Colby Thomas drove in three runs today in the A’s loss to the Colorado Rockies. | Getty Images
The A’s were at home today at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona to face off against the NL West’s Colorado Rockies in Cactus League play. J.T. Ginn got the start against Chase Dollander for the Rockies.
Ginn got off to a rough start giving up his first earned run of the season on a three-run homer to Brett Sullivan in the bottom of the first inning. But the A’s bounced back in the bottom of the inning with a Shea Langeliers double followed by a Max Muncy single. Muncy followed with a stolen base, his first of the spring, but was stranded on second.
In the second, Ginn gave up a Chad Stevens homers to center field to make the score 4-1, in favor of Colorado. Ginn ultimately pitched three full innings giving up four earned runs on four hits (two of them homers), two walks while striking out three Rockies. While it’s still early in the spring, only his third outing, I’m sure Kotsay was hoping for more from Ginn.
Luis Medina relieved Ginn in the fourth and promptly gave up two hits and his second earned run in as many innings. There will likely be more wiggle room for Medina since he missed all last year after his Tommy John Surgery and the fact that he’s out of minor league options.
Brooks Kriske replaced Luis Medina in the top of the fifth and he too gave up a home run, a two-run shot to center field to Kyle Karros bringing the score to 7-1.
Cade Marlow hit his first homer of the spring, his seventh hit in twenty at-bats, to tighten the score to 7-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but TJ Rumsfeld got that run back with the Rox fourth homer of the afternoon, this one off rookie reliever Kade Morris.
Colby Thomas got his first hit of the day in the seventh, a double driving in two runs to tighten the score to 8-5.
Morris continued to pitch three innings, giving up just that one earned run on two hits and a walk. He also struck out two Rockies. The Rockies tagged on two more runs in the ninth off Cole Miller, making his spring debut for the A’s. It was an inauspicious start, giving up three earned runs on two hits and two walks while not registering an out.
The A’s scored one last run in the bottom of the ninth on Thomas’ second hit and third RBI of the day. That brought the final score to Rockies 11- A’s 6.
TAMPA, FL - FEBRUARY 20: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field on February 20, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hey everyone! It’s good to be back. Speaking of back, so are the Yankees, and they’ll be looking to wash away the aftertaste of yesterday’s 15-0 drubbing at the hands of the Twins. Their opponents today will be the Rays, with Cam Schlittler making his spring debut against Joe Boyle.
It’s hard to overstate the impact that Schlittler made as a rookie last year with the Bombers — and he only debuted in July! In his 14 regular season starts, Schlittler threw 73 innings of 2.96 ERA ball, with very good peripherals to boot. However, he saved his best work for the postseason, posting eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts over the Red Sox in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the Wild Card Series. Though his next postseason start—Game 4 of the ALDS against Toronto—didn’t go as well, he still earned the admittedly dubious distinction of being the only Yankee starter to post a quality start in that series. This will be Schlittler’s spring debut, and I’m hoping it will be the harbinger for a strong sophomore campaign for the big guy.
Schlittler will duel against Joe Boyle, whose accolades include eight Oscars, all won for his 2008 film Slumdog Millionare, though die-hards still swear by his 1996 classic Trainspotting — oh wait, wrong Boyle. The Boyle starting today is less decorated than Danny, but that doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Selected in the 12th round of the 2020 draft by the Reds, he made his MLB debut in 2023 with the Athletics, posting a 1.69 ERA over three starts. After a rough 2024, he was shipped to the Rays as part of a package for Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez, where he split time in Triple-A, where he was an International League All-Star, and the majors, where he posted a 4.67 ERA (4.19 FIP) and 58 strikeouts over 52 innings. Armed with premium stuff, the next step for Boyle is finding the strike zone with consistency. If he does, he’ll be a thorn in the Yankees’ side for the next few years.
The top of the Yankees’ lineup tonight features their big guns, sans Aaron Judge (leading Team USA tonight against Brazil in their WBC opener). Trent Grisham is in center field leading off, followed by Ben Rice at first, Cody Bellinger in left, and Giancarlo Stanton at DH. Ryan McMahon and Paul DeJong will be at third base and second base, batting fifth and sixth. Making his spring debut will be Oswaldo Cabrera—we love you Oswaldo!—coming back after a left ankle fracture ended his 2025 season in May. Max Schuemann will hit eighth and start in right field, and Payton Henry will don the tools of ignorance in the nine spot.
How to watch
Location: George M. Steinbrenner Field — Tampa, FL
Among the outstanding pitchers on Friday Noah Schultz was most dominant, needing just 25 pitches to get seven outs. | (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)
If you are going to produce few hits, might as well make them count.
The White Sox chased a morbid offensive effort on Thursday night with one not much better on Friday. The difference? Two of the hits left the yard, and with the sacks close to packed. Or, in other words: Five-hit games don’t result in wins very often — but six-run games sure do.
The key blow came early, as Oliver Dunn stepped to the plate with two on and two out in the second inning. Facing reliever Landon Sims fresh in from the pen, Dunn drove a center-cut, 92.3 mph fastball on 1-0 out 429 feet to right. Anyone questioning the strangeness of batting your designated hitter ninth in the lineup (uh, not me, no way) can pack those three runs home in their pipes and smoke ’em.
Just two innings later, it was Jarred Kelenic blasting another three-run shot, his first long ball with the White Sox. And even in the hot air of Arizona and Spring Training pitching always just one meltdown from defeat, Kelenic’s shot put the game away.
The game was over before its midpoint thanks to some outstanding pitching, as the White Sox arms put forth their best efforts thus far in 2026: Anthony Kay, Tanner McDougal and Noah Schultz took on all but two outs and combined to stifle the Diamondbacks on just four hits. None of the three had dominant K stuff rolling, but the White Sox defense backed each up on balls in play, keeping the game scoreless and the Dbacks frustrated.
Schultz in particular was outstanding, needing just 25 pitches to pocket seven outs. His removal with one out in the ninth rang a bit odd, but perhaps leaving right at 25 tosses meant the White Sox are working off a hard cap of 25-30 throws for the tall lefty rebounding from knee issues in 2025.
With the rout, the White Sox got back to better than .500, at 8-7, and return home tomorrow to take on Seattle in a CHSN/WMVP broadcast game. Leigh Allan (yes, undefeated on his four-game coverage season so far) will have your coverage.
Right after the game, the White Sox announced one demotion to Triple-A and nine other reassignments from MLB camp, none of them surprising:
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 30: Reynaldo López #40 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during the game between the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on Monday, September 30, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
One of question marks for López after coming off a significant injury was whether he could get his velocity back. Back in 2024, when he arguably had his best season of his career, he averaged 95.5 MPH on his fastball. López was already hitting 94 MPH back on February 19th.
López has had positive results in spring thus far. He has pitched 5.0 innings while surrendering zero runs, only two hits and accumulating five strikeouts to only two walks. Of course, odds are it will be hard to replicate this over an entire season, but it is most certainly a positive sign.
Reynaldo Lopez consistently sat around 93 mph and hit 94 mph during the second inning of today’s live BP. He seems to be where he needs to be in February. He’s proven he can be effective at 94-95 with the ability to dial up 98 when necessary
It should also be noted that there is a fun stat on Baseball Reference that measures the opponent quality. It ranges from one being rookie ball to ten being a full MLB squad. So far López has a score of 7.0, which is equivalent of AA opponents.
It could be guessed before the lineup was dropped, but since the Braves are playing away from home, the lineup is largely full of players that will have minimal playing time in the regular season. Red hot Dominic Smith will get the start at 1B looking to boost his hopes for a roster spot now that Profar is done.
The Braves will face an outside-of-the-box trade option for them in Bailey Ober. Ober will be making his spring debut for the Twins who are already down a few rotation arms this year. It will be interesting to see if the Twins decide to go into a full rebuild mode this season.
The Twins’ lineup will feature former top prospect Royce Lewis, as well as old friend Orlando Arcia.
FORMER CUBS IN PADRES CAMP: Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, Nick Castellanos.
CUBS STAT LEADERS: (minimum 10 AB): OPS, Dansby Swanson (1.750). BA: Swanson and Dylan Carlson (.500). OBP: Carlson (.652). SLG: Swanson (1.100). HR: Swanson, Jefferson Rojas and Carson Kelly (2). SB: Scott Kingery and Pedro Ramirez (4).
Ben Brown will start for the Cubs. Other Cubs pitchers scheduled today: Ethan Roberts, Ryan Rolison. Jack Neely, Collin Snider and Grant Kipp.
Germán Márquez will start for the Padres. Other Padres pitchers scheduled today: Marco Gonzales, Adrian Morejon, David Morgan and Jeremiah Estrada.
Today’s game will be televised by Padres TV. It will also be on MLB Network (no blackouts). There will be a radio broadcast via the Padres station KWFN 97.3.
Please visit our SB Nation Padres site Gaslamp Ball. If you do go there to interact with Padres fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
As we have done in the past, we’ll have a first pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time. For today, that will be 7:05 p.m. CT and 8:40 p.m. CT.
These threads will not post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked ”Chicago Cubs Game Threads” at the bottom of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher photos and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.
Carlos Lagrange continues to turn heads at Yankees camp.
The young right-hander has arguably been one of the biggest standouts to this point, helping him receive some big-time praise from captain Aaron Judge.
After a live BP battle between the two earlier in camp, Judge said that Lagrange has all the makings to be a top-of-the-rotation arm in the big leagues.
On Friday, another Yankee great offered his two cents on the 22-year-old.
This time, it was ace Gerrit Cole who was left blown away by the consistent heat he showed as the two completed their latest live BP session at Steinbrenner Field.
“It’s like, silly, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cole told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "I'm just blown away by the velocity every time."
Lagrange topped out at 101.5 mph during his three innings on Friday, and he only needed three pitches to dispose of Jasson Dominguez during their matchup.
Dominguez is just the latest to fall victim to the 23-year-old’s heat.
He’s punched out six batters and allowed just two runs (one earned) while topping out at 103 MPH over his first two Grapefruit League appearances.
This has been just a glimpse of Lagrange’s big-time potential.
He racked up 168 punchouts last season in 120 innings between High-A and Double-A.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - AUGUST 10: Alan Roden #19 of the Minnesota Twinswarms up before the game against the Kansas City Royals at Target Field on August 10, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First Pitch (CT):5:05 PM TV: Twins.TV Radio: 830 WCCO/Audacy App Know Yo’ Foe: Battery Power
What to watch: We’re on Roden CF watch yet again. With how well both he and James Outman have been playing this Spring, the Twins will have some hard decisions to make if a trade isn’t done before Opening Day. Also, Twins legends Kyle Farmer and DaShawn Keirsey are in the lineup for Atlanta!
TAMPA, FL - MARCH 3: An general view of George M. Steinbrenner Field during a game between the New York Yankees and Team Panama at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 3, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images
First pitch against the New York Yankees is at 6:35 at Steinbrenner Field and the Rays will be providing TV and radio coverage.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided some updates prior to Friday's game against the Marlins...
What Benge needs to do to secure spot
Carson Benge has been extremely impressive so far this spring in his bid for a roster spot.
While the right field competition is very crowded to this point, the team is simply looking for him to keep doing his thing in order to lock-up his Opening Day spot.
“There are a lot of things out of his control, but he’s having a good camp,” Mendoza said. “He’s controlling the zone, I like the quality of at-bats especially against lefties -- we saw it the other day going the other way with two strikes -- the defense, the way he’s running the bases. Still a long ways to go, but he’s having a really good camp.”
Heading into Friday’s game, Benge is hitting .312 with a homer and a .357 OBP on the spring.
He also made a diving catch and has shown off his plus-arm in right.
Ewing impressing, as well
Benge hasn’t been the only young standout earning praise early in camp.
Outfield prospect A.J. Ewing has also been very solid so far on both sides of the ball.
Asked about the 21-year-old on Friday, Mendoza simply described him as “a ball player.”
“There’s a lot of different ways he can help a team win baseball games,” the skipper said. “Whether it’s with the way he plays defense, the way he runs the bases, his good at-bats -- just putting the ball in play, driving the ball.
“He’s another kid who I don’t think people talk much about, but he’s another good one.”
Ewing didn’t crack SNY's Top 30 prospect list last season, but rose all the way up to No. 3 this year, and is already among the Top 100 prospects in the sport.
So far, the youngster looks ready to continue his rapid rise.
Feb 17, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) looks on from the field during spring training at Clover Park. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Other surprises
Along with Benge and Ewing, there have been plenty of others who have caught Mendoza’s eye thus far in camp.
That includes both young talent and the vets.
“A lot of them,” Mendoza explained. “We mentioned Ewing, [Chris] Suero, [Ryan] Lambert, and then just a lot of our established players, the way they showed up to camp.
“[Kodai] Senga, I’m really looking forward to watching him pitch. Sean Manaea put in a lot of work, Luis Robert on the backfield continues to crush pitching, and just the professionalism from some of the new players -- there are a lot of good things we’re seeing in camp.”
LuBob leaves the yard
Speaking of Robert's backfield appearances, the skipper said he successfully completed another on Friday.
The slugger again appeared in center, and he lifted a homer.
Following the plan put together by the training staff, he’ll get back out there on Sunday, and play on alternate days leading up to the off day next Wednesday.
If he continues checking boxes leading up to that point, Mendoza said that there’s a pretty good chance he’ll be set to make his Grapefruit League debut.
Robert could be a difference-maker for this lineup, if they can keep him healthy.
Stock down at the WBC
Robert Stock will no longer pitch for Team Israel in the WBC.
The right-hander is officially back with the Mets after reporting right shoulder discomfort following his exhibition appearance against the Marlins earlier this week.
He was set to undergo a series of tests on Friday so that the training staff can see what they are dealing with.
Stock faced an uphill battle for a roster spot in camp, but he’d gotten off to a relatively strong start, putting together back-to-back scoreless appearances.
The 36-year-old was throwing noticeably harder, touching 98 on his fastball.
Feb 27, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr. (96) hits a two-rbi single against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning during spring training at Lee Health Sports Complex/Hammond Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Good afternoon everyone, it’s time to dive back into the mailbag and answer some of your questions. Remember to send in your questions for our weekly call by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
Don H. asks:I’m just so tired of the Yankees letting players languish in the minors, until their play by or sell by dates are expired. Lombard Jr. is playing shortstop and hitting leadoff this spring, and reminds me a little of Derek Jeter when he first came up. And makes you wonder why Yankee insiders think he needs more seasoning in the minors.
George Lombard Jr.’s development is a far cry from languishing in the minors, having just three seasons as a pro with his age-21 season coming up this year. It’s an understandable concern given the team’s tendency to call up their prospects more towards 25-26 for a variety of reasons (development time, major league players blocking them, etc.), but the clock is nowhere near started on Lombard’s future and he should be around for quite some time should he make a push to the majors soon. On top of that, most scouts and insiders project Lombard to be with the Yankees sometime in 2027, with a few giving him an outside chance of making an appearance this year — Lombard has the potential to be a fast riser in the organization, a great sign for a top prospect.
As for the Jeter comparisons, while his spring has been phenomenal so far it’s important to remember that it’s just that — spring training. Lombard’s track record in the minors so far is a player with excellent defensive potential and a bat that has promise but needs refinement, with his .983 OPS in a 24-game stint in High-A Hudson Valley thus far being an outlier to the rest of his minor league career. The jump up to Double-A Somerset challenged him, and his bat came back down to Earth with a .695 OPS in a 108-game sample size, much more indicative that there’s work to be done still before rushing him into matchups with major league pitching. For all of the vitriol that Anthony Volpe has gotten from Yankees fans for largely being a glove-only shortstop, it’d be naive to rush Lombard into a similar fate when there’s plenty of time for him to figure things out at the appropriate level. And, just to give a look at what Jeter was doing with the bat at that same time, he was crushing the ball to the tune of an .873 OPS in his age-20 season that saw him jump from Single-A to Triple-A, before spending his entire age-21 season in Triple-A slashing .317/.394/.422 before getting a cup of coffee in New York.
NYCKING asks:Should LCS and World Series go to 2-2-1-1-1 format like NBA and NHL does?
The NBA and NHL format is a more “fair” approach from a home field advantage perspective, but there’s a key difference in how the baseball postseason operates that makes the 2-3-2 format feel more fitting for the sport. Introducing more travel would necessitate travel days off as well, allowing more rest for pitchers to recover and potentially allowing for teams to run with just three starters in a series, not to mention the benefits that it would give to high-end relievers whose number gets called in every close game their team finds themselves in come October. That’s not to say that it’d be bad if MLB chose to adopt this format, but it comes with tradeoffs — do you want the biggest stars to get the ball no matter what, or do you want the postseason to test the depth of your roster? On top of that, schedule-wise it would almost assuredly push the World Series further into November, which isn’t the biggest deal to some but might be to executives eyeing how much baseball can compete with football during the late fall ratings-wise.
russell1256 asks:With the Yankees farm system currently ranked in the lower half of baseball, next year, do you see a marked improvement in their ranking? Maybe based on their minor league pitching? They have multiple “studs” everyone is talking about. Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodríguez, Ben Hess, Bryce Cunningham, Chase Hampton, Brendan Beck to name a few.
It largely depends on how many of them are still in the system come next season — the group at large looks promising enough to catch the eyes of scouts if they continue developing, but they might also get dangled in front of general managers for upgrades at the deadline. It’s unlikely that the majority of the prospect core gets dealt out unless the team makes wholesale changes, but given the Yankees’ propensity to deal in quantity over quality because of how their top prospects rank relative to other organizations it might still be enough to prevent a major leap from the farm system overall. There’s also the chance for one or two names to end up playing a role in the 2026 campaign and graduating from the system, though there’d either need to be a remarkable run through the minors by them or a chaotic mess going on with the major league team for that to happen.
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Team USA’s 2026 World Baseball Classic run begins tonight in Houston, Texas.
The first of USA’s four games in five days will be against Brazil, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. ET.
The 2023 WBC runner-up, Team USA is bringing a stacked lineup to this year’s edition of the tournament, starting with “Captain America” and Yankees captain Aaron Judge, who will make his WBC debut after sitting out of the tournament in 2023.
The roster also includes Marines catcher Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs and came second in MVP voting; Kyle Schwarber, who led the NL in home runs and RBIs for the Phillies; and MLB stars Alex Bregman, Bobby Witt Jr. and Bryce Harper.
Brazil enters the World Baseball Classic without a single MLB player on the roster.
2026 world baseball classic: what to know
Who: Team USA vs. Team Brazil
When: March 6, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Daikin Park (Houston, Texas)
Channel: FOX
Streaming: DIRECTV (try it free)
Giants ace Logan Webb will get the start for Team USA tonight; Webb has a career 3.38 ERA with 180 MLB games to his name. The rest of Team USA’s starting pitching rotation includes two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, reigning AL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and Mets rookie phenom Nolan McLean.
Team USA vs. Brazil WBC start time
Team USA vs. Brazil at the World Baseball Classic is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET tonight, March 6.
How to watch Team USA vs. Brazil for free
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the World Baseball Classic for free.
DIRECTV is our favorite service for watching TV live for free — it has a five-day free trial and there are a ton of options for plans that include FOX, including genre packs that offer more flexibility at lower price points. FOX is part of the MyNews genre pack, which is currently discounted to $34.99/month for your first two months.
TRY DIRECTV FOR FREE
World Baseball Classic 2026: Team USA roster
Pitchers: David Bednar (Yankees), Matthew Boyd (Cubs), Garrett Cleavinger (Rays), Clay Holmes (Mets), Griffin Jax (Rays), Brad Keller (Phillies), Clayton Kershaw, Nolan McLean (Mets), Mason Miller (Padres), Joe Ryan (Twins), Paul Skenes (Pirates), Tarik Skubal (Tigers), Gabe Speier (Mariners), Michael Wacha (Royals), Logan Webb (Giants), Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox)
Catchers: Cal Raleigh (Mariners), Will Smith (Dodgers)
Infielders: Alex Bregman (Cubs), Ernie Clement (Blue Jays), Paul Goldschmidt (Yankees), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Gunnar Henderson (Orioles), Brice Turang (Brewers), Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)
Outfielders: Roman Anthony (Red Sox), Byron Buxton (Twins), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs), Aaron Judge (Yankees)
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
Spring Training is well underway and the World Baseball Classic pool play has also begun. It’s always a good idea to exercise some caution with early stats because players are frequently working through a few things as they prepare for the regular season. That said, there are early indicators we do keep an eye out for, especially for pitchers, like velocity and new pitches. With the obvious small (and early!) sample size caveats in mind, let’s take a closer look at what the Cubs have seen from Shōta Imanaga two starts into Spring Training.
Cubs fans will recall that the 2025 season ended with Imanaga struggling with pitch location and giving up a large number of home runs as a result. To put that in perspective, you can see some of Shōta’s key stats split by season and month below:
Season
Month
IP
TBF
K/9
BB/9
K/BB
HR/9
K%
BB%
K-BB%
AVG
WHIP
BABIP
LOB%
FIP
xFIP
2024
Mar/Apr
27.2
108
9.11
0.98
9.33
0.65
25.93%
2.78%
23.15%
.181
0.80
.227
88.54%
2.41
3.44
2024
May
30.1
123
9.20
2.08
4.43
0.89
25.20%
5.69%
19.51%
.250
1.19
.317
84.91%
3.10
3.81
2024
Jun
27
117
8.33
1.33
6.25
1.67
21.37%
3.42%
17.95%
.288
1.33
.329
53.33%
4.28
4.33
2024
Jul
24.2
97
9.85
1.09
9.00
1.46
27.84%
3.09%
24.74%
.217
0.93
.262
92.78%
3.69
3.67
2024
Aug
36.2
146
9.08
1.47
6.17
2.21
25.34%
4.11%
21.23%
.221
1.01
.234
73.77%
4.83
3.37
2024
Sept/Oct
27
103
8.67
1.67
5.20
1.33
25.24%
4.85%
20.39%
.184
0.85
.206
100.00%
3.72
3.20
2025
Mar/Apr
39
159
6.92
3.00
2.31
1.62
18.87%
8.18%
10.69%
.214
1.13
.220
90.64%
4.93
4.93
2025
May
5.2
22
6.35
1.59
4.00
0.00
18.18%
4.55%
13.64%
.190
0.88
.235
60.00%
2.25
5.52
2025
Jun
5
17
5.40
1.80
3.00
0.00
17.65%
5.88%
11.76%
.063
0.40
.077
100.00%
2.54
5.00
2025
Jul
33.1
134
7.02
0.54
13.00
2.43
19.40%
1.49%
17.91%
.256
1.05
.250
85.47%
5.36
4.53
2025
Aug
34
122
8.47
1.32
6.40
1.32
26.23%
4.10%
22.13%
.154
0.68
.163
81.25%
3.61
3.92
2025
Sept/Oct
27.2
113
7.16
1.30
5.50
3.25
19.47%
3.54%
15.93%
.275
1.23
.260
65.00%
6.68
4.32
Admittedly, some of these samples are minuscule. The 10.2 innings Imanaga threw between May and June last season while dealing with injury are too small to be meaningful. But there are trends here that are notable. Imanaga’s strikeout rate has declined during his time in MLB. His walk rate is still elite. Say what you will about Imanaga, he throws strikes. Unfortunately, the other thing you can see is that those strikes have been more hittable over time, which is a problem.
During his first two spring training starts there is both good and bad news out of Mesa for Imanaga. The good news is that the velocity on Shōta’s pitches has been up a couple of ticks for both starts. In 2025 Shōta’s fourseam averaged 90.8 miles per hour, his splitter was at 83.0 and his sweeper was 80.3. On February 24, Shōta’s fastball sat around 92 miles per hour and hit 94.1, hist splitter mostly sat at 84 and hit 85.5. He threw one sweeper, it was 82.6 miles per hour. This approximately two mile per hour bump persisted in his second start against the White Sox on March 1 — unfortunately, another problem that reared its ugly head during the 2025 season was on display during the March start: a highly elevated home run rate. Of the four hits Imanaga surrendered in that start against the White Sox, three went over the wall.
Obviously it’s early. Imanaga has only thrown 4.2 innings so far this spring, which is an even smaller sample than either of the tiny months I told you to ignore in the table above. His HR/FB rate will not be 37.5 percent for the spring and unless there is a small sample during a month in the regular season, he won’t post a split like that in the regular season. Pitchers are frequently working on their pitch arsenal and approach during the spring in ways that can radically shift their results from start to start. However, if Shōta is still missing middle-middle when Opening Day rolls around an extra two miles per hour might not be enough to get him back to his 2024 results.
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 06: Ronald Acuña Jr. #21 of Team Venezuela hits a double against Team Kingdom of the Netherlands /d1i of a 2026 World Baseball Classic Pool D game at loanDepot park on March 06, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The much-anticipated Battle of the Braves between Venezuela’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies of the Netherlands saw a decisive winner, as Venezuela came out on top 6-2 in Pool D of 2026 World Baseball Classic action.
From a Braves perspective, this was a one-sided affair as Acuña hit the ground running in helping his team to victory in this one. Venezuela manager Omar López made the smart decision to have Acuña lead off and he was rewarded for that decision by seeing his leadoff hitter smack one into the gap in left-center field for a leadoff double on the very first pitch that he saw.
An RBI single from singles machine Luis Arraez eventually brought Acuña home for the first run of the gameand Acuña wasn’t done there, either. He followed up a leadoff hit-by-pitch taken by Andrés Giménez with a walk that eventually turned into a bases-loaded situation. Acuña then scampered home again for his second run of the day on a single from Willson Contreras that made it past Didi Gregorius at third base and into the outfield for a two-RBI knock.
Acuña’s exploits weren’t just limited to his plate appearances or on the basepaths as well. The Netherlands attempted to respond to Venezuela’s four-run fifth inning by loading the bases up with nobody out to start the sixth inning. Braves catcher Chadwick Tromp hit a soft blooper to right field that could’ve easily been one of those Bermuda Triangle-type hits that do a ton of damage without a ton of exit velocity. Fortunately for Venezuela, Tromp’s Braves teammate in right field made it clear that he wasn’t going to give his fellow Brave any easy hits. Acuña made a long run to get under the ball, make the catch and then flip the ball on one hop to home plate in order to save a run.
While Acuña was all over the place in a good way for Venezuela, it was a quiet day on the diamond for Ozzie Albies and Chadwick Tromp. Albies went 0-for-4 at the plate and Chadwick Tromp went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in this one, as the Netherlands went into this one as clear underdogs and proved those prognostications correct. Braves Hall-of-Famer (and future Baseball Hall-of-Famer) and Netherlands manager Andruw Jones did have something to smile about in this one, as the two runs that Honkbal did score in this one off the bat of his son, Druw Jones. Druw tied things up in the second inning on an RBI double and then he hit a sacrifice fly to Ronald Acuña Jr. for the second run of the game.
That was as good as things got for the Netherlands in this one, as Venezuela ended up cruising to a four-run victory in this one. There wasn’t really a ton of drama in this one and the only Acuña/Albies interaction that we saw was the two pals goofing off at second base in the first inning after Acuña made it there on the leadoff double.
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 6, 2026
Outside of that, it was all Acuña and Venezuela as one of the dark horse candidates to win the whole thing got off to a good start in this one. Venezuela will return to the field tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. ET against Israel on Fox Sports 2, while the Netherlands will be facing off against Nicaragua at 12:00 p.m. ET on tubi. If you’re trying to keep an eye on Ozzie Albies, Chadwick Tromp and Andruw Jones then make sure you’ve bookmarked tubi because you aren’t done with the land of low-budget movies just yet.
Meanwhile in Houston, Nacho Alvarez Jr. is also making his presence felt for Mexico as he hit a dinger in the second inning during his first at-bat of the game in order to give his squad the initial lead. As of writing, Mexico is currently in a serious fight with Great Britain as they’re deadlocked 1-1 in the seventh inning, so keep an eye on that one. Hopefully we’ll see Nacho Alvarez Jr. continue to show out for Mexico and we’ll update this post if he does add to his tally in this one.
GOODYEAR, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 23, 2026: Chase DeLauter #24 of the Cleveland Guardians runs out a fly ball during the fifth inning of a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Goodyear Ballpark on February 23, 2026 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images) | Diamond Images/Getty Images
I am running around all day, but feel free to discuss the game below! Sorry this is late
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - OCTOBER 04: Cristopher Sanchez #61 of the Philadelphia Phillies reacts after getting the third out in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game one of the Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on October 04, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There is one thing I would suggest Phillies fans, myself included, do more of this year.
Zoom out.
Here in Philly, we can be a bit myopic when it comes to our sports teams. We are immersed in the day-to-day, week-to-week, monthly and yearly frustrations that come with following a baseball team with great intensity, and it is easy to lose the forest for the trees.
Like you, I was not happy with the off-season. After a second straight first round playoff exit and three consecutive highly disappointing postseasons overall, the 2026 Phils are largely the same squad as the ‘25, ‘24 and ‘23 teams, at least in terms of its core.
The starting rotation still features Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez. The best players in the lineup remain Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm. The bullpen changes on a yearly basis, but that’s largely true for most teams. Everyone’s a year older, with yet another postseason frustration on which to chew.
We wanted change because it feels like this particular group has hit a brick wall. Teams that stick together this long don’t usually suddenly break through in Year No. 5. But it’s fair to note the Philadelphia Phillies are the two-time defending NL East champions and have been to the playoffs four straight years. This group did advance to a World Series in ‘22 and nearly got back there again in ‘23. And they won the NL East by a whopping 13 games a year ago.
Nationally, baseball analysts and the public are much higher on the Phils than the hardcore fanbase. This week, ESPN released their ranking of the Top 100 players in the league, and the Dodgers led the way with 8 players in the Top 100. But guess which team had the second-most? Yep, your Phils, with 7 (Sanchez, Schwarber, Turner, Harper, Luzardo, Jhoan Duran, Wheeler). That’s a lot!
MLB’s Mike Petriello released his Tier Rankings of all 30 teams, and while the Dodgers were in the top tier all by their lonesome, guess which tier the Phillies fell into? Yep, Tier 2, along with the Cubs (the only other NL team mentioned), Blue Jays, Mariners, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees. That’s pretty great!
On my Hittin’ Season podcast from WHYY this week, MLB.com’s Mike Petriello joined me to offer his thoughts on why the Phillies largely chose to “run it back” in 2026, and why it’s important for us, as fans, to zoom out a bit and observe the rest of the league, too.
“You know, it’s funny. So I live in New York, but I’m not a Yankees fan, but I hear a lot of Yankees chatter and it’s the exact same conversation. Yankees and Phillies, right? We’re running it back and this is terrible. And it’s like, well, you’re running back a 96 win team in Philly and a 94 win team in New York. And every Phillies fan demanded Kyle Schwarber come back and every Yankees fan demanded Cody Bellinger come back. And at a certain point, if you’re bringing back players you wanted on a very good team, how many more moves are there to be made?
Yankees fans were furious. ‘We need a new shortstop.’ It’s like, shortstops don’t exist! You literally cannot go and find a shortstop right now. For the Phillies, I think it’s a little bit different just because I don’t mind them bringing back Schwarber, I don’t mind them bringing back JT Realmuto, because there just weren’t any other good options.”
And while Petriello did not like the Phillies’ plan for the outfield, specifically the move to acquire Adolis Garcia in free agency and place Justin Crawford in center without a real back-up plan, he called Brandon Marsh and his 2025 second half “underrated” and noted Bryson Stott’s outstanding second half after making a mechanical adjustment.
Things to consider.
While we’re nervous about a seemingly less stable starting rotation, Petriello believes the Phillies’ cadre of starters appear to still be the best in the division.
I've got a brand NEW Hittin' Season for Phillies fans, powered by @WHYY! https://t.co/zXmRzx7eZ2's @mike_petriello stops by to chat about which NL East rotation he has the most confidence in, and which he has the least. You'll LIKE the answers!
“The team that I’m out the most on rotation-wise is Atlanta, for sure. Just because of the pitching injuries. And I don’t know what [Spencer] Strider is and Chris Sale has been amazing, but he’s also going to be, what, 38? And [he] doesn’t exactly have a long track record recently of staying healthy. So that scares me the most. I think there’s huge disaster risk right there.
And between the Mets and the Phillies… I guess I’m still going to take the Phillies because it sounds like Wheeler won’t miss that much time. You know, it’s hard to know if he’s going to be “ace” [Zack] Wheeler, or just pretty good. I’m cautiously optimistic about [Aaron] Nola. I think Cris Sanchez is great and always underrated. I really like [Jesus] Luzardo. You know, even if [Andrew] Painter is only a number five, you’re not asking him to be an ace, right? The Pirates are asking Connor Griffin to be Bobby Witt right now and the Phillies are not asking that of Painter.
So I guess I would take the Phillies, then the Mets, then the Braves.“
This is perspective that gets lost when everyone is neck-deep in the echo chamber. Like you, I have a tendency to zero in on the minutia of what’s happening with the Phils, which is why it’s always great to get an outsider’s perspective, something I try to do a lot of on Hittin’ Season.
It’s easy to be down on the Phillies after a disappointing October and off-season. So let’s all make an effort to zoom out a bit more in 2026 and listen to folks who aren’t as emotionally invested in this team as we are.
It might save our sanity and maybe, just maybe, make us smarter baseball fans, too.
