanders.

Outfield: Curtis Granderson (March 16th birthday post)

Granderson was a personal favorite of mine back during his Yankees’ career, not only for his home runs and fourth-place MVP finish in 2011, but also because he always seemed like a cool and nice guy.

Outfield: Bobby Abreu (March 11th birthday post)

The Yankees’ 2006 trade for Bobby Abreu remains one of the all-time best midseason moves in franchise history. For not a whole lot, they got a very good middle of the order bat, who was a perfect fit for the Yankees’ lineup at that time.

Designated Hitter: Darryl Strawberry (March 12th birthday post)

The most famous part of his career will always be his time as a star for the 1980s Mets, but Strawberry later went to the other side of the city, picked up a few more rings, and became a beloved veteran member of the ’90s Yankees’ dynasty.

That’s my lineup, but if you would have a different combination, let’s keep the conversation going!

Seattle is taking a big-league swing on its top prospect — before he takes one of his own. 

The Mariners have signed wunderkind shortstop Colt Emerson to a historic eight-year, $95 million contract before even making his MLB debut, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed Tuesday morning.

The deal, pending a physical, would become the largest contract ever given to a player without any MLB service time — shattering the record set by Jackson Chourio’s $82 million over eight years that he fetched from the Brewers at the 2023 Winter Meetings. 

The historic pact also includes a full no-trade clause and a ninth-year club option, as well as “incentives and escalators” that could push the total upwards of $130 million, according to the Seattle Times.

Emerson, 20, was selected by the Mariners in the first round of the 2023 draft, and he currently sits as baseball’s No. 7 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline.

Labeled in his scouting report as “one of the best pure hitters in the minors,” he surged up to Triple-A Tacoma by the end of 2025, boasting a clean 1.000 OPS with five hits and home run across a six-game cameo with the Rainiers.

He posted an .828 OPS with a pair of bombs and eight RBIs for the Mariners in spring training. 

He has also flashed strong defensive upside and has also taken some reps at third base, providing the Mariners roster flexibility.

Emerson will start the season in Triple-A Tacoma. He’ll eventually replace veteran J.P. Crawford — who hits the open market after this season — as the club’s franchise shortstop.

Investing early in emerging talent isn’t a foreign concept to the Mariners; In 2019, they inked former first-rounder Evan White to a six-year, $24 million extension before he even landed in Triple-A. 

White went on to win the Gold Glove at first base in 2020 but was constantly hampered by injuries, and he was out of the majors two years later.

We reach the pinnacle of the system with three infielders and (huge spoiler alert) Trey Yesavage, who arguably has more value than the other three combined though is not long for the list.

4. Josh Kasevich, SS, age 25 (DOB: 1/17/2001), grade: 45, 2025: 4th

It is an interesting conundrum that after years of being more skeptical on Kasevich’s batted ball quality and consequently hit tool projection than elsewhere, we end up with him higher than almost anywhere else. We are largely looking through a lost 2025 as a result of two injuries (the latter due to a fluke collision), and largely maintaining the previous projection.

The 60th overall pick of the 2022 MLB Draft from Oregon, prior to 2025 Kasevich was a model of consistency working his way up. At all levels, his propensity to make contact has resulted in very low strikeout rates under 10% and thus high averages, but with almost no power (under .100 ISO). The Jays have been working with him to unlock a little more power, and in Spring Training he did drive some balls. We’ll see if that carries over or comes at the expense of contact, and whether the tradeoff is beneficial. At shortstop, Kasevich is a solid if unspectacular defender who lacks standout tools but makes the routine plays and should be playable there at least early in his career.

It’s a prototypical high floor/probability, lower ceiling profile. If one is looking for future impact regulars, then Kasevich would rank lower. But in terms of the probability of being a materially positive major league contributor, few in the system are as high as Kasevich and while perhaps less alluring, it still matters. The reality is, very few prospects will hit even, say, 3 WAR. And we don’t entirely rule out the possibility he plays above the tools and grinds out some regular seasons.

3. JoJo Parker, SS, age 19 (DOB: 8/8/2006), grade: 45+, 2025: high school

The 8th overall pick in the 2025 Draft out of high school in Mississippi, Parker represents another big investment in a high upside prep bat. He raked on the showcase circuit against high end pitching thanks to plus bat speed from the left side, with good power projection in his 6’2” frame. It does project as off the charts power, but should be able to maximize it in games.

That size and lack of standout defensive tools mean he probably won’t stick at shortstop, with third base the strongest possibility on the infield. That’s not a big deal; if the bat works out, there will be a spot for him somewhere. He’s also on the older side of the draft class (just 10 months younger than Arjun Nimmala despite being drafted two years later). That used to be a pretty big yellow flag, but teams are better contextualizing age factors and some of the prep players who have clicked in recent years have been on the older side.

While they are not necessarily directly comparable in terms of profile, a lot of the things that were true two years ago of Nimmala apply to Parker as well. It’s a very risky demographic with a very significant failure rate even for very high picks. This holds down the expected value until we get some pro data to (hopefully) start chipping away at the left side of the distribution and redistribute it towards the higher upside and impact outcomes. In the very short run, he could move up fairly quickly if he comes out hitting at the low-A level.

By pure expected value, Kasevich actually ranks above Parker, which is where we initially had him. But the reality is, in a straight up trade, no one is taking Kasevich over Parker and that acid test must hold and be reflected. Ultimately, the utility of the 10-15% impact outcomes for Parker outweighs the utility of of Kasevich’s probability.

2. Arjun Nimmala, SS, age 20 (DOB: 10/16/2005), grade: 50, 2025: 3rd

By late-May of last year, notwithstanding Trey Yesavage’s dominance, I would have had Nimmala as the #1 prospect in the system high a high confidence that by August he’d be in New Hampshire. He got off to an incredible start, with a high watermark on May 27th of .293/.372/.545 (almost 50% above average) as a 19 year old in high-A. In addition to nine home runs in a tough league for power, his strikeout rate came down to 18%.

And then it was like a switch flipped. From June onward, Nimmala hit just .184/.277/.290, frequently looking lost at the plate for games at a time with very weak contact. Worse, the struggles followed him into the field as his fielding became more erratic with the marginal lapses seeming more mental than physical. If there was one positive, it was that his strikeout rate remained materially lower than before at 23%.

If everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face, it was disconcerting to see the extent to which Nimmala didn’t rebound after he struggled for really the first time in his career. How prospects fare as they go through a league or level multiple times and have to make adjustments is a significant factor for me, though the sheer magnitude seems beyond just the league adjusting to me and one wonders if there wasn’t something underlying rather than some of the hit tool related concerns suddenly and starkly being exposed.

One of the youngest players in the 2023 Draft, Nimmala slid to the Jays 20th overall due to questions about his swing and hit tool, despite offering some of the highest upside in the draft class. His performance until midseason last year had been quite promising, given his ability to get to power in-game despite aggrssive placements albeit while sometimes approaching the viability line on swing-and-miss. Defensively, he’s looked plenty capable of handling the position (notwithstanding the wobbles discussed above).

In large measure, we maintain the evaluation on Nimmala. High school infielders are a risky demographic, with high bust rates even at the top end of the draft, and NImmala especially so given the up-and-downs. At his best, he’s looked like a power-over-hit future regular with some impact potential. He could also conceivably stall out in the upper minors.

1. Trey Yesavage, RHP, age 22 (DOB: 7/28/2003), grade: 65, 2025: 5th

Surprise! Of course, the notion of a pitcher who has two World Series starts and frankly anchored the postseaosn run as a “prospect” in any meaningful sense is as absurd as NBP veterans being “rookies”. But the criteria are the criteria, and hence he’s first by a country mile.

Looking back, it is tempting to view last year as a massive underranking, and I admittedly I had the lower grading. But the reality is, about 25% of first round college pitcher picks don’t even make the majors, with the next 25% either being cups or coffee or essentially replacement and when the list was compiled we had yet to seen him pitch (the dynamic Spring Breakout performance would have modestly lifted this). His rampage through the minors to an almost unforeseeable extent eliminated that first bucket entirely and largely vitiated the second. Essentially the worst 40-50% of outcomes are gone, with more modest increases to the (reasonable) ceiling as well.

The fundamentals are well known at this point: extreme vertical release point that makes it hard for hitters to pick up the ball out if his hand, mid-90s straight four seam fastball with riding life, devastating splitter, and good slider.

If we want to pick some nits, I’ll be interested to see what happens as hitters make adjustments, particularly laying off his splitter rather than flailing as it dives below the zone. In both the minors and his major league run, there was a tendency for a fair number of splitters to hang up over the plate. It wasn’t surprising that the minor leaguer hitters couldn’t punish these mistakes, but I was surprised at how many he got away with against big league hitters. Will they eventually catch up? The fastball is pretty straight. Finally, there’s some evidence that vertical release points are correlated with (in particular) should injury risk.

But for the most part, this simply amounts to a question where on the spectrum of grade 50 (roughly 10-14 WAR over control years) and above he belongs. It’s a very attractive notion to ponder.

While the AAA Louisville Bats got their 2026 regular season underway last week just like the big league Cincinnati Reds, the lower minors affiliates will begin their campaigns later this week. With that on the docket, the rosters for the respective Opening Days for the High-A Dayton Dragons (Thursday evening against the Lansing Lugnuts) and AA Chattanooga Lookouts (Friday against the Columbus Clingstones) have been finalized.

The Lookouts will feature top prospects like Cam Collier, Leo Balcazar, and Carlos Jorge among their position player ranks as well as former 1st round picks like Austin Hendrick and Jay Allen II. The pitching staff will be spearheaded by Jose Acuna (who returns after firing 71.2 IP of 3.64 ERA ball there last year) as well as veteran Kevin Abel, while Jose Montero (3.93 ERA in 103.0 IP with High-A Dayton in 2025) will also make the jump up a level into the rotation.

The Lookouts revealed their entire roster this morning, which you can see below.

Meanwhile, top prospect and catcher of the future Alfredo Duno will headline the roster of the Dayton Dragons, as the Reds pointed out on Twitter earlier in the day.

Dayton’s roster is largely comprised of players who spent considerable time with the club last year, though Duno is clearly the exception to that rule. He destroyed Florida State League pitching as a 19 year old in 2025 (.287/.430/.518 with 18 HR and a 95/91 BB/K ratio) before heading off to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League and showing out there, too.

What’s similarly interesting about Dayton’s roster, though, is who isn’t on it. Top prospect Tyson Lewis will apparently not be making the jump up a level to begin 2026 after he hit .268/.347/.417 there in 144 PA to finish 2025, his strikeout problems (51 in that time) likely something he’ll be asked to work on a bit first. Similarly, former NCAA dinger champ Mason Neville will not begin with Dayton after hitting .247/.333/.442 in 90 PA with Daytona last year, his own K-rate (34.4%) also a pretty glaring issue, while Arnaldo Lantigua will also seemingly stick around Daytona after 129 PA with them in his age-19 season.

The same is apparently true for Sheng-En Lin, who threw 16.2 IP for Daytona last year and is still focusing on pitching only after having been a two-way player prior to 2025.

The Daytona Tortugas have not yet released their roster, so we’ll need to wait for confirmation from them at some point later this week. It’s also worth pointing out that a number of names we otherwise would have seen on these rosters will begin the year on the minor league 60-day IL, with notable pitchers like Luke Holman and Carson Spiers there alongside infielder Ricky Cabrera.

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George Springer has been doing damage at the top of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup, and I’m expecting that trend to continue with Ryan Feltner on the mound for the Colorado Rockies. 

I explain why Springer matches up well in my free Toronto Blue Jays vs. Rockies predictions and MLB picks for Tuesday, March 31.

Rockies vs Blue Jays predictions

Rockies vs Blue Jays best bet: George Springer Over 0.5 RBI (+145)

It’s been a bit of a slower start to the year for George Springer, but he’s still finding ways to drive in runs with an RBI in three-straight games.

Springer has also had a lot of career success against the Colorado Rockies, with a 1.012 OPS and eight RBI in 45 at-bats. He can add to that tally against Ryan Feltner, who has a career strikeout rate of 19.5% and struggles to limit damage. 

The confidence in his pick is coupled with the belief that the bottom of the order will reach base for Springer to drive them in. The Jays’ 7-9 hitters have been the most productive to start the season, combining for 18 hits and six walks through the first four games this season.

COVERS INTEL: Feltner has a 33% usage rate on his four-seamer, a pitch that Springer handled well with a .307 batting average last season and an xSLG rate of .746.

Rockies vs Blue Jays same-game parlay (SGP)

Jesus Sanchez has faced Feltner more than any other Blue Jays batter, going 4-for-11 with two homers against him. 

Max Scherzer takes the bump for Toronto, and I’m expecting the Jays’ high strikeout trend to continue with him on the mound. He racked up 10 strikeouts against this lineup last season in 20 at-bats, and he may be asked to work deeper into the game after Cody Ponce was forced to leave Monday's game with an injury.

Rockies vs Blue Jays SGP

• George Springer Over 0.5 RBI
• Jesus Sanchez Over 0.5 hits
• Max Scherzer Over 5.5 strikeouts

Rockies vs Blue Jays home run pick: Jesus Sanchez (+510)

In addition to owning Feltner with a 1.273 OPS, he has done the bulk of his damage against right-handed pitching. Sixty-five of his 74 career home runs have come against righties.

Rockies vs Blue Jays odds

• Moneyline: Colorado +225 | Toronto -280
• Run line: Colorado +1.5 (-145) | Toronto -1.5 (+125)
• Over/Under: Over 9 (-120) | Under 9 (+100)

Rockies vs Blue Jays trend

The Toronto Blue Jays have hit the Game Total Over in 85 of their last 148 games (+23.75 Units / 15% ROI) Find more MLB betting trends for Rockies vs. Blue Jays.

How to watch Rockies vs Blue Jays and game info

Rockies vs Blue Jays latest injuries

Rockies vs Blue Jays weather

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The middle game of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ series against the Cleveland Guardians will be the first pitching start for Shohei Ohtani, who coincidentally is the second in a series of Japanese pitchers.

Roki Sasaki pitched in Monday night’s game, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch in Wednesday afternoon’s finale.

Because of the World Baseball Classic, Ohtani only pitched in two games in Spring Training. He went 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA, striking out 15 batters across 8.1 innings of work. 11 of those K’s came in his last outing a week ago against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. After that outing, both Ohtani and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts felt good about where Ohtani was in his preparation for the regular season.

This will be the first in what Ohtani and the Dodgers organization hope will be a fully healthy season for Shohei that will see him take the mound 25 times. Ohtani called every Dodger pitcher making 25 starts “ideal” after his first outing in Arizona.

For how long this first outing will last, Roberts said the plan was about six innings.

“Honestly, with Shohei, you’ve got to be willing to adapt,” Roberts said. “Because if he’s really efficient, then you’re still trying to win the game. And if it makes sense, I’m not going to just pull the plug just because of a certain number.”

Ohtani would also like to see the Dodgers offense give him some run support. The team has yet to have the first lead of the game in the four they have played so far. The first three saw them able to mount a comeback, but in Monday night’s game they could only muster two runs in the bottom of the ninth, which were not enough to beat the Guardians.

Miguel Rojas and Andy Pages are the only two Dodgers so far that are hitting with any great consistency. The Dodgers will be facing right hander Tanner Bibee, who pitched the first game of the Guardian’s season against the Seattle Mariners, going 5.0 innings and allowing three earned runs while striking out seven.

Tuesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Guardians
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The beginning of the season is often a time for signing young, pre-free agency-eligible players to long-term deals. Teams have increasingly become more aggressive signing players just as their careers are beginning, and in some cases, before they have even made their big league debuts.

This week, the Brewers signed infield prospect Cooper Pratt to an eight-year, $50.75 million deal, before he has even reached Triple-A. Pratt is ranked as the #62 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, but hit just .238/.343/.348 with eight home runs and 31 steals in Double-A last year. Meanwhile, the Mariners signed shortstop prospect Colt Emerson to an eight-year, $95 million deal. He has a better pedigree as the #7 prospect in baseball, and hit .285/.383/.458 with 16 home runs across three levels in the minors.

The teams are taking some risk, as neither player has made their MLB debut or reached their 22nd birthday. But if they become superstars, the team could save a lot of money, plus keep the player beyond when they would have been eligible for free agency.

Should the Royals do the same with their young hitters, Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone? Jensen is ranked as the #11 prospect in the game by Baseball America and had an impressive debut last September, hitting .300/.391/.550 with three home runs in 20 games. The 22-year-old has a patient eye, solid power, and is a good defender behind the plate. The floor is lower with Caglianone, but the ceiling is much higher. The former first-round pick struggled in the big leagues, but hit 20 home runs in just 66 minor league games last year, hitting .337/.408/.617. Even though he hit just .157 with seven home runs in 62 MLB games, there were some impressive underlying metrics that suggest that if he could elevate more, he could have great success.

Of course, it all depends on how much it would cost. A good comp for Jensen may be the recent extension signed by Samuel Basallo. The Orioles catcher signed an eight-year, $67 million deal just a week into his big league career, after being anointed one of the top prospects in baseball.

Caglianone is a bit more difficult to comp, since he was amazing in the minors, but struggled in an extended look in the big leagues. In 2025, Lawrence Butler signed a seven-year, $65.5 million deal with a club option with the Athletics. He struggled in his initial stint in the big leagues, but came on to have a terrific 2024 season, justifying the deal. Caglianone’s ceiling may be higher, but the risk is also greater, since he hasn’t performed yet, which may make it difficult to come to an agreement.

What do you think? Should the Royals be signing their young hitters to long-term deals?

Playing the Dodgers was a challenge.  Despite the challenge, some statistics provide insights to the remainder of the season.

The Positive Statistics.

The Diamondbacks were up to the challenge of playing the Dodgers.  They lost the last two games by only 1 run. In each of those games, the game-deciding run was scored in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Batting.

Alek Thomas’ 3 RBIs leads the team.  Perhaps this season will be a long awaited breakout season for him at the plate.

In the first two games, Perdomo continued his breakout from last season.  He hit a homer!  He continued to challenge opposing pitchers, with an average of 3.833 pitches per PA. More details:

• Before the third game, when he put two balls in play on the first pitch, his average was 4.375 pitches per PA.
• As a point of reference, last season his average was 4.176 pitches per PA.
• His 19.0% O-Swings was about the same as last season’s 19.2% O-Swings.
• His 14.3% Whiffs was equivalent to one whiff higher than last season.

Pitching.

In this series, the Diamondbacks held the Dodgers scoreless in the first two innings. Great first innings can set the tone for each game.

Eduardo Rodriguez pitched five innings without allowing an earned run. After this start, he has pitched two consecutive starts against the Dodgers with zero earned runs. Perhaps he is kryptonite to the Dodgers.

In this series, six bullpen pitchers made scoreless appearances.  Loaisiga and Thompson each did it twice.  The others were Hoffman, Morillo, Ross, and Sewald.

Mostly great defense with runners on base.  In this series, the Dodgers stranded 15 runners on base (7 were in scoring position).  The Diamondbacks made 2 errors.  The first error led to an extra base, but that runner did not score a run.  The second error allowed an extra baserunner, who unfortunately scored a run after a stolen base and a hit. In addition, Lawlar made a great catch despite his very limited experience in the outfield.

The Negative Statistics.

Batting.

In this series, Diamondbacks batters had 5.4 strikeouts per walk.  That compares poorly to their last season, which had 2.4 strikeouts per walk.

After overcoming a sore elbow, Pavin Smith played in two games. His only hit was a single. At least it earned him an RBI. Now, he is on the injured list with elbow inflammation.

How many games until Corbin Carrol gets an extra-base hit? [Answer: In the first game of the Tigers series, he hit a triple and a homer!]

Pitching.

In the first two games, Diamondbacks starting pitchers allowed 4 runs per game. On the other hand, I’m confident they will pitch better when not facing the Dodgers.

Bullpen pitcher Taylor Clarke has an ERA of 108.00. That statistic can only get better.

Baserunning.

In the first game, Geraldo Perdomo got caught stealing (although successfully stole a base in the third game). Also, Jordan Lawlar got caught off second base on a line drive. These two outs were not necessarily due to bad baserunning. But game two was a different story.

In the second game, two Diamondbacks were called out on attempted extra bases. First was Alek Thomas attempting to score from first base on an Alex Thomas double. Second was Alek Thomas over-slid third base when he attempting to stretch a double into a triple. Although the Diamondbacks rank high on extra bases, knowing when to make the attempts is part of that strength.

“We’ve got to figure that out. We run the bases very aggressively. We made an inning-and-a-third of outs in two games. That’s not D-back baseball. We take advantage of the right situations and advance 90 feet.” — Torey Lovullo

Summary.

Three players with breakout performances:

• Geraldo Perdomo continued his breakout from last season.
• Alek Thomas with 3 RBIs.
• Eugenio Rodriguez allowed zero earned runs in 5 innings.

Two red flags:

• Strikeouts per walk.
• Baserunning.

One of the spring training positional battles that Colorado Rockies fans watched took place at first base.

Would recent trade T.J. Rumfield get the nod or Rockies top prospect Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP)?

In the end, president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta went with Rumfield, sending Condon to Triple-A Albuquerque to continue his preparation. Before leaving camp, Condon was determined but philosophical about the assignment.

For Condon, his first spring training was a productive one as he focused on putting “intention” into his training. His spring training stats suggested that his approach worked, and it’s given him a foundation to build on going forward.

“I just think it’s about not trying to do more than I’ve already done,” Condon said, “just taking the same approach every day. I’m not going to try to go out in the season and try to be somebody that I know I’m not — just put my best foot forward every day and letting my work and actions speak for myself.”

For Condon, that meant taking advantage of setting his own schedule.

“Coming up playing baseball from the youth age all the way through college, you’re kind of always told what to do and where to be at all times,” he said. “So just being able to call your own shots a little bit has been an adjustment for me, but has been nice to be able to kind of dictate my routine and do what I need to do.”

Part of that time was spent refreshing his outfield skills given that he spent much of 2025 exclusively at first base.

“You know, it’s been a minute since I’ve played out there,” Condon said.

“That was kind of a hope and goal of mine this offseason to get out in spaces other than just first base, and not be pigeon-holed there,” he addded. “And then the more you play out there, the more balls you get, the more innings you spend out there, the more comfortable you’re going to be. And I felt like that was the case this spring.”

His focus was also on getting stronger.

“I’m young compared to a lot of the guys in that clubhouse. My body can handle a little bit more,” Condon said.

“I need to push myself a little bit more to continue to get stronger. I mean, a lot of those guys got grown-man strength and dad strength and all that stuff, which, at 22, I’m still working on, but just continue to push myself to be stronger.”

He also had a supportive clubhouse where he felt welcome despite being a non-roster invite.

“There’s a handful of guys I can give praise to,” Condon said. “Brett Sullivan, Nicky Lopez, Troy Johnston, Brenton Doyle . . . I mean, just countless guys that were really good and reached out and were making me feel comfortable on a day-to-day basis.”

Plus, Condon appreciates the value of competition.

“I was there to get the best out of myself, and then also get the best out of everybody in the clubhouse,” Condon said. “So I think that first base competition and everything we had going on there was really productive for a lot of guys.

It helps that his time in The Show coming.

“You know, we’ve got a really good squad up top so far this year, and I’m excited to watch some of those guys play and hopefully be a part of it later this year.”

He added, “Obviously I want to play in the big leagues, and I want to do everything I can to make that happen. But at the same time, I understand how baseball works. I understand the timelines and things like that. And I understand that I’m also not a finished product. I may have had a good spring — I may have hit well, I may have turned some heads — but I’m not done developing as a player, and I plan on being an even better player whenever I do make it up.”

If Saturday night’s Albuquerque Isotopes game is any question, Condon will be forcing his way into a Coors Field lineup sooner rather than later.

Weekly Pebble Report: March 27th-29th

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (1-2)

The Isotopes kicked off the season against the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rockies were concentrated on improving the quality of depth at their highest farm team, stocking up the roster with 18 new faces, and featuring 15 players who have seen time in the Major Leagues.

After winning the season opener behind a fantastic pitching performance from Tanner Gordon, the pitching struggled in the next two games as the Isotopes were outscored 26-10 in those games. The worst of the pitching happened on Saturday after the Isotopes went up 6-1 at one point, but then surrendered 12 unanswered runs.

As for the offense, the Isotopes showcased an ability to make contact, a major benefactor in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and draw walks. However, much like the big league club over the weekend, strikeouts were bothersome, and most of the lineup hasn’t settled into finding those extra-base hits quite yet.

⬆️ Stock Up:Charlie Muscle

After a strong spring training campaign, Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) carried the momentum into his weekend debut in Triple-A. He got his first hit on Friday before turning around a fantastic performance in the second game of the season. On Saturday, Condon went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and five RBI, along with a pair of walks. He added another pair of hits on Sunday to close out the series, and while the season is young, he leads the Isotopes with a .500/.643/1.100 slashline. Condon also got to showcase his defensive versatility, starting two games at first base and one in right field.

⬇️ Stock Down:

Collin Baumgartner has slowly moved his way up through the Rockies system since signing with the team in 2023 as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He finished the 2025 season as a member of the Isotopes and had a good run, posting a 2.47 ERA over 22 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, his first outing of the year was a bit of a rough one as he allowed four runs on four hits, including a home run, in his lone inning of work on Sunday. It was the three walks that hurt him in the end, a bit uncharacteristic of the abilities he has shown through his minor league career. Still, it’s just his first outing; there is plenty of time to right the ship.

Upcoming

The Isotopes kick off their first homestand of the year this evening, welcoming the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks). Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP) will take the mound in the home opener.

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The 2026 season for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks begins Thursday.

The RubberDucks released a preliminary roster today. Before we get started, some names are missing primarily due to injuries. They include pitchers Rodney Boone, Zach Jacobs, Davis Sharpe and Carter Spivey and position player Jonah Advincula. Here are the active players we have so far:

Pitchers:

Alaska Abney RHP, Dylan DeLucia RHP, Caden Favors RHP, Josh Hartle LHP, Matt Jachec RHP, Jack Jasiak RHP, Reid Johnston RHP, Zane Morehouse RHP, Carter Rustad RHP, Hunter Stanley RHP, Khal Stephen RHP, Adam Tulloch LHP, Matt Wilkinson LHP.

Analysis:

From the looks of things, the starting rotation will be a major strength of the team early on as it will feature one of Cleveland’s top pitching prospects in Khal Stephen, who was acquired from Toronto in the Shane Bieber trade. Also in the rotation will be Dylan DeLucia, Josh Hartle, Matt Wilkinson and Caden Favors. If Reid Johnston is ready to go, it will be his first appearance since 2023.

Catchers:

Jacob Cozart LHH, Cameron Barstad LHH.

Analysis:

Cozart was a defense-first catcher who had some pop, but he surprisingly put up above-average offensive seasons for himself at both High-A and Double-A while possibly being one of the best defensive catchers in minor league baseball. Barstad is a serviceable backup, but Cozart will be the feature and his prospect status will continue to rise if he can improve his offense.

Infielders:

Angel Genao SH SS, Ralphy Velazquez LHH 1B, Alex Mooney RHH 3B/SS, Christian Knapczyk LHH 3B, Tyresse Turner SH 3B, Juan Benjamin SH 2B/3B.

Analysis:

Two of the team’s top offensive prospects are featured here in Genao and Velazquez. Genao is hoping to bounce back after a shoulder injury caused an average offensive season in 2025 while Velazquez’s star erupted with one of the strongest second halves in recent memory that saw him break out, even after being promoted to Akron. Neither should stay in Double-A long if they get off to strong starts.

Outfielders:

Wuilfredo Antunez LHH RF, Jake Fox LHH CF, Guy Lipscomb LHH RF, Alfonsin Rosario RHH RF/CF, Joe Lampe LHH LF, Nick Mitchell LHH CF.

Analysis:

Most eyes will be on Alfonsin Rosario as one of the lone top right-handed hitting prospects in the entire organization who had a breakout year in 2025, but don’t forget about Wuilfredo Antunez, who had a major power spike in the past year and Nick Mitchell, one of the returns from Toronto in the Andres Gimenez trade who flashed some elite bat speed and exit velocities this spring after an impressive offensive season in 2025.

Akron is loaded with top 10 organizational prospects at nearly every position from its starting rotation to the infielders and the outfield. It should be destination viewing on both sides of the field.

Which players are catching your eye as the Double-A season starts? Tell us in the comments below:

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The Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox continue their series at Daikin Park tonight.

Houston is sending ace Hunter Brown to the hill, and my Red Sox vs. Astros predictions expect him to mow down Boston's lineup.

Here are my best free MLB picks for this American League clash on Tuesday, March 31.

Red Sox vs Astros predictions

Red Sox vs Astros best bet: Astros -0.5 F5 (-114)

The Houston Astros clobbered the Boston Red Sox 8-1 yesterday, and they hold a significant pitching advantage tonight.

Boston is starting right-hander Brayan Bello, who ranked in the bottom 25th percentile last year in xERA (4.48) and xBA (.258) last year.

Meanwhile, Houston’s Hunter Brownfinished third in AL Cy Young voting in 2025, posting a 2.43 ERA with a .201 OBA.

Brown made his season debut last Thursday, striking out nine over 4 2/3 scoreless innings while walking four batters. Control wasn’t an issue for Brown last year, so expect him to settle in and mow down the Red Sox order.

COVERS INTEL: Although the Astros placed 15th in the majors in OPS (.714) last year, three-time All-Stars Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa missed a combined 225 games due to injuries. Houston's lineup is currently at full strength.

Red Sox vs Astros same-game parlay (SGP)

Despite having an injury-plagued 2025, Yordan Alvarez slugged .587 over 396 games in his previous three seasons. He’ll have the platoon advantage against Bello and is 3-for-5 with a homer and a double against the Boston righty in his career.

Brown ranked eighth in the majors in strikeouts last year (204), and his velocity looks even better this time around. He averaged 95.7 mph on his devastating sinker last season but touched 98.4 mph on the pitch in Spring Training.

The Astros ace racked up nine strikeouts in just 4 2/3 innings in his season debut, and Boston struck out 12 times last night.

Red Sox vs Astros SGP

• Astros -0.5 F5
• Yordan Alvarez Over 1.5 total bases
• Hunter Brown Over 6.5 strikeouts

Red Sox vs Astros home run pick: Marcelo Mayer (+800)

There is fantastic value in backing Boston's Marcelo Mayer to hit a home run. The 23-year-old flashed power in his brief MLB stint last year, and his peripherals are outstanding to start 2026.

While Mayer hasn’t hit a homer so far, the Red Sox infielder has two doubles, and his hard-hit rate (57.1%) and barrel rate (28.6%) are elite.

Brown is a stud, but the hard-throwing righty allowed 10 homers in 14 home starts last year, and Houston’s bullpen is vulnerable to the long ball.

Red Sox vs Astros odds

• Moneyline: Boston +130 | Houston -154
• Run line: Boston +1.5 (-170) | Houston -1.5 (+140)
• Over/Under: Over 7.5 (-114) | Under 7.5 (-106)

Red Sox vs Astros trend

Houston has covered the F5 run line in their last four games (+4.15 units / 91% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Red Sox vs. Astros.

How to watch Red Sox vs Astros and game info

Red Sox vs Astros latest injuries

Red Sox vs Astros weather

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PHOENIX — Another day, another record-setting contract extension for a prospect who has yet to even set foot in the major leagues.

The Seattle Mariners have reached an agreement on a guaranteed eight-year, $95 million contract – that includes a club option for a ninth year with prized 20-year-old shortstop prospect Colt Emerson, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told USA TODAY Sports.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Mariners had not yet announced the deal.

It is the largest contract given to a player without any major league experience in history, eclipsing the eight-year, $82 million contract the Brewers gave outfielder Jackson Chourio in December 2023. Emerson is currently playing for Triple-A Tacoma.

The Mariners are planning on Emerson to be their shortstop of the future, replacing J.P. Crawford, whose contract expires after the 2026 season.

Through 4 games under new pitching coach Simon Mathews, Nationals pitchers as a group are seeing somewhat of a renaissance in terms of their “stuff”, with many of them finding extra velocity, spin, or movement on their pitches. Chief among them in terms of major changes has been Jake Irvin, who demonstrated perhaps more changes than any pitcher in the big leagues from 2025 to 2026 during his 5-inning, 2-run performance on Sunday at Wrigley Field. Let’s break down these changes and what they mean for Irvin’s 2026 outlook.

The first thing of note is that Irvin’s velocity was up a tick in his first start of 2026 from 2025. His fastball was over 1 MPH faster than it was in 2025, and all of his breaking balls and offspeeds were up a few ticks of velo (except for one, but more on that later). Perhaps this was just a result of Irvin feeling fresh in his very first start of the year, and it will be back to 2025 levels in a few weeks, but velocity being down was a problem for Irvin from the start last year, so it’s certainly refreshing to see that not be the case this season.

Another change Irvin made was dropping his arm angle for the 4th consecutive season. Irvin had an average arm angle of 32 degrees when he entered the big leagues in 2023, and has dropped it all the way to 25 degrees now in 2026. The result is a complete overhaul in his pitch’s movement, with none of his arsenal having the same movement profile as when he entered the bigs.

The pitch that saw the most major change from the arm angle tweak, as well as a likely change in grip, was his slider, which lost nearly 2 MPH of velocity, and in exchange, had nearly 9 more inches of vertical break than it had in 2025, making the pitch more of a sweeper than a traditional slider. Pitch models are a big fan of the change to the pitch, with Thomas Nestico’s Stuff+ formula grading the pitch at 111, 9 points up from 2025, and in the top 50 for all sliders in baseball.

Irvin also refined his pitch usage in his first start of 2026, cutting his fastball and curveball usage and distributing it to other pitches. Against righties, Irvin used his sinker primarily, throwing it 30% of the time, and bumped up his cutter and slider/sweeper usage from 6% and 7% to 10% and 14%, respectively. He attacked outside all afternoon with his pitches, looking to miss barrels with his horizontal moving pitches, while occasionally coming inside with his fastball and sinker.

When facing lefties, Irvin drastically cut use of his fastball and curveball, with the heater usage dropping from 38% to 26% and the curveball from 33% to 23%. With that 24% drop in usage of his 2 main pitches in 2025, he filled it with a 16% increase in cutter usage, 4% increase in changeup usage, and 4% increase in slider usage. He kept his sinker below the zone, hammered inside with his curveball and cutter, and kept them guessing with fastballs on the outside corner.

To recap, through a velocity increase, refining of his slider, and optimization of his pitch usage, Irvin saw an overall improvement to his stuff and impressive results against an impressive Cubs lineup, with the only runs he allowed being solo shots in the wind turbine called Wrigley Field. If he can keep his velocity up and continue to attack hitters with a plan that fits his arsenal, we may be seeing a return to 2024 first-half Jake Irvin form.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The Orioles have only played four games out of a full 162-game season. They have won as many games as they’ve lost so far. It’s fine, for now. It would be nice if it was better, but it’s fine. Things just don’t feel fine since the losses and to some degree one of the wins are all continuing with stories that were problems for the team over the past season and a half.

Is the offense going to be good enough, with the offseason reinforcements it got, to reverse a trajectory of decline? Is a rebuilt starting rotation going to do the thing? Is a not-built bullpen going to cause continual problems? And then there’s the defense, good grief…

For this week’s survey, you have to pick only one. What’s your biggest concern for the rest of the season?

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Results will be posted later in the week. In the meantime, you can head into the comments below to share your concerns.