Baseball News
It’s time to predict how the season will play out! How will the Royals do? Who will win MVP? Who will end up playing in the World Series?
Give us your predictions on the Royals, the playoffs, and awards for the 2026 season by filling out this short survey. You can see last year’s predictions here. We’ll unveil what the readers predicted on Wednesday, plus predictions from our writers.
If you are having trouble reading the form on this site, you can go to this link.
No.
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Wait, you want more? How about in bold?
No.
Ok, I guess I should probably show my working a little bit. So what I did was gather up the D-backs’ spring training results for each season since 2003 (which is where ESPN’s statistics begin), with the exception of 2020 – when both spring training and the regular season were kinda half-assed. I took the win percentage of the team that spring (ties, which are a thing in the Cactus League, were discarded) and plotted it against the regular season record for the same year. If there was any kind of correlation, you’d expect there to be a visible line. Here’s what the graph actually looks like:
Yeah, I’m not really seeing it, unless I squint particularly hard. Far and away the best spring record was in 2016, when the Diamondbacks went 24-8, the best spring record in the majors by 2.5 games. If you don’t remember much else about the 2016 season, there’s good reason for that. Conversely, one of the worst springs came in 2011, when Arizona went 12-25, the lowest win percentage in the Cactus League. But that ended up being the last time the team won the division, doing so by a comfortable eight-game margin. All told, the correlation between spring and regular season records is .105 – pretty weak.
That figure is roughly in line with an earlier and broader study, carried out in 2002. It concluded, “The correlation between spring records and regular season records is .15… For comparison, the correlation between last year’s regular season record and this year’s regular season record during the same period is a much stronger .52.” In other words, if you want to see how a team is going to do this year, looking at how they did last year is going to be a far better predictor, than what they are doing in spring. There are a lot of reasons for this, mostly connected to the fact that teams are simply not trying their utmost to win Cactus League games.
We see this in line-ups which become a game of “Who’s he?” after the fifth inning. In pitchers who enter a game more interested in refining a particular pitch – or perhaps, trying out a new one – than getting people out. In outfielders not putting their bodies on the line to make preseason plays which could end up in injury. In schedules which don’t reflect the regular season – this spring, the D-backs play the White Sox as often as any NL West opponent. In veterans who, let’s be honest, aren’t fighting for a roster spot, know exactly what they need to do to be ready, and are understandably disinclined to do any more.
There is an argument to be made that there is a connection, but it’s diluted by time. After all, the Opening Day roster for the D-backs in 2025, was radically different from the one which took the field after the trade deadline. [As a rough check, of the fourteen players to appear in the D-backs’ August 1 game against the Athletics, only half were on the Opening Day roster] So, let’s plot Arizona’s spring training record against what the team does at the very start of the season, with their record through the end of April that season. Maybe that will show a greater degree of correlation?
…or not. “Not” works too. Indeed, and slightly weirdly, there is actually less correlation, with a figure of just .007. It does vary. Last year, the numbers were actually fairly close: 17-14 in spring, then 16-14 through the end of April. But over three consecutive seasons either side of COVID, from 2018 through 2021, there was a gap of more than 150 points in the win percentages. The all-time gap, however, belongs to 2008, at a whopping 314 points. The Diamondbacks went an underwhelming 8-12 in spring, then roared out of the gate with a 20-8 record, before… Yeah, it kinda was downhill for them thereafter.
It does all average out over time. The composite record from 2003-25 (again, excluding 2020) comes in at a win percentage of .495, which sits almost exactly between the team’s record through April (.510) and their mark across all regular season games (.478) over the same period. The D-backs have generally been… well, mediocre over the past twenty-plus years and that is reflected in general mediocrity before Opening Day. Might be interesting to see whether or not that applies to, say, the Dodgers: are they as good in spring as they have been during the regular season? But, meh. It’s the Dodgers, so who cares?
Below is the actual data used in the graphs. Told you I’d show my working. 🙂
Mets top outfield prospect Carson Benge entered 2026 spring training with every chance to not only win a spot on the Opening Day roster but also the starting job in right field.
And while the team concluded their Grapefruit League schedule with a 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon, Benge still does not yet know what his fate will be, telling reporters afterwards that he still has not been informed whether or not he has made the team.
“Still waiting,” he said with a smile.
On paper, Benge did everything he needed to, and then some, to make the club this spring. The 23-year-old hit .366 with a .435 OBP, driving in five runs and stealing a base. And that doesn’t include a home run that he hit in an exhibition game against Team Israel.
But even more than that, Benge looked the part, which was what the Mets wanted to see from him this spring. He worked the count, took pitches the other way, and looked good defensively in right field.
"I’m happy that I carried myself in a very good way and I showed everyone what kind of person I am, and I feel like that spoke the loudest for me," Benge said.
With Mike Tauchman heading for meniscus surgery, all signs point towards Benge not only making the team but starting on Thursday against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
But whether Benge ends up making the club or not, he gained some invaluable experience by being around the team for all of 2026 camp.
"Just the level that these guys play at, day in and day out they put in the work," Benge said. "They put real focus into everything they do, from preparation, hydration, stuff on the field, and stuff off the field. That’s really what I picked up."
The Mets will pack up and head back to New York, where they'll play an intra-squad scrimmage game on Monday in preparation for Thursday's Opening Day.
Benge was unsure whether or not he'll be heading north with the big club, but he's ready to roll with the punches on whatever comes next.
"I’m excited to get out of here and play some ball, wherever that may be," he said.
Will Warren has set the tone this spring, and his final tune-up did not disappoint, as the Yankees defeated the Phillies 6-2 on Sunday afternoon.
In what turned into an eventful first inning, Warren had to work around a leadoff double by Kyle Schwarber. After the extra-base hit, Warren leaned on both his stuff and a little help from the challenge system. J.T. Realmuto had a borderline pitch called a ball, but catcher J.C. Escarra quickly signaled for a review. The call was overturned, giving Warren his first strikeout of the afternoon.
Bryce Harper followed with a challenge of his own the following at bat on a called strike and lost, then grounded out to move Schwarber to third, briefly putting pressure back on the Yankees’ right-hander.
With a runner 90 feet away, Warren went right back to work. After getting ahead in the count, he turned to the ABS system himself when a two-strike pitch at the top of the zone was called a ball. Warren’s challenge was successful and the call was overturned, strike three was awarded, and Schwarber was stranded at third to end the inning.
In total, the Yankees went 2-for-2 on successful challenges in the frame, while one additional challenge against them stood. The most aggressive team using the system this spring lived up to that billing early and often on Sunday.
After the leadoff hit, Warren retired 15 straight. His final line was all you could hope for and then some: five innings, six strikeouts, one hit, no walks, and just 62 pitches.
It was the perfect finishing touch on a strong spring for the still-official-nickname-less Will Warren. If he keeps pitching like this, he is going to need one. Wicked Willy? The Mississippi Magician? We’ll work on it.
Soon, the Yankees broke the gridlock. Following a successful challenge, Ryan McMahon put New York on the board with a single to center, scoring Giancarlo Stanton and moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. to third.
Jazz did not stay there long, coming home on Escarra’s hard-hit single to right as the Yankees pushed the lead to 2-0. Nola limited the damage from there, stranding two runners to end the fourth, but his afternoon would not last much longer.
In the bottom of the fifth, Aaron Judge put an emphatic end to Nola’s outing, launching a changeup over the left-field wall for one of his trademark, effortless rockets. The blast traveled 380 feet off the bat at 111.7 mph and would have left all 30 big league parks, a reminder that even in spring, Judge’s power plays anywhere.
The Yankees were not done in the inning. Ben Rice followed Judge’s home run with a double and later came around to score on a Chisholm single to right, extending the lead and continuing a strong offensive frame.
The Phillies threatened in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs against Camilo Doval. Doval responded by strucking out Adolis García and then induced Edmundo Sosa into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play, escaping the jam and preserving the Yankees’ lead.
The Phillies finally broke through in the top of the eighth against left-hander Tim Hill. Schwarber got all of a sinker and drove it out to left, cutting the Yankees’ lead in half at 4-2.
The Yankees answered right back in the bottom of the eighth.
Max Schuemann laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring home Oswaldo Cabrera, pushing the lead back to three. Moments later, Amed Rosario followed with a single up the middle, scoring Kyle West making the score were it would finish at 6-2.
The Yankees now head west to wrap up spring training with a two-game matchup against the Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET, with the game available on WFAN 660 AM for Yankees listeners and 104.3 The Score for Cubs coverage. Carlos Lagrange is expected to get the start for New York, while Shota Imanaga is lined up for Chicago.
Following an altercation on the global stage, Seattle teammates have returned their focus to Opening Day.
Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena revealed Saturday that he has apologized to teammate Cal Raleigh, following his flagrant rant aimed at the superstar catcher earlier this month at the World Baseball Classic.
In a statement released through the club, the two-time All-Star emphasized that there’s no bad blood between the “brothers and teammates.”
“I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction,” Arozarena said. “Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game. Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates.”
The Mariners sluggers sparked controversy at the WBC while pitted against each other during Team USA’s 5-3 group stage win over Mexico on March 9.
Raleigh, behind the dish for the U.S., spurned a handshake from Arozarena as he came up to bat, the same non-greeting that Mexico’s star outfielder received from U.S. catcher Will Smith at the 2023 WBC.
Even so, Arozarena didn’t take kindly to being slighted by his longtime teammate — with whom he’s played since 2024 and helped punch Seattle’s first ticket to the ALCS since 2001 — going off on a profanity-laced tirade in Spanish to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert after the game.
Raleigh immediately brushed off the situation, saying the pair had already spoken and that it wasn’t a “big deal at all.”
In case there was any doubt, the reigning MLB home run king reiterated his comments on Saturday, telling reporters that he and Arozarena are both ready to put the past behind them.
“We talked it out, and everything went great,” Raleigh said, via MLB.com. “Randy knows that I love him, and he’s a brother, and it’s in the past and none of us are carrying this forward. We’re in a good spot. We talked it out. We were both sorry, and we both got in a good place and we’re both happy to be here, too.
“It was really good walking in the door and seeing everybody. As fun as [the WBC] was, it was nice to feel back here. It feels like the family’s all back together in a way.”
Mariners skipper Dan Wilson applauded Seattle’s united clubhouse, underscoring that he wasn’t shocked by Arozarena’s apology — and that everyone’s focused on the same goal.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Wilson said, via MLB.com. “That’s what we’ve talked about in that clubhouse. It’s just a special group. They love each other, and yeah, it’s time. I think we’re all ready to get back to Seattle and get this thing started.”
The defending AL West champs open their season at home against the Guardians on Thursday.
The Mets rounded out their 2026 Grapefruit League schedule with a 4-3 loss to the Miami Marlins.
-- The Mets trotted out what’s likely to be their Opening Day lineup, minus Francisco Alvarez:
The Mets play their final spring training game today in Jupiter against the Marlins
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 22, 2026
⏰: 1:10 p.m. pic.twitter.com/SIKNnN46yp
But even with that much punch in the lineup, the Mets couldn’t do much of anything against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, until they started a rally in the fourth. Alcantara didn't allow a hit until a Francisco Lindor single off the first baseman's glove in the fourth inning. Juan Soto followed with a single of his own, and Bo Bichette then ripped a double into the left field corner to give the Mets their first run of the day. A Jorge Polanco sac fly to left and a Brett Baty single up the middle made it a three-run inning for the Mets.
Alcantara was pulled in fourth but came back out to pitch the fifth. In all, the righty went 4.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out six without a walk.
-- David Peterson made his final start of the spring for the Mets. After a pair of scoreless innings, the tall lefty allowed a run in the third on a pair of singles and wild pitch. He got into another jam in the fourth, with runners at first and third and one out, but a pickoff at first base followed by a strikeout on the next pitch quickly ended the threat.
Peterson went 5.0 inning, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and a walk. His ERA for the spring was 4.15.
--Carson Benge showed off another aspect of his overall game, dropping a bunt single off Alcantara and advancing to second on a throwing error. Benge went 1-for-3, and with Mike Tauchman to undergo surgery for a torn meniscus, it sure appears like Benge will be the Opening Day right fielder. He finished his spring with a .366 average.
-- Luke Weaver didn’t end his spring on a high note. The right-handed reliever entered to pitch the sixth, but his command was all over the place. Weaver recorded just one out and walked three, leaving with the bases loaded.
He’d ultimately be charged with one earned run, and he finished his spring with an ERA of 2.08.
--Lindor went 1-for-4, ending his shortened spring training with a .158 average. Bichette and Baty both ended their springs with identical .333 batting averages.
A 1-2-3 first inning for David Peterson! 👏 pic.twitter.com/9SwadL2Wny
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 22, 2026
Bo Bichette's RBI double puts the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/LX3Qo7tMzZ
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 22, 2026
Baty keeps it going! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Nnvxs3HC1f
— New York Mets (@Mets) March 22, 2026
The Mets host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday for Opening Day, with first pitch set for 1:15 p.m.
Freddy Peralta will start against reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.
With the 2025 Texas Rangers season having come to an end, we shall be, over the course of the offseason, taking a look at every player who appeared in a major league game for the Texas Rangers in 2025.
Today we are looking at utility guy Donovan Solano.
Donovan Solano was just barely a Texas Ranger in 2025. Signed to a minor league deal in early September, after he had been released by the Seattle Mariners, Solano played in 10 games for Round Rock in September before their season ended.
One week later, Josh Smith went on the paternity list prior to the Rangers’ final series of the season, in Cleveland. Needing someone who could play the infield to round out the roster for the final three games, the Rangers selected Solano’s contract. To the extent there was any discussion about it at the time, it was about why the Rangers opted for him, rather than Justin Foscue, who was already on the 40 man roster.
Solano started at second base for the Rangers in Game 161, and went 0 for 3. He came into Game 162 in the bottom of the 9th, after Joc Pederson had pinch hit for starting second baseman Cody Freeman, and didn’t get a plate appearance.
Solano is currently, as I type this, a 38 year old free agent. He played for Colombia in the WBC in this year’s competition, going 1 for 10 with 7 walks and 4 strikeouts, giving him an entertaining .100/.471/.100 slash line.
Under the circumstances, it seems likely Solano’s professional career is over.
Solano has had an unusual career arc. Signed in 2005 by the St. Louis Cardinals, he never was added to their 40 man roster, and became a minor league free agent after the 2011 season. He spent a few years in a part-time role with the Marlins from 2012-14, primarily playing second base, then was released at the end of the 2015 season after a .189/.215/.244 slash line in 94 plate appearances.
Solano signed with the Yankees, but spent most of 2016 in the minors, getting just nine games in the bigs that year, and then spent all of 2017 and 2018 in AAA, with the Yankees in 2017 and the Dodgers in 2018. Solano, aged 31, was signed by the San Francisco Giants for the 2019 season, and it seemed then that he was probably done as a major leaguer, other than possibly the occasional cameo when there was a need for a short-term replacement.
Nonetheless, Solano’s 2019 was the start of an unexpected and surprising six year run as a useful major league role player. Called up by the Giants after six weeks in AAA, Solano slashed .330/.360/.456 in 228 plate appearances. He followed that up with a .326/.365/.463 slash line in 54 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, winning the Silver Slugger Award for second base.
Solano became eligible for free agency after 2021 — another solid year with the Giants — and he signed a one year deal with Cincinnati, followed by a one year deal with Minnesota for 2023. In 2024, Solano didn’t sign until mid-April, with the San Diego Padres, but once he did, he put up a 760 OPS in 309 plate appearances.
Solano shifted to play more first base and third base after he left San Francisco, and with the Mariners in 2025, he played almost exclusively first base. His .247/.291/.337 slash line wasn’t first base production, however, and especially once the M’s acquired Josh Naylor, Solano became superfluous, resulting in his ultimately being cut loose on September 1.
Father Time catches up with us all, and it looks like it has for Solano. Still, it is worth taking a moment to appreciate the unlikely, unexpected run he had from 2019-24, from age 31-36, when he put up a 7.6 bWAR and .294/.353/.415 slash line in 546 games. Pretty remarkable for a guy who had a 0.1 bWAR and .257/.306/.331 slash line in 370 games from age 24-28, and spent most of three years stuck in AAA as a major league veteran holding on for another chance.
Previously:
With Opening Day less than a week away, you almost wish Spring Training ended with this – – the Spring Breakout game against the Milwaukee Brewers. Here, we’ll see a grip of guys with a lot of promise square up against the product of what MLB.com is calling the #1 ranked farm system in all of baseball.
On that list, the A’s came in at #18. Not terribly great and a little surprising, given how much young talent the team seems to have. It’s also been a Spring Training highlighted by the performance of some of these players listed in the starting lineup
Yes, all eyes will be on Leo De Vries and starting pitcher Jamie Arnold. But me personally? I’m anxious to see how the young Breyson Guedez performs. He initially caught my eye when he took Michael King deep a week or so ago. His swing reminds me of Terrence Long and he’s only 18! So much potential there.
Sure, Tommy “Tanks” White has become the Glen Powell of the A’s farm system, though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be giving two-way player Shotaro Morii a little love too. He’ll be starting at second base and possibly throwing a few frames? We’ll see. The A’s are carrying a lot of arms I’d like see heave, such as Gage Jump and Braden Nett. I’m curious to how they’ll roll these guys out over nine innings against the Brewers.
Fun day at the yard! This’ll be the last Spring Breakout game before tournament play kicks in next spring. Last year saw the A’s beat up on the San Diego Padres in a game that featured Nick Kurtz, Luis Morales, Max Muncy, Denzel Clarke, and Colby Thomas!
Besides Leo De Vries (because of course) who is a player you’re not only excited to see play today but also hope will be wearing the green and gold in the big ‘26?
Cincinnati Reds lefty starter Nick Lodolo has repeatedly dealt with blister issues on his left index finger, and left index finger blisters are pretty problematic when you are a lefty starter. On Sunday in his final start of Cactus League play before Thursday’s Opening Day in Cincinnati, Lodolo was forced to exit after facing only two batters when a blister issue popped up once again.
He started out walking Steven Kwan, decidedly not strutting his stuff. He then yielded a two-run homer to Angel Martinez before the Reds training staff was summoned to the mound. It was at that point that the decision was made to get Lodolo out of there, which is not exactly the best tune-up for the season’s start just a handful of days away.
The hope, of course, is that pulling him this early into his work will have kept the issue from getting too serious, much the same way the scenario with Brady Singer has fortunately played out. That said, the Reds had already made plans to carry six starting pitchers with Brandon Williamson, Chase Burns, and Rhett Lowder all theoretically shoehorning into just two starts a turn, so there is at least some baked-in depth should there be any issues with Lodolo a) being ready for his Game Two start or b) not being stretched out enough to go deep into his Game Two start.
Obviously, no blister is a damning issue, but it’s impossible not to notice just how often this keeps happening to Cincinnati’s stud lefty. Let’s just hope they caught this particular iteration early.
It’s a good thing that it’s still spring training and not the regular season because this was the type of performance that would’ve resulted in a very rough outing for Reynaldo López had it come in a game that counted. Instead, it’s something to think about with the regular season on the horizon as López struggled and ended up getting pulled in the fifth inning of this spring training contest.
This figured to be a stern test for López anyways with the Twins posting something that looks very similar to what their Opening Day lineup could look like laster this week. Still, I’d like to imagine that everybody associated with and rooting for the Braves would’ve preferred if López looked a lot better today.
The first three innings of this outing actually went very smoothly for Reynaldo López — he retired the side in order in the first and second innings (a double-play ball helped him get out of the second) and avoided trouble from a one-out single in the third inning. The fourth inning is when things started to get a little shaky, as López got the inning started off by walking Byron Buxton and then giving up a single to Matt Wallner. Another double play ball got López out of this situation but by now it was clear that López’s velocity was going to be sitting below 90-mph on his heater.
By the time the fifth inning had rolled around, the Twins decided that it was time to tee off. López kept a few pitches hanging enticingly in the strike zone during this frame and the Twins capitalized each time. The first resulted in a Royce Lewis double, the second was a single from Austin Martin and then the third and biggest mistake got crushed by Luke Keaschall for a three-run shot that put the Twins in front.
The 80-mph slider was the last pitch that López threw in this one as he finished with 4.2 innings under his belt, along with four earned runs on five hits and two walks. López only finished with one strikeout once he was done, which was his strikeout of Buxton all the way back in the first inning. His velocity also left something to be desired as well, as he was actually sitting at 89-mph with the four-seamer and the velocity on all of his other pitches was way down as well.
Obviously the hope is that he was trying to ease into the regular season and you could make an argument that that this was the case since his velocity was higher in his most recent start before this one. Granted, his four-seamer was still below his usual average of 95-mph back on March 17 but it still looked more lively back then than it did today. Still, it’s pretty concerning that López did struggle in both of his final two starts before the regular season. We could end up laughing about this if he bounces back once the games begin to count but it’s still not great to see when you’re coming off of a season-ending shoulder injury from the season before!
As far as the bats for the Braves go, the first inning was the peak for Atlanta. The Braves scored their first two runs via some good ol’ fashioned A-B-C baseball: Brett Wisely got on with a leadoff walk, Jorge Mateo laid down a sacrifice bunt and ended up making it on base and into scoring position thanks to a throwing error and then Drake Baldwin brought them both in with a bouncer through the middle to initially put the Braves in the lead. Dominic Smith proceeded to cash in Baldwin’s run with an RBI single of his own to make it a three-run first inning.
Drake Baldwin and Dominic Smith both added hits to their tally later on and that was about as good as it got for the Braves from the first inning onwards. Taj Bradley settled down a bit once he got his second chance (he got pulled from the mess during the first inning and returned for the second frame) and the Braves just didn’t get a lot done in terms of production against the Twins and their pitching staff past the first inning.
The big story of the day was Reynaldo López’s underwhelming performance, though. I do remember saying earlier during spring training that if Spencer Strider’s velocity was low in the latter portions of camp like it was to start out then it was perfectly fine to start worrying. Strider doesn’t appear to have that issue but López certainly does and again, the main hope is that he was simply trying not to overexert himself with the regular season around the corner. If it’s like that once things are serious, watch out.
The Yankees closed their Grapefruit League spring training schedule with a 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., where Aaron Judge hit his first home run since rejoining New York after the World Baseball Classic.
Warren, who put the exclamation point on an impressive spring training and seems primed for this season.
Aaron Judge ‼️💣 pic.twitter.com/wMt5RakpD8
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 22, 2026
The Yankees head to Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., for the first of their final two spring training games against the Chicago Cubs -- 3:05 p.m. starts Monday and Tuesday -- before they open the regular season with Wednesday's 8:05 matchup at the San Francisco Giants.
Although the San Diego Padres Prospects lost a 7-5 game against the Chicago Cubs Prospects at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. on Saturday, there were multiple notable and positive signs to come from the contest. With a farm system currently ranked at or near the bottom according to multiple evaluators, the Padres fielded a team filled with young players. The starting lineup had catcher Ethan Salas (19), shortstop Jorge Quintana (19), catcher Ty Harvey (20), outfielder Kale Fountain (20) as well as pitchers Kruz Schoolcraft (18) and Taiwanese righty Lan-Hong Su (18) all playing against mostly more advanced prospects for the Cubs.
The starter for the Padres, Luis Gutierrez pitched a scoreless inning and was followed by Miguel Mendez, Schoolcraft, Kannon Kemp, Kash Mayfield, Jaxon Dalena, Johan Moreno, Lan-Hong Su and Garrett Hawkins. All pitched an inning except Dalena, who allowed four runs and four hits over 0.2 innings and was replaced by Moreno for the last out.
Su, the young righty from Taiwan, had the most impressive performance. Signed in October of 2025 during the International Signing Period, Su made his Padres debut in this game. Pitching the seventh inning, Su threw four-seam fastballs between 96-98 mph and also featured a curveball and a changeup. He got two strikeouts over his 10 pitches thrown and most of his pitches were strikes. He is slated to begin the season at Low-A Lake Elsinore and will rise quickly if he pitches this well.
The left-hander Mayfield pitched the fifth inning on nine pitches with two fly-outs and a single allowed. The fastball for starter Gutierrez reached a new velocity of 97 mph during his one inning pitched.
On the position player side, Salas put on a show. Starting at catcher, he experienced the ABS system but not in a positive way. Challenging two calls behind the plate, Salas lost both challenges in the first three innings and the Padres played the rest of the game without that option.
But otherwise, it was a standout performance from the young catcher. Salas had a loud out at 108.5 mph, a single and a three-run home run that left the yard at 104.9 mph. He worked a long plate appearance for a walk, scored a run, had a stolen base after his single and threw out two runners attempting to steal second base. If he wanted to announce his return with authority, he did a good job.
Fountain, 6-foot-5 and 230-pounds, played the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He also had hamstring issues last season which limited his playing time. He was drafted in 2024 as a corner infielder but played this game in right field and is being transitioned to a corner outfielder this spring. Fountain has tremendous power potential, as he showed in the game. He launched a home run deep onto the center field berm at 109.1 mph and it traveled 455 feet. He also had a 110.3 mph single while going 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored.
Spring Training will be coming to an end this week for the players headed to Triple-A El Paso as their season begins March 27. The other minor league teams will finish their spring games and travel to their locations for early April starts.
There will be a preview coming later this week and the rosters for the respective teams should be coming out over the next week-and-a-half with El Paso this week.
Expect the Padres to continue to push their young and talented prospects with Salas starting in Double-A San Antonio. As individual players perform well, there will likely be promotions to the next level and there are several prospects who could meet that criteria.
On Sunday morning, the Colorado Rockies announced the following position players will break camp with the team:
Additionally, the rotation is set as such:
The most interesting note was that RHP Chase Dollander will begin the season with the Rockies, but he will start off in the bullpen.
On Feltner, Schaeffer had this to say:
“Looking at this spring is a part of it. When Feltner did get ahead, he was our best pitcher in camp [while] ahead. It was just a matter of getting him there, and there’s been a commitment to that. We also liked Feltner’s track record of success in the big leagues.”
Schaeffer explained the Rockies thinking in moving Dollander to the bullpen:
“We want Chase to develop at the big-league level, too, and feel like facing big-league hitters on a consistent basis is going to lead to his development better than it would in Triple-A at this point.”
That said, they don’t necessarily see Dollander in the bullpen as long-term.
“We see Chase Dollander as an eventual frontline rotation guy,” Schaeffer continued. “The path there right now – the best path for him in our minds – is to be a length guy in the bullpen. That’s where we’re going to start the season. We’re going to evaluate and move forward as we go, but we believe we’ve got something really good with Feltner as the fifth guy and Dollander in the bullpen.”
Here’s what Schaeffer had to say about the other moves:
“Brett Sullivan had a very, very good camp. He swings left-handed, and swung the bat well, but also just the overall game with the interactions with the pitchers plus the offensive camp led to go with Sullivan.”
He noted that Fulford had a good camp as well but felt it would be best for him to get daily at-bats in Albuquerque.
Additionally, Schaeffer said that Sullivan will not see a lot of DH at-bats as a left-hander.
“It’s really hard to roll with two catchers in the game at one time, and we’re going to do it a lot with ‘Goody’ DH-ing, so to do it the other way around doesn’t make much sense for us.”
“The overall quality of his at-bats on a consistent regular basis showed us who he is and lined up with what he’s done in the past in Triple-A for the Yankees. But seeing it on an everyday basis was impressive. The way he controls the zone, the way he gets a swing off, the damage he can do, the walks he can take… just on a consistent basis, the quality of the at-bats. And he played well defensively, and I think just his overall game – he’s a high-level player.”
“It was obvious [that he was ready]. Then the wherewithal that we all have that he has not had a ton of minor league seasoning. That was talked to him about before camp started, and that this wasn’t a lock for him. He had to go do his thing. We were going to watch him, and it became blatantly obvious that he’s ready to play third base in the big leagues on both sides of the ball.”
“Expect all year for Willi to have a different role. His role is to play a lot – you saw him play first base. There’s definitely right-handed at-bats for him at first base. It’s great that he’s a utility player that can play everywhere and switch hit. I mean, you talk about value, that’s huge for our team. And that value wouldn’t mean anything if he wasn’t willing to do everything – like, legitimately willing to do everything – for the team. He’s a super guy, a team guy, and so you’re going to see him in a lot of different places. But Kyle Karros is here to play third base the majority [of the time], so I think it’s safe to say you’ll see a lot of second base out of Castro.”
“I loved his ability to come into camp and compete for a job, and add new things to it – which is not an easy thing to do at all – and be really good at it. He played left field at a high level, in my opinion, from first jumping out there and he’ll only get better. I’m really impressed with what ‘Ritt’ did. There was some really, really high competition there with him – Chad Stevens, really good player; Nicky Lopez, really good player. So for ‘Ritt’ to go win that battle was a big deal.”
“You’re going to see Eddie Julien against right-handers a lot. I like guys that get on base and he does it a lot. So there’s DH at-bats there, there’s second base, there’s some first base for him. So he’s going to be a big part of this team.”
“I like it. I hope that you see that. The splits are way better, versus right and versus left. Our team is going to be lined up with better matchups overall. We had to option some really good ballplayers today, and I feel for them because they all played really well. Honestly, there were a lot of position players in this camp that played well, so it made a lot of decisions difficult, but it does lend to our depth. I like our 13 guys plus I like the guys in Triple-A. I like what we’ve got. It seems to be a really good starting point for us. And they’re meshing as a team, and I’m excited to see what they’ve got.”
In addition to setting half of the roster, the Rockies also announced the following moves:
The Rockies made some expected and unexpected moves today. Which ones were the most surprising to you?
The bullpen will be announced tomorrow. Who do you think will make it?
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Yesterday the Colorado Rockies organization took two losses. First, a 5-6 defeat for the major league squad at the hands of the Kansas City Royals despite a scoreless four inning start from Kyle Freeland, and a two double performance from Troy Johnston. Later in the day, the Rockies top prospects came together to be beaten 10-3 by their counterparts on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Today the Sacramento Athletics will visit Salt River Fields to take on the Rockies.
On the mound for the A’s will be veteran left hander Jeffrey Springs. His career so far having been defined by injuries, Springs’ ability to take the ball 32 times and pitch 171 innings last year was a welcome accomplishment.
While his velocity is nothing to write home about, Springs features a changeup that is a genuine put-away pitch against righties (41.3% whiff rate in ‘25) and a solid slider that he uses equally against batters on both sides of the plate.
Opposing him will be Michael Lorenzen making his first start for the Rockies since an impressive run with team Italy in the WBC.
While his spring training appearances leave something to be desired, across his two appearances in the tournament he logged 7.1 innings with a 3.68 ERA. That included earning the win against a stacked team USA lineup in pool play. He’ll look to keep those strong performances going against a good A’s lineup in what will be his final start before the regular season.
First Pitch: 2:10 pm MDT
TV: None
Radio: None
MLB Gameday: Live Box Score
Lineups:
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If there’s one player we’re a good deal higher on than the industry, it’s left-handed starting pitcher Jake Miller. Personally, I think Miller has a solid chance to develop into a mid-rotation caliber starting pitcher. Others will note the 2025 injuries that stalled his workload progression and see too much downside risk. More likely, he’s a good swingman who spot starts occasionally, but is still a very valuable member of the Tigers’ pitching staff in the years ahead. We’ll see how it turns out over the next few seasons.
Miller had just turned 21 when the Tigers selected him out of Valparaiso in the 2022 draft. They used their eighth round pick on the lefty, paying him the minimum bonus. That looks like another steal from the college pitching ranks. Miller was unheralded in college despite being a left-hander, in part because his fastball sat in the low-90’s. Over the past three full seasons of pro ball, he’s built that up to sit 94 mph. In the process, he’s developed above average command of a deep mix of secondary pitches, helping them all to play up and work in concert together.
The 6’2” left-hander initially weighed in at a somewhat lanky 185 pounds, but has added 15-20 pounds of good muscle over the last few years. He has a simple compact delivery, working into his motion with a rock step and a fairly high leg kick from a closed stance that gives him some deception, and then firing his quick arm through a standard three-quarters arm slot into release.
In his first full season of A-ball, Miller wasn’t particularly impressive until his command really came together late in the year to finish strong. He stayed in Lakeland to start the 2024 season, but eventually moved to High-A and reached Double-A by the end of the year. He posted a combined 1.85 ERA with a 30.4 percent strikeout rate against a truly miserly 5 percent walk rate over 87 1/3 innings of work. His command of a solid fastball and a plus changeup together was just overwhelming to A-ball level hitters.
Miller is typically 93-94 mph with his fastball, hitting 95-96 at max effort. It’s a straightforward fourseam fastball with a bit of riding action and a pretty flat plane to the top of the zone, but nothing outstanding. His crossfire and quick arm accleration give him some deception, and he moves around on the rubber to get different angles depending on the pitch and hitter, shifting his foot on the rubber into his delivery. All that helps make his release point trickier to track for hitters. It’s really just a perfectly average major league fastball, but he does a lot of little things to help it play up.
Miller began the season with Erie, and put together four good starts out of the gate before going on the injured list. There weren’t any reports at the time, so we had to wait until season’s end to find out what was going on. Rumors were that back spasms were the issue, and Miller had a procedure and missed all of May, June, and July, before making a few rehab appearances in Lakeland to close out the year. His second rehab appearance saw him smoked in the back by a 105 mph comebacker and knocked out the game. Kind of a microcosm of his year than as soon as he got back on the mound, something else went wrong.
The back trouble actually turned out to be caused by hip issues. Miller was announced for the Arizona Fall League last fall to make up some innings, but further medical exams after the reguar season ended showed partial tears to both hip labrums. Miller had surgery on both hips and he’s been completing his offseason rehab work throughout camp. Reports on his progress are positive, but he might take until late April for him to get on the mound for the Toledo Mud Hens, where he was optioned back on March 6.
The best secondary pitch in Miller’s toolkit is a plus circle changeup that really falls off the table with good deception and fade away from right-handed hitters. His command of the fastball-changeup combination is his bread and butter. Miller doesn’t just throw a good ratio of strikes. He already spots the fastball consistently all around the zone, jamming right-handers and adding a bit of cut to the fourseamer to do so, and getting more twoseam looking run on it to his armside. He’s very adept at tying up hitters inside and then getting them to expand the zone chasing fastballs up and away, or by dropping the changeup off the same eye line for whiffs and plenty of weak contact. He’ll use it left-on-left, and his excellent armspeed really helps him sell it and get hitters way out in front.
Miller’s breaking stuff is a more ordinary. He throws a pretty prototypical gryo slider around 84-85 mph, and over the past year shaped his power curveball into more of a sweeper at 79-80 mph. The slider is above average at its best but can be a little too rounded rather than breaking sharply. His consistency needs to improve a bit more with that pitch, while the sweeper is easier for hitters to recognize, but has serious horizontal break and is difficult to square up. The velocity on everything was down a tick or two during his rehab work in Lakeland last summer, and that’s the only Statcast data we have to work from, but when healthy he should be right back to the numbers provided here.
The pitcher who looks most similar to Miller on the Tigers’ right now is lefty Enmanuel de Jesus. They have similar stuff, though Miller at his best has a bit of a velocity advantage, but de Jesus’ ability to spot four pitches and really work hitters over with his command is very reminiscent of Jake Miller at his best. Pitchers like this are often underrated because there is no eye-opening “stuff” data to build a projection from, just a solid, well composed mix of pitches. It would help him to develop the slider into a harder, sharper version that plays more like a cutter, but command still plays even without a true plus pitch in the mix.
Most national sites have Miller as a 40+ future value grade. I’ll go two steps higher. He’s not a high percentage guy to develop into a number three starter in a good rotation, but the likelihood that he makes it as a backend starter, is pretty high in my opinion. Of course, he may be good enough to do that and still used in a hybrid/swingman role anyway. Should he come back strong from rehab and sitting closer to 95 mph consistently, as he has for a few brief stretches in the minors, he’ll push closer to top 100 status nationally.
The Tigers know what they have here, and they added Miller to the 40-man roster last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Instead of moving him to the 60-day IL this spring to open a roster spot for Enmanuel de Jesus, the Tigers moved Troy Melton onto that list instead. Reports from camp, along with that set of decisions, suggest that Miller is tracking well to get on the mound in April, but we’ll just have to see how it plays out. One way or another, a healthy Jake Miller is a weapon, and a pitcher who will probably help the Tigers out this year. He’ll just need some time in Toledo to get his timing and command all the way back after a tough 2025 season.