Category: Sports News

Friday was the first full slate of WBC pool play action, and a lot of stuff happened. As expected, there were a lot of blowouts — both because of the fundamental talent mismatch, but also because these games are still Spring Training-y with the pitch count restrictions and the overall dearth of pitching talent, so all it takes is for one subpar pitching performance against a high-quality lineup to let things get out of hand.

If you’re only here to read about the Braves, well:

• Ronald Acuña Jr.: 1-for-4, 2B, BB, K. One flyout would’ve been an extra-base hit at Truist (off the right field wall), another was mashed but right at the center fielder.
• Ozzie Albies: 0-for-4, one hard groundout, two weak groundouts, and a popout.
• Chadwick Tromp: 0-for-3 with a walk, two strikeouts, and a weak flyout.
• Nacho Alvarez Jr.: 1-for-3 with a mashed homer, a walk, and a strikeout.

Alright, onto the games:

Japan 13, Taiwan 0. An expected mercy rule slaughter in this game. Shohei Ohtani doubled in the first but ended up stranded, only to hit a grand slam in the second. Not that the Samurai were done then, as they put up a ten-spot in total in the frame, scoring six more times after the slam. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was pretty meh with a 2/3 K/BB ratio in 2 2/3, but Taiwan didn’t get anything going. Taiwan collected just one hit in this game, though they did draw five walks.

Cuba 3, Panama 1. Of all the games, this one was probably the most tense. Logan Allen got the start for Panama and made a lot of Cuban hitters look silly with five strikeouts in three frames… but he also got popped for two homers: Yoelkis Guibert pulled a laser down the right-field line for a solo shot in the second, and then Yoan Moncada crushed a two-run homer in the next inning. Cuba’s first two pitchers, Livan Moinelo and Yariel Rodriguez, were adept at handling Panama’s bats (six total innings, 7/2 K/BB ratio), but things got more interesting against what I guess is the softer part of Cuba’s bullpen. Emmanuel Chapman labored through four batters in which Johan Camargo knocked in Panama’s only run with a weak single past the infield. Panama got a one-out double in the ninth but that was it. I was really impressed by Panamanian arm Dario Agrazal, who washed out of the minors years ago but dominated the Cuban bats for two very clean frames.

Venezuela 6, Netherlands 2. This game ended up being closer than you’d think given that the relatively unheralded Oranje pitchers had to face down basically an All-Star lineup. Antwone Kelly looked overmatched against the Venezuelan attack, but the game was still just 2-1 after two. Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled on the first pitch he saw and later scored on Luis Arraez spraying one through the infield, but Druw Jones ripped a hard groundball double (on a pitch that wasn’t a strike and probably shouldn’t have been pulled) to plate a run with Ranger Suarez pitching for Venezuela. But, Javier Sanoja took Kelly deep to reclaim the lead.

The next few frames were quiet, but the entry of Jaydenn Estanista (a fringe prospect in the Phillies system) opened the door for Venezuela: HBP, walk, misplayed bunt, walk added a run, and then a couple of singles off Eric Mendez blew the game open. Luinder Avila struggled a bit to start the sixth with a HBP and walk of his own, but it led to just a lone run on a sac fly as Jose Butto came in to restore order. That capped the scoring — Acuña’s hard smash getting caught stopped more scoring by Venezuela, and Daniel Palencia looked destructive as he slammed the door in the ninth.

Mexico 8, Great Britain 2. This was one of those games that arguably shouldn’t have been close at all, but only actually stopped being close/interesting at the end. Boston farmhand Jack Anderson looked great through three frames, his efforts marred only by a Nacho Alvarez Jr. mash job of a solo homer (of all things). In the sixth, Harry Ford returned the favor with a solo shot of his own, and this game was weirdly tied, with Great Britain actually clogging the bases more frequently against real MLB starter Javier Assad than Mexico was able to.

The eighth, though, led to more “restored order” in terms of aligning to expectations. Gary Gill Hill had looked fine in the seventh and struck out the first two in the eighth… only to then walk two straight on ten pitches. That led to his replacement by onetime Braves prospect Tristan Beck to face the lefty-swinging Jonathan Aranda (who had a ..380+ xwOBA last year!!!), and Aranda hit a routine opposite-fit field fly ball that nonetheless went for a three-run homer because the venue for this game included the Crawford Boxes. Mexico then added four more against Graham Spraker and company in the ninth, so in the end, this was a blowout, but it never really felt that way until the end. Mexico used eight different pitchers in this one and they kind of struggled considering the quality of the opposition relative to their own caliber as mostly major leaguers, so that was weird to see.

Puerto Rico 5, Colombia 0. This game was scoreless in every single frame but one. Jose Quintana threw three no-hit innings with a 1/1 K/BB ratio for Colombia, and was replaced by Adrian Almeida, who struck out the Puerto Rican side in the fourth. In the fifth, though, there were three singles and a Gio Urshela error before Almeida recorded an out, and then even more ball-in-play stuff finding holes, such that Puerto Rico jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Unlike their opponents, Colombia never managed to sequence or cluster their baserunners, and didn’t score any runs as a result.

Dominican Republic 12, Nicaragua 3. There was a point… actually two points, where Nicaragua held a lead in this game. But, the heavily favored D.R. team scored nine of its 12 runs in its final three offensive frames. Nicaragua scored three times off Cristopher Sanchez and his defense in the first two innings, and led 3-2 until Julio Rodriguez tied it with a single in the bottom of the third. Junior Caminero’s homer off Stiven Cruz broke the tie in the sixth, while Rodriguez and Oneil Cruz added homers in a six-run eighth. Nicaragua’s pitching staff was understandably overwhelmed (4/7 K/BB ratio) but somehow their batters avoided the strikeout, as a bunch of MLB-quality arms on the D.R. side only managed a 6/2 K/BB ratio (with Sanchez accounting for four of those strikeouts).

USA 15, Brazil 5. Another game that was close until the Stars and Stripes plated seven and nearly doubled their run total in the ninth. Aaron Judge popped a two-run dinger on a 3-0 pitch a few minutes into the game, but Anaheim farmhand Lucas Ramirez took Logan Webb deep in response. Webb largely dominated as expected (6/0 K/BB in four frames), but Brazil’s Victor Masai popped a three-run homer off Michael Wacha (5/0 K/BB in three frames otherwise) to make it a three-run game. Ramirez later connected on a second dinger, this time off Braves legend Gabe Speier. The ninth-inning explosion came against a trio of pitchers without any experience as professionals, as Team USA drew five walks in a single frame along with some hits and whatnot to make it a laugher in the end.

Taiwan 14, Czechia 0. I mean, yeah. Taiwan took a drubbing per the first blurb in this post, and then returned the favor on poor Czechia. Czechia’s beleaguered pitching staff had a 6/8 K/BB ratio and gave up a grand slam to another Braves legend, Stuart Fairchild, in the second. Czechia’s bats did stuff in at least one prior game in pool play but not here, as a quartet of Taiwanese arms posted a 10/1 K/BB ratio, and Czechia only had two runners reach second base, with just one coming after Terrin Vavra’s leadoff double in the first.

There’s another sizable slate of games on Saturday — eight in total, including one where we already know Japan beat Korea by a very non-dominant 8-6 tally. Keep an eye on Nicaragua-Netherlands, where the Oranje are gonna have to do something to avoid visions of an early exit.

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

---

Earlier this week I asked you the following question in the SB Nation Reacts survey: Which two of these non-roster outfielders will make the Opening Day roster? That question referred to Dylan Carlson, Chas McCormick and Michael Conforto, all of whom are in Cubs Spring Training camp as non-roster players.

Here are the results:

This seems like the right answer. Carlson is batting .421/.577/.526 (8-for-19) with five walks and Conforto is 2-for-5 with a pair of walks and a double in the two games he’s played so far. The Cubs could use someone who could play center field occasionally to rest Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Carlson has significant experience there, though he played only 14 games there in 2025. But again, this is just a “start a handful of games” situation, and 14 games might just about do it.

Carlson’s also a switch-hitter, and that should help out the bench.

Conforto has hit well in past years, hitting 20 home runs in 130 games for the Giants in 2024. He had a down year in 2025, but just turned 33 and likely has something left in the tank.

Two spots on the bench are probably open after the injury to Tyler Austin, which reportedly will keep him out for “months.” The Cubs have guys they can place on the 60-day injured list to open up 40-man roster spots for Carlson and Conforto, if that’s the way they choose to go.

Here are the results of the national questions asked in the SB Nation Reacts survey.

I’m actually surprised it’s “only” 82 percent. I think the ABS challenge system is fantastic. It will eliminate a fair number of bad calls, especially the ones Jim Deshaies loves to call “egregious.” Interestingly, Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote an article the other day about whether this system would eliminate manager ejections. The consensus: Most of them — but not all:

“Oh, don’t worry,” one umpire predicted this spring. “We’ll still eject them. They’ll find something. They have to vent.”

I tend to agree with this one, too. In particular reference to the Cubs, it has appeared over Seiya Suzuki’s four seasons in MLB that he’s gotten jobbed on a lot of close calls. I would think he’ll be a major beneficiary of this system. So, for that matter, will be former Cub Kyle Schwarber.

Can you think of any other hitters this system will benefit?

---

This edition of SB Nation Reacts is sponsored by FanDuel.

*In an effort to make the nomination voting easier for everyone, I will comment, “NOMINATIONS”, and you may reply to that with your picks and upvote the player you’d like to see on the next nominee list.

Another day, another CPL to get started. This round’s voting was close but we have our first full-time reliever on the list in Eduarniel Nunez. The right-hander, who came from the Miller/Sears trade with the Padres, has a high-octane fastball and a wipeout slider but massive control problems will put a cap on his potential. If he can harness his repertoire, we could have our future closer on hand.

The next player joining the voting is outfielder Breyson Guedez. While Shotaro Morii drew more of the attention during last year’s international signing period, Guedez is no slouch himself. A product out of Venezuela, Guedez is a quality hitter in the batter’s box though how much power he’ll develop is a major question mark. He’s not a burner on the basepaths and he’s considered an average outfielder in one of the corners so he’s really going to have to impress with his approach at the plate as he gets older and rises through the system.

The process for this public vote is explained below. Please take a moment to read this before participating:

• Please only vote for one. The player with the most votes at the end of voting will win the ranked spot. The remaining four players move on to the next ballot where they are joined by a new nominee.
• In the comments, below the official voting, the community will nominate players to be put onto the ballot for the next round. The format for your comment should be “Nomination: Player Name”.
• If a prospect is traded, his name will be crossed out, and all other players will be moved up a space. If a prospect is acquired, a special vote will be put up to determine where that player should rank.

Click on the link here to vote!

* * *

A’s fans top prospects, ranked:

1. Leo De Vries, SS
2. Jamie Arnold, LHP
3. Gage Jump, LHP
4. Wei-En Lin, LHP
5. Braden Nett, RHP
6. Henry Bolte, OF
7. Johenssy Colome, SS
8. Edgar Montero, SS
9. Steven Echavarria, RHP
10. Devin Taylor, OF
11. Mason Barnett, RHP
12. Tommy White, 3B
13. Henry Baez, RHP
14. Zane Taylor, RHP
15. Cole Miller, RHP
16. Gunnar Hoglund, RHP
17. Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP
18. Junior Perez, OF
19. Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, SS
20. Kade Morris, RHP
21. Yunior Tur, RHP
22. Eduarniel Nunez, RHP

The voting continues! Time to vote for the 23rd-best prospect in the A’s farm. Here’s a quick rundown on each nominee— the scouting grades (on a 20-to-80 scale) and scouting reports come from MLB Pipeline.

Nominees on the current ballot:

Breyson Guedez OF

Expected level: Low-A | Age: 18

2025 stats (ROK): 210 PA, .359/.395/.490, 15 doubles, 2 triples, 2 HR, 46 RBI, 14 BB, 20 K, 5 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 45 | Arm: 45 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

Guedez has a knack for hitting. His swing is smooth through the zone with good barrel control and impressive hand-eye coordination that allows him to get to pitches both inside and outside of the zone. He does tend to chase at a high rate, though that is not uncommon for a teenager. There isn’t much power to his game at this point, and the A’s are unsure how much will come even as he fills out his 5-foot-11 frame.

Guedez’s defense is considered average with an average arm, which likely limits him to a corner outfield spot. He was one of the more fun players to watch for the A’s player development staff down in the Dominican Republic this past summer, but with his no standout defensive attribute and underwhelming power, he will have to rely on his strong hit tool to carry him through the system.

A.J. Causey, RHP

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 23

2025 stats (A+/AA): 1.72 ERA, 48 appearances, 73 1/3 IP, 75 K, 18 BB, 0 HR, 2.28 FIP

Causey thrives with a fastball that hovers around 90 mph, but that’s because he has a funky sidearm delivery that helps him get crazy movement and deception with his arsenal. Causey excelled in his first full pro season, posting a 1.72 ERA across High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He’s a fast mover with a different look that could add to the Royals’ bullpen in the coming years.

Causey began the year with a sinker, changeup and sweeper, but he added a four-seam fastball this season to help him at the top of the zone. After years of working on adding a cutter, Causey finally found something that works with the four-seamer.

Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang, RHP

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 25

2025 stats (AA): 4.08 ERA, 26 starts (28 appearances), 145 2/3 IP, 145 K, 35 BB, 22 HR, 4.19 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 40

Zhuang leans heavily on his four-seam fastball that he can change speeds quite a bit with, throwing heaters that range anywhere from 86-96 mph, though it generally sits in the low-90s. His low-80s changeup has emerged as his best secondary pitch. He also brings a mid-70s curveball, low-80s slider and mixes in a low-80s splitter, providing a decent starter repertoire.

Zhuang, nicknamed ‘Z-Man’ within the organization, did a good job of staying healthy last season to silence some previous injury concerns. But while he has above-average command and enough pitches to remain a starter in the Minors, questions still remain about the effectiveness of his offspeed stuff, especially against higher competition, which could eventually lead to him switching to a bullpen role where his fastball can play up in shorter stints.

Gavin Turley, OF

Expected level: A+ | Age: 22

2025 stats (A): 125 PA, .243/.336/.430, 8 doubles, 0 triples, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 14 BB, 34 K, 0 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 55 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

Turley falls in line with similar A’s draft picks in recent years — like Denzel Clarke and Rodney Green Jr. — as a toolsy outfielder with some concerns about his ability to make consistent contact. He’s got big power and is able to drive the ball out to all fields with great bat speed, but his strikeout rates throughout his career with the Beavers were somewhat alarming. The question over whether he can hit enough to tap into that raw power is something he’ll have to prove early in his pro career. He has a tendency to chase breaking stuff often, though he mitigates that issue somewhat with his strong ability to draw walks.

A big knock on Turley coming out of college was poor defense, but the A’s believe he is plenty athletic and speedy enough to improve and envision that happening as he grows into his 6-foot-1 frame. His body type and look in the box remind some within the organization of Mark Canha, and he’ll look to move through the system as a power-hitting corner outfielder.

Ryan Lasko, OF

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 23

2025 stats (ROK/A/AAA): 375 PA, .244/.355/.343, 9 doubles, 2 triples, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 46 BB, 86 K, 14 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 40 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 40

Lasko is still trying to learn his craft from an offensive standpoint. He brings good plate discipline and bat speed, but pitch recognition is something he’s still working to improve. The A’s have also worked with him to rein in his high intensity during games. The power element he showed in college has also yet to show up much in pro ball.

Defense is Lasko’s calling card. He’s a plus defender in the outfield with a great arm and plays center field fearlessly with high energy. His speed is evident in his range, as well as on the basepaths. He’s another talented center fielder in the A’s system who could one day provide stellar defense in the Majors, but the hit tool is something he’ll have to continue improving to become anything more than a fourth outfielder at the highest level.

* * *

Programming Note: Each CPL vote will run for around 48 hours, so don’t delay in making your vote!

The Jays make the short drive to Clearwater to play the Phillies.

We get out first look Max Scherzer this spring. He says he’ll be ready for opening day. I didn’t expect that he would be in the rotation to start the season. I think the odds of him being able to give us 30 starts at age 41 are slim. He has said the hand issue has resolved itself.

I’m not expecting Cy Young type pitching (not that I would complain). I really don’t know what to expect. Steamer has him going 4-4 in 30 games, 10 starts. I’d bet anything that he isn’t going to have 20 relief appearances.

I’m putting this together Friday night, so I don’t have the lineups, but I’m hoping to be back around came time.

Game No. 1: Colombia (República de Colombia) at Canada

Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium — San Juan, Puerto Rico

First Pitch: 9:00 AM MST

TV: FS2

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Julio Tehran vs RHP Michael Soroka

Game No. 2: Nicaragua (República de Nicaragua) at The Netherlands (Nederland)

Venue: loanDepot Park — Miami, Florida, USA

First Pitch: 10:00 AM MST

TV: Tubi

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Erasmo Ramiréz vs RHP Jaitoine Kelly

Game No. 3: Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil) at Italy (Repubblica Italiana)

Venue: Daikin Park — Houston, Texas, USA

First Pitch: 11:00 AM MST

TV: Fox Sports App

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

TBD vs LHP Sam Aldegheri

Game No. 4: Panama (República de Panamá) at Puerto Rico

Venue: Hiram Bithorn Stadium — San Juan, Puerto Rico

First Pitch: 4:00 PM MST

TV: FS1

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Ariel Jurado vs LHP Eduardo Rivera

Game No. 5: Israel (מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל) at Venezuela (República Bolivariana de Venezuela)

Venue: loanDepot Park — Miami, Florida, USA

First Pitch: 5:00 PM MST

TV: FS2

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Ben Simon vs LHP Enmanuel de Jesus

Game No. 6: Great Britain at United States

Venue: Daikin Park — Houston, Texas, USA

First Pitch: 6:00 PM MST

TV: Fox

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Tyler Viza vs LHP Tarik Skubal

Game No. 7: Chinese Taipei ( 中華臺北) at Korea (대한민국)

Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan

First Pitch: 8:00 PM MST

TV: FS2

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Ruei-Yang Gu Lin vs TBD

Game No. 8: Australia (ɐı̣ןɐɹʇsnⱯ) at Japan (日本)

Venue: Tokyo Dome — Tokyo, Japan

First Pitch: 4:00 AM MST (March 8th, 2026)

TV: FS1

Radio: MLB Audio; Sirius XM

Lineups:

RHP Connor MacDonald vs TBD

---

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

Good morning, LSB.

Evan Grant has observations from a game in which Evan Carter homered but the Rangers lost.

Andrew McCutchen had an emotional first day back in a major league camp.

Jeff Wilson says McCutchen hit the ground running on his first day.

Kevin Sherrington got one look at the Mariners and quickly deduced that they’re the Rangers’ top competition for the AL West this season.

Skip Schumaker laid out plans for keeping Corey Seager healthy in 2026.

Grant welcomed on former Ranger and current Team USA manager Mark DeRosa to the SportsDay Rangers podcast.

DeRosa’s group started off strong on Friday with a win over Brazil in the WBC opener.

And finally former Ranger Nathaniel Lowe and brother Josh announced the death of their mother Wendy, who Ranger fans got to know during the 2023 playoff run.

That’s all for this morning. Have a nice rainy weekend.

Meet the Mets

Sean Manaea made his spring training debut for the Mets and pitched three innings in yesterday’s 2-0 loss to the Marlins.

Manaea’s velocity appeared to be down a bit, but he nevertheless expressed confidence coming out of his outing.

Freddy Peralta has reiterated his desire for a potential extension to be a lengthy one, in the range of 7-8 years.

The Mets’ hopes for improving their infield defense this year rests in large part on new bench coach Kai Correa.

Which Mets are most likely to benefit from the ABS challenge system?

Robert Stock has been impressing this spring as he has fought for a roster spot with the Mets, but the well-travelled righty has now been removed from Team Israel’s World Baseball Classic roster due to shoulder soreness and will undergo testing.

FanGraphs unveiled their top 45 Mets prospects entering the 2026 season.

Around the National League East

The Good Phight examined the argument to have rookie speedster Justin Crawford bat leadoff for the Phillies this year.

New Braves manager Walt Weiss is weighing his options after Jurickson Profar’s full-season suspension.

Cade Cavalli pitched well for the Nationals yesterday and could be an opening day starter option for them.

Marlins pitcher Adam Mazur will be getting his right elbow examined after experiencing discomfort there earlier this week.

Around Major League Baseball

Team USA got off to a blistering start in their first World Baseball Classic game with a decisive 15-5 victory over Brasil.

The Dominican Republic also enjoyed a route in their game yesterday, defeating Nicaragua by a score of 12-3.

Puerto Rico’s pitching dominated Columbia to enjoy a 5-0 victory in front of their home fans.

Korea and Japan had a back-and-forth affair in the wee hours of the morning, but Japan ultimately came out on top 8-6.

Mexico and Great Britain were tied after seven innings, but the former squad then put up seven runs in the final two innings en route to an 8-2 victory.

Tarik Skubal has stated that there were no long-term contract offers from the Tigers this offseason, and he will now wait until free agency next winter to entertain any negotiations.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

More season previews! Steve Sypa covered Justin Hagenman and Brandon Waddell, while Vasilis Drimalitis took a look at Kodai Senga.

This Date in Mets History

Hall of Famer and formet Met Jeff Kent celebrates a birthday today.

Jaylon Thompson writes about the approach of new hitting coach Marcus Thames.

Thames said he maintains open communication with players. He said he asks questions and focuses on their given strengths. His goal is to not suggest changes, but rather to elevate a guy’s particular skill-set.

“For me, it’s all about players understanding who they are and dominating their strengths,” Thames said. “We’re going to work on our weaknesses, but sometimes we forget who we are. And so for me, it’s all about dominating that. After that, it’s just being aggressive in your (strike) zone. Knowing what zone you like to hit and dominate it.”

Perla Peredes of MLB.com writes about pitcher Mason Black in his first camp with the Royals.

Previously relying on a five-pitch mix that leaned primarily on his four-seam fastball and sweeper, Black refined his repertoire this offseason. The adjustment, along with support from the Royals’ pitching staff, has helped him settle into his new organization.

Black worked with assistant pitching coach Mike McFerran on his curveball release point, especially when facing left-handed hitters.

“That’s been a big help just getting into this organization, having the support staff around us here,” Black said. “Just [to] take the ball whenever they ask me to, whether that be starting, mid relief, short relief. I’m good with whatever [I have to do] to go out there and try to throw zeros.”

Vahe Gregorian writes about what Eric Hosmer will bring to Royals telecasts.

In the process, he also hopes he can provide some translation.

Not so much in the sense that Hosmer, whose mother is Cuban, understands a good deal of Spanish — though that should again be helpful in the clubhouse. But more in the context of the lexicon of the game, which Hosmer felt changing around him late in his career as analytics-speak became more common.

“It really is a different language,” Hosmer said.

Craig Brown considers what the starting lineup might look like.

For part of this exercise, I visited David Pinto’s Lineup Analysis tool. This has been around for almost two decades so it’s not as up to date as you’d like as far as incorporating data into an output, but hey…this exercise is hardly scientific. The tool asks for OBP and slugging percentages, so since I’m projecting, I initially used ZiPS. Except ZiPS doesn’t really like the Royals offense—only three players are projected to be above average. That’s not exactly fun. So I ran another lineup using Steamer, which is quite a bit more bullish on the Royals offense.

Using ZiPS, India is the runaway favorite as the leadoff man. With Steamer, it’s Collins. The difference? ZiPS projects a higher OBP for India while Steamer favors Collins. In other words, among the players in the lineup who lack a certain amount of power, who gets on base with greater frequency? That’s your leadoff man.

David Lesky likes the patience he has seen in Royals hitters so far.

First, Perez has swung at just five of 30 pitches outside the zone. That will not last, so I’m not telling you this to say there’s a trend. There isn’t. But it’s interesting. The two who I think are worth watching and I wish were in camp for this reason still are Jac Caglianone and Witt. Caglianone has swung at 10 of 53 pitches outside the Gameday zone. That’s a chase rate of 18.9 percent. Fangraphs actually shows it as lower, which I don’t really know why, but either number is great, so I’m not going to spend much time worrying about that. And Witt has chased just 10 of 47 for a 21.3 percent chase rate that shows as 17.4 percent on Fangraphs.

Pete Grathoff writes about a photoshoot Bobby Witt Jr. did for a bat company.

Bobby Witt Jr. went 1-for-5 with two walks in a 15-5 Team USA rout over Brazil.

Seth Lugo tosses four shutout innings, helping Puerto Rico blank Colombia 5-0.

Shohei Ohtani hits a grand slam in a WBC win over Chinese Taipei.

Salvador Perez and Maikel Garcia each get a hit, while Luinder Avila and Venezuela defeat the Netherlands 6-2.

Five prospects who could make Opening Day rosters.

The Athletics are interested in a long-term deal with Shea Langeliers.

The Mets are having Brett Baty learn to be a utility player.

The Angels will create their own TV network.

The Athletics say they are open to a reunion with Kyler Murray if he wants to return to baseball.

All the deals leading up to the NHL trading deadline.

The 23 NFL players that will define the trade market.

The “ShamWow” guy is suing the Texas Republican Party for not letting him use his nickname on the ballot in primary elections.

The Brady Bunch house gets Los Angeles landmark status.

Radio station owner Cumulus Media files for bankruptcy.

Your song of the day is The Jam with That’s Entertainment.