Category: Sports News

*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 close round of voting for the 12th spot in our CPL, but Tommy White came out on top this time around. The former second-round pick is a bat-first third baseman that many thought would eventually move to first base as he rose the minor league ladder. His bat has so far been everything the A’s had hoped for when they drafted him, and he’s shown enough at the hot corner that the A’s are going to continue to let him work at the position and see if he continues his growth on defense. That would be a tremendous boost to his value for the A’s moving forward.

Joining the nominee list is right-hander Zane Taylor. A fifth-round draft pick last year, Taylor only made it into one pro game in the A’s system before the minor league season ended, pitching two scoreless innings in Triple-A for the Aviators. While he may not start the season quite that high up the minor league ladder, the four-year college starter looks like one of those prospects that could move quickly through the system. He doesn’t have elite “stuff” but he could find himself as a quality back-end type of starter down the line thanks to his command of the strike zone.

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

The voting continues! Who will be voted as the 12th-best prospect in the A’s system? 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:

Zane Taylor, RHP

Expected level: Double-A | Age: 23

2025 stats (AAA): 0.00 ERA, 1 start, 2 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 0 HR, 2.97 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 40

Taylor’s fastball jumped 3 mph this spring, as he worked at 92-95 mph and touched 98 while maintaining his velocity deep into games and throughout the season. His fastball lacks life but he commands it well and it’s difficult to hit when he locates it up in the zone. He does a fine job of killing spin on his low-80s changeup, which fades and sinks and grades as a solid pitch.

While neither Taylor’s mid-80s slider nor his low-80s curveball stand out with their spin or shape, they generate a high level of chases and empty swings. He overcomes his lack of size with a drop-and-drive delivery that produces a low release height, flat approach angle and plenty of extension, which combine to make his pitches more difficult for hitters to pick up. He’s 23 and pretty much a finished product, but he has a long history of throwing strikes and a high floor as at least a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Shotaro Morii, SS/RHP

Expected level: Low-A | Age: 19

2025 stats (Rookie Affiliate): 188 PA, .258/.399/.384, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 36 BB, 47 K, 4 SB

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades (hitter): Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

Scouting grades (pitcher): Fastball: 55 | Slider: 40 | Curveball: 45 | Splitter: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

At the plate, Morii features a smooth left-handed swing with tremendous balance. His power stands out, as he clubbed 45 home runs as a high schooler. He is considered an advanced hitter with good barrel control. On the mound, his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 mph and sits around 92-93. He also brings a splitter with nasty movement, a true 12-to-6 curveball and a tighter slider with solid bite and depth, though that offering will probably require some fine-tuning. Having only been pitching with regularity for less than two years, Morii’s arm is relatively fresh as he enters the organization.

Morii’s high-octane throwing arm plays well at shortstop, but some evaluators see a possibility of moving to third base as his 6-foot-1 frame fills out. While scouts see Morii’s long-term future in the batter’s box, the A’s plan on giving him every opportunity to succeed as a two-way player, with excitement already building over his impressive physical traits and desire to become one of the next great players out of Japan.

Henry Baez, RHP

Expected level: Triple-A | Age: 23

2025 stats (Double-A): 2.39 ERA, 23 starts, 109 IP, 100 K, 35 BB, 3 HR, 3.19 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

The 6-foot-3 right-hander has gained velocity steadily in his years as a pro and has touched as high as 99 mph this season. He typically sits around 94 mph, working north-south with the pitch while getting most of his whiffs up and to the armside. He played off that with a 76-79 mph curveball that could have more slurvish tendencies, but at its best, it snapped downward to fool batters sitting on the high heat and it had produced a 47 percent miss rate at the time of the trade. He also utilizes an 83-86 mph split-change to miss bats, but it stands out more for its separation than movement profile.

Baez took a major jump in workload but didn’t let his control improvements suffer. That certainly helps his starting chances, as does his 50.1 percent ground-ball rate from 2024. He’s still only 22, but with his place on the roster now set, the A’s (never afraid to move guys quickly) could try to see what it looks like in the big leagues in a relief role to ease him in.

Gunnar Hoglund, RHP

Expected level: Triple-A/Majors | Age: 26

2025 stats (Triple-A): 2.43 ERA, 6 starts, 29 2/3 IP, 30 K, 7 BB, 3 HR, 4.17 FIP

2025 stats (Majors): 6.40 ERA, 6 starts, 32 1/3 IP, 23 K, 11 BB, 10 HR, 6.75 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 60 | Overall: 45

Though Hoglund may never get back the electric stuff he possessed earlier in his career, the A’s were encouraged to see his fastball velocity tick back up to the low-90s. He has also experimented with adding a two-seamer and cutter. His low-80s slider now features more sweeping action and works as his main secondary pitch. He has also improved his low-80s changeup, creating a solid three-pitch mix that is enhanced by a strong ability to consistently throw strikes.

Now three years removed from Tommy John, the A’s are hopeful that Hoglund can develop into a solid back-end rotation piece, especially if he can successfully develop a fourth pitch. The Florida native was regularly going deep into starts in his big league cameo (6.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts to 11 walks across 32 1/3 innings) before going down with the injury and is expected to make a full recovery before the 2026 season.

Cole Miller, RHP

Expected level: Single-A | Age: 20

2025 stats (ROK, Single-A): 1.90 ERA, 12 starts (15 appearances), 52 IP, 45 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 3.38 FIP

MLB Pipeline grades and scouting report:

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

The A’s were working on some mechanical adjustments with Miller prior to his injury. His electric fastball ticked up to 96 mph in high school and displayed excellent movement down in the zone. The mid-80s slider is a hard breaker and was showing signs of improvement. His low-80s changeup showed some potential as an average third pitch.

There was real excitement within the organization for Miller’s professional debut. His three-pitch mix and large 6-foot-6 frame give off the potential of a workhorse-type starting pitcher in the big leagues. The A’s also loved the competitiveness they saw from him on the mound while scouting him. After an unfortunate delay, he finally got his first opportunity to make an impression this summer.

* * *

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

Last week I asked fans to chime in with the Royals Review fan survey, asking them what they thought about the Royals, downtown baseball, and the state of baseball.

We had nearly 400 responses to our fan survey this year. This isn’t a scientific poll, just a fun internet poll. And it’s certainly not binding (unless Prop 304 passes, and we all pray that it does) But I thought it might lend a glimpse into how Royals fans are feeling before the season.

How would you grade the job John Sherman and the ownership group are doing?

A – 6.2%

B – 53.1%

C – 32.9%

D – 5.7%

F – 2.1%

Sherman’s numbers look better than the last time we did this survey back in 2023, despite the thwarted ballpark efforts. Making the playoffs helps!

How would you grade the job J.J. Picollo and management are doing?

A – 23.5%

B – 55.8%

C – 17.3%

D – 2.1%

F – 1.3%

Even better numbers for J.J., who only received an “A” from 4% of fans in 2023, his first year on the job. Fans may be upset he hasn’t done more to upgrade the outfield, but they generally seem fine with his overall leadership for the club.

How would you grade the job Matt Quatraro has done?

A – 32.9%

B – 51%

C – 13.2%

D – 2.1%

F – 0.8%

Quatraro is a star student! Over eight in ten fans polled would give him an “A” or “B”. When he was hired in 2023, 96 percent of fans approved of the hiring, and while there has been some criticism, fans seem largely good with the skipper.

How would you grade the offseason for the Royals so far?

A – 2.1%

B – 44.4%

C – 44.4%

D – 7.8%

F – 1.3%

“Incomplete” is probably the grade most fans would give after the Royals added Isaac Collins, Lane Thomas, and Matt Strahm this winter. All fine moves, but the team has yet to make the big move to put them over the top, or even answer what Detroit has done this offseason

What is the biggest area of concern going into this season?

Offense – 97%

Bullpen – 1.3%

Starting pitching – 1.0%

“Duh.” Probably shouldn’t have had this as a question.

Which of these young players are you most excited about?

Carter Jensen 58.4%

Jac Caglianone 33.8%

Noah Cameron 7.8%

This would have looked very different a year ago, but a disappointing performance by Caglianone upon a promotion, and a hot month from Carter Jensen in September have fans more excited about the local kid.

What Royals minor leaguer are you most excited about?

Kendry Chourio 38.5%

Blake Mitchell 13.4%

David Shields 13.1%

Luinder Avila 10.2%

Ben Kudrna 7.0%

Gavin Cross 7.0%

Also votes for Drew Beam, Sean Gamble, Josh Hammond, Michael Lombardi, Chazz Martinez, Frank Mozzicato, Ramon Ramirez, Carson Roccaforte, and Jhonayker Ugarte

Who would you most like to see get a long-term deal right now with the Royals?

Vinnie Pasquantino 38.8%

No players 19%

Carter Jensen 15.6 %

Cole Ragans 15.3%

Noah Cameron 8.2%

Jac Caglianone 3.2%

Pay that man his money! Fans want to see the Royals keep Vinnie in Kansas City long time. They’re not as high on giving Carter Jensen or Jac Caliganone a deal quite yet. Guess that’s why they call it the “Show-Me State.”

How many games do you predict the Royals will win in 2026?

90+ win – 5.7%

85-89 wins – 56.8%

80-84 wins – 32.0%

75-79 wins – 5.5%

70-74 wins – 0.0%

Less than 70 wins – 0.0%

Over sixty percent of Royals fans think the team will win more than 85 games. What happened to our critical spirits?

Do you support a new stadium for the Royals?

Yes – 54.8%

No – 25.4%

Not sure – 19.8%

Well, that is a better result than the 2024 ballot initiative that flopped. I suppose the devil is in the details.

If you said no, what is your primary reason for objecting to a new stadium?

Love of Kauffman Stadium – 50.5%

Cost of public financing – 24.2%

Parking/traffic concerns – 13.1%

Other – 12.1%

Safety concerns – 0.0%

Some of the other reasons mentioned include distance from home, a lesser fan experience, higher costs, exorbitant player salaries, and dislike for the owner.

If you said yes, what ballpark site do you most prefer?

Washington Square Park – 39.6%

18th and Paseo (near 18th and Vine) – 16.5%

North Kansas City – 13.7%

East Village (11th and Locust) – 12.6%

Aspiria Campus (119th and Nall in Johnson County) – 4.2%

Other sites mentioned include the Truman Sports Complex, the original Crossroads location that was voted on in 2024, and the West Bottoms.

Will there be a work stoppage in 2027 that results in games being cancelled?

Yes – 77.2%

No – 22.8%

Everyone in baseball seems to be bracing for a work stoppage when the current labor deal expires at the end of the year, with owners reportedly hunkering down for a long fight over a salary cap. Hopefully, wiser minds prevail.

Do you support a salary cap in baseball?

Yes – 85%

No – 15%

No surprise a salary cap in baseball is popular in a small market like Kansas City.

Do you support players reaching free agency earlier than they currently do?

Yes – 43.8%

No – 56.2%

A potential bargaining chip for owners to get a cap could be offering earlier free agency, but fans seem pretty split on allowing players to become free agents before the current six years of service time.

Would you like to see divisional realignment in baseball where AL and NL teams are mixed up together?

Yes, depending on how its done – 32.8%

No, keep it the same – 67.2%

Baseball has flirted with radical regional alignment, but has mostly tinkered with the divisions, keeping the AL/NL alignments largely intact. But the blur between the leagues is fading and we could see some teams moved in the future.

Should baseball expand?

Yes – 43.9%

No – 56.1%

It has been nearly 30 years since baseball last added teams, the longest stretch without expansion since the league first expanded in 1961. There are still some teams that have ballpark situations to resolve, but once that is finalized, they could look to adding teams.

If baseball were to expand, what two cities would you most likely like to see get new teams? (select two)

Nashville, TN – 58.1%

Montreal, QB – 30.1%

Charlotte, NC – 24.7%

Salt Lake City, UT – 21.2%

Portland, OR – 13.7%

Oklahoma City, OK – 12.6%

Mexico City, MX – 11.0%

Indianapolis, IN – 10.0%

San Antonio, TX – 9.1%

Monterrey, MX – 5.1%

Bring back the Expos!

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 catcher Jonah Heim.

Man…I don’t even know what to say about Jonah Heim. What the hell happened here? How did a guy who looked like he would be a nice first division catcher for the team suddenly become terrible?

The reflexive reaction is that, well, Heim had a career year in 2023 like seemingly everyone else did for the Rangers that year, and then went back to being who he was. But that’s not true! I mean, yes, Jonah Heim had a career year in 2023 — was terrific defensively, and was slashing .280/.337/.479 when he landed on the injured list in late July — but he was good in 2022 as well. Heim had a 2.7 fWAR and 2.4 bWAR in 2022, as he hit fine for a catcher and was good defensively.

In 2024, Heim cratered offensively, slashing .220/.267/.336. He also went from being great at throwing out runners in 2023 to bad at that in 2024, but his framing — his strongest measurable trait defensively throughout his career — was still very good.

In 2025, Heim once again hit poorly, with a .213/.271/.332 slash line, but also wasn’t good at blocking pitches (38th percentile per Statcast) and, perhaps most alarmingly, he was only in the 33rd percentile in framing. This, after being in the 98th percentile in framing in 2021 and 2022, in the 95th percentile in 2023, and the 74th percentile in 2024.

How does that happen? How does a catcher suddenly go from being an elite framer to a really good framer to a below average framer in a two year span?

I wish I knew the answer.

Offensively, Jonah had much the same problem in 2025 as he did in 2024 — he got eaten up by fastballs and he stopped pulling the ball in the air. Last offseason I noted that the biggest discrepancies for Heim between 2023 and 2024 was his walk rate dropping and his hitting fewer balls in the air, particularly to the pull side. After having over 25% of his balls in play being pulled in the air in 2022 and 2023, that dropped to 17.3% in 2024. If Heim was going to go back to being the hitter he was in 2022 and 2023, that trend would have to reverse.

And early on in 2025, it looked like it was. Heim homered twice in the second game of the season — Kyle Higashioka got the start on Opening Day — and at the end of April was slashing .273/.325/.455. It looked like, offensively anyway, Heim was back.

But no. From May 1 through the end of the season, Heim slashed .198/.258/.302. And while his walk rate improved — he walked 7.4% of the time, still below his 2022 and 2023 rate of 8.5%, but better than his 5.3% walk rate in 2024 — he actually got worse in regards to his fly ball/ground ball tendencies.

In 2022 and 2023, Heim hit the ball in the air 61.1% and 63.7% of the time, respectively, compared to a major league average of 55.8%. That dropped to 58.2% in 2024 and 58.7% in 2025.

Heim pulled the ball 50% and 45% of the time in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, it was 38.3%, and in 2025, it was 40.7%.

And when he did pull the ball, more and more often, it was on the ground — 24% of the balls Jonah Heim put into play in 2025 were pulled ground balls. Only 16.7% of balls in play from Heim in 2025 were pulled in the air — even worse than his disappointing 2024 number.

The inclination is to put some of it on the much-discussed issue of the Shed killing fly ball hitters in 2025 — Heim had a slash line of .204/.266/.282 at home last year, compared to .220/.275/.374 on the road — but his xwOBA, which shouldn’t be impacted by that, was still .276, the worst of his career, and a mark that put him in the 4th percentile in MLB, per Statcast. So we can’t really place the blame on the Shed for Heim’s offensive struggles.

Fun fact — after hitting two home runs at the Shed on Opening Day, Heim only hit one more homer at home the rest of the season.

No, you’re right, that’s not really a fun fact.

Heim has also shouldered a very heavy workload the past several years. Since the start of 2022, Heim has appeared in 513 games — the second most of any player who has made at least 80% of his appearances at catcher, behind only Cal Raleigh, who has appeared in 576 games.

Early in spring training, there was a story about how the team “had some stern conversations,” as then catching coach Bobby Wilson put it, in the 2024 exit interviews about the improvements Heim needed to make in his offseason conditioning:

Getting Heim back to his 2023 form started at that exit interview.

What would his offseason look like? What would the strength and conditioning schedule be? How does the training staff keep Heim healthy?

Whatever it was that they were doing, it doesn’t appear to have worked.

Heim has gone from an All Star in 2023 to, in 2026, someone who settled for a $1.25 million deal with the Atlanta Braves on the eve of camps opening, and who might not have a major league job once the Braves’ starting catcher, Sean Murphy, returns from hip surgery.

It has been a precipitous fall for someone who, at one point, appeared to have made the Rangers’ catching position a strength for years to come.

Previously:

Gerson Garabito

Tyler Mahle

Kyle Higashioka

Adolis Garcia

Luis Curvelo

Alejandro Osuna

Blaine Crim

Jake Burger

Jacob Webb

Nick Ahmed

Jon Gray

Carl Edwards Jr.

Josh Jung

Leody Taveras

Dustin Harris

Marc Church

Luke Jackson

Danny Coulombe

Wyatt Langford

Dylan Moore

Michael Helman

Evan Carter

Cole Winn

Rowdy Tellez

Dane Dunning

Marcus Semien

Billy McKinney

Jose Corniell

We are officially in the “eh, sure” stage of ranking the Phillies’ prospects. They have a shallow farm system once you get past the top five in the group, so if you lump enough of them together, maybe one or two will stick.

It’s a bit of a sad state of affairs.

Jean Cabrera – 72
Mavis Graves – 69
Zach McCambley – 32
Yoniel Curet – 10
Keaton Anthony – 8
Carson DeMartini – 7
Griffin Burkholder – 7
Alex McFarlane – 5
Cody Bowker – 3
Seth Johnson – 2

Cabrera is starting give off whiffs of Adonis Medina: guy who has the prospect pedigree of being a solid mid- to backend starting pitcher, yet the team never really gives him a chance to even make a spot start. As the probable 7th or 8th option in the team’s pecking order this season, he might finally make his debut, if not next year at least. We’re getting close to needing to see what he’s got, else he might just wither on the prospect vine.

2025 stats (w/ Reading)

26 GS, 137 IP, 3.81 ERA (3.99 FIP), 22.2 K%, 10.6 BB%, 0.72 HR/9

Fangraphs scouting report

Cabrera still does the things one looks for in a steady, back-of-the-rotation starter. He’s limber and athletic, he repeats his delivery well and with little violence, he has demonstrated that he has season-long big league starter stamina (he worked 137 innings last season), and he has the toolkit to thwart both left- and right-handed hitters. Issues with his fastball’s shape and playability forced Cabrera to lean more heavily on his slider as a strike-getting pitch in 2025, and subsequently use his changeup (which played like a plus pitch for the second consecutive year) more as a finisher.

With each new post, we’ll reveal who won the voting for that particular slot, then post new players for you to vote on, adding another one to the list each time until we get to our final tally of 20. Once we get to 20 top prospects, we’ll do an honorable mention post at the end. If a player gets traded to another team, we’ll just chuck him right on outta here and all the players will move up a spot. If a prospect gets acquired, we’ll ask where he should go on the list.

Probably the most important thing about this whole process – please vote. Give us a few minutes of your time, just click a button and then we can discuss other players and things in the comment section, but don’t forget – VOTE!

In this episode of the Royals Rundown Podcast, Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco are joined by Royals beat reporter Anne Rogers for an inside look at Kansas City’s spring training and the direction of the franchise heading into the new season. The conversation covers everything from the optimism surrounding camp to the buzz building for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, offering listeners both on-the-ground insight and big-picture perspective.

Anne shares observations on the revamped coaching staff and how communication and player development are shaping the clubhouse culture. The group breaks down recent trades aimed at improving pitching depth, the organization’s push for more strikeouts out of the bullpen, and how new additions are integrating into the team’s chemistry. They also explore leadoff hitter options, provide injury updates, and discuss why this spring feels different for the Royals.

Whether you’re tracking roster construction, prospect development, or simply looking for a thoughtful preview of what lies ahead, this episode delivers informed analysis and first-hand reporting on the Kansas City Royals as they prepare for the season.

Email Jacob directly at: jm17971047@gmail.com

Need your Royals fix? Head to royalsreview.com for news, analysis, and to engage with Royals fans around the world! Follow us online:

BlueSky
– Jeremy Greco: @hokius.fromthehawkseye.com
– Jacob Milham: @jacobmilhkc.bsky.social

Twitter / X
– Podcast: @RoyalRundownPod

MLB Desert Invitational

Dates: February 13-16th

TV/Stream: Friday on MLBTV, all others on MLB.com

Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

It’s here, it’s here! Baseball season is here!! And for the second year in a row, the Huskers head down to Arizona to begin their season at the MLB Desert Invitational. In last years version, the Huskers started off on the back foot, as a UC Irvine team that would go on to win 43 games won 10-5, scoring all their runs on Mason McConnaughey and Drew Christo. Nebraska rebounded the next day with a huge win over preseason #7 Vanderbilt. Gabe Swansen pumped in all 6 RBIs for the 6-4 win, but that game will most be remembered for Tucker Timmerman taking a comebacker to the face. Nebraska finished off the Invite by dismantling an overmatched San Diego State team 13-0

The results of the Invite combined with a quick stop over at Grand Canyon University for a 3-1 loss, left to a very mixed feeling of how the season was going to turnout for the fan base and team. They could obviously play with anyone, but there was something a little off. What followed was one of the strangest seasons in Nebraska baseball history. In an interview prior to the 2026 season, pitcher Ty Horn stated that a player that joined the team last season was a cancer and wrecked the chemistry the 2024 team had so much of. Despite their rocky season, the Huskers ended the 2025 season just like 2024, as Big Ten Tournament Champions. Horn states this years team has clicked almost immediately reminding him of the 2024 roster, and thinks the season will work out similarly.

This years Desert Invitational features games against 4 teams that have had a lot of success on the diamond over the past decade. Stanford is obviously the biggest name of the bunch, but despite being in smaller leagues the other teams have put together some impressive numbers and piled up wins. So lets get to it!

Starting Rotation

It’s almost a whole new look starting rotation. The one holdover is Ty Horn. Horn always had the stuff to battle some of the best pitchers in the conference. The first half of the season, he seemed to make a mistake 4-5 innings in and it would just snowball into 3-4 runs in a hurry before the coaches could even get someone warm. After about mid-April, he seemed to gain a new confidence to pair with his already good 4 pitches. From then on, Nebraska lost only 1 game in which he started, and that was a game against Purdue in which he only allowed 1 earned run. If we get the second half Horn, including the one that took down a powerful UCLA offense for the Big Ten title, it will go a long way to starting the weekends off right.

The best fastball on the team last season was Carson Jasa. Per Coach Bolt, that pitch has done nothing but improve over the offseason, going from an avg of 95-96 to 98 mph. Ty Horn joked that last season Jasa released the ball, having no idea where it was going to end up, but pitching coach Rob Childress, who according to Horn “can teach a chicken to throw strikes”, has built Jasa up into the teams best pro prospect. They’ve worked on refining his slider/cutter, and are trying to get him a reliable 3rd pitch between a splitter/forkball and a curve. If that happens, the sky is the limit.

Coach Bolt likes to have a more experienced Sunday starter than Saturday, because he puts so much importance on “Championship Sundays”. Enter 2025 MAC Pitcher of the Year Cooper Katskee to take that slot. The All-American spent his first two seasons in college baseball coming out of the Indiana bullpen before transferring to Miami (OH) and becoming one of the more effective starters in the country. He was not a big strikeout guy, but held batters to a .196 avg last season. Bolt compares his mound presence to McConnaughey and thinks he can provide that type of performance to either get the series victory or close out a sweep.

To close out the weekend, Bolt choose not to go with who he considers their 4th best pitcher, Tucker Timmerman, because he felt he would be more effective giving his all in potentially multiple appearances out of the bullpen. So to keep with the players he expects to start mid-week and allow everyone to stay in their normal roles, Gavin Blachowicz will make his first start of his career. He made 17 appearances out of the pen last season, being a reliable option, going 3-0 with a 3.80 ERA. He’s got a live mid-90s fastball that has a lot of late movement on it, and Bolt thinks he is ready to take a big leap this year.

Friday Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-29 in 2025) vs UConn Huskies (38-21 in 2025)

Location: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Scottsdale, AZ

Date/Time: February 13th, @ 7 pm CT

Head Coach(s): Will Bolt (7th season, 170-126-1) & Jim Penders (23rd season, 773-496-5)

Probable Pitchers:  RHP Ty Horn (4-4, 4.94 ERA in 2025) vs. LHP Charlie West (6-0, 2.58 ERA in 2025)

UConn has been one of the most consistently good teams of the non-power conferences over the last decade. They missed out on the NCAA tournament last year for only the second time since 2016. They still tied for first in the Big East Conference, the first time they didn’t win the conference outright since joining in 2021. They edged out Creighton for the preseason Big East favorite, and had 3 players make preseason All-Conference.

Scouting Report

The Huskies returned only 3 starters from last season’s team, so they hit the portal hard. For the first time in Pender’s 23 seasons, the have more newcomers than returners. What they do return is pretty special. Tyler Minick played corner infield mostly last season, but will move to the outfield this season. He batted .350 with 22 home runs, 74 RBIs and added 15 stolen bases. Despite somehow only being 2nd team All-Conference last year, multiple outlets have him as the preseason Big East Player of the Year.

First baseman Maddix Dalena was the Preseason Conference Player of the Year for last season, before a wrist injury knocked him out a couple weeks in. He had 13 home runs and 43 RBIs 2 seasons ago. Of all the new transfers, one will be particularly noticeable. Sophomore 1B/DH Jackson Marshall arrived from New Hampshire, where he was the conference rookie of the year. He stands 6’8” and 275 lbs, and throws all that frame into every swing, with power to all fields. Watch out if he gets ahold of one.

As for the strength of the team, starting pitching, UConn trots out 3 lefty starters. Nebraska is set to duel against Charlie West. He worked his way from the bullpen last year into the back end of the starting lineup and was statistically their most effective pitcher. He swapped places with last years ace, and will begin the season as the Huskies Friday night starter. After moving to the starting lineup, he went 6-0 with a 1.85 ERA, mostly with just fastball/change-up. He’s been working on a slider this offseason, so it will be in the mix.

The Huskies have a good bullpen overall, headlined by one of the top relievers in the mid-majors. Sean Finn went 6-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 22 appearances, 4 being starts. He’s also struck out a staggering 49 batters in 33 innings. They lost their star closer from last season, so its unknown if Finn will move back to that role or continue in his high-leverage role mid game.

Series History

UConn leads the all time series 2-1 vs Nebraska. This will be the first meeting outside of postseason play. The teams last met in the 2019 Oklahoma City regional. Nebraska won the opening game, but after a heartbreaking loss against Oklahoma State the night before, Nebraska fell to the Huskies in what would be Darin Erstad’s last game as head coach.

Saturday Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-29 in 2025) vs Northeastern Huskies (49-11 in 2025)

Location: Sloan Park, Mesa, AZ

Date/Time: February 14th, @ 7:30 pm CT

Head Coach(s): Will Bolt (7th season, 170-126-1) & Mike Glavin (12th season, 357-222-1)

Probable Pitchers:  RHP Carson Jasa (2-2, 8.68 ERA in 2025) vs. RHP Andrew Wertz (4-1, 1.33 ERA in 2025)

Northeastern was the little 4 seed that almost could in the 2021 Fayetteville Regional, pushing the top two seeds to the brink before finally falling short. Since then they have averaged 40 wins and secured back to back conference titles, of which last years culminated the end of a 27 game winning streak. This led to them being a 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional, being knocked out by 3 seed Mississippi State 3-2. They are afraid of no one anymore, and have to be taken seriously.

Scouting Report

The best player in the field this weekend may very well have “Northeastern” written across his chest. 1st Team All-American outfielder Harrison Feinberg. Feinberg exploded onto the scene last season. After 3 home runs and 17 RBIs in 28 games as a sophomore, he won conference Player of the Year last year, batting .365, with 18 home runs, and 67 RBIs. Oh, and a program record 37 stolen bases. He has garnered nearly every pre-season accolade possible, and is one of the top OF prospects in the 2026 MLB draft.

Fellow senior Carmelo Musacchia will be making the switch from second base to short stop. He hit .302 with 23 extra base hits last year to go with 28 stolen bases. If Nebraska goes as expected with freshman Jeter Worthley behind the plate, you can expect the Northeastern offense to test him constantly with their running game.

The Huskies have their work cut out for them on the mound. They led the nation in ERA last season, but lost 89% of their innings pitched. Grad transfer Andrew Wertz was a Division III closer who was expected to be a back end of the bullpen guy for Northeastern, but has impressed so much that they are trying him out in the huge void that is the Huskies starting rotation. He throws 95-97 and does have a big sweeping breaking ball behind it. Last season he gave up 1 run in his first game pitched, 3 in his last game pitched, and zero earned runs in the 22 games in between. Sheesh…

Honestly, with all the new faces and guys that haven’t thrown a meaningful pitch in a Husky uniform, it’s hard to speculate as to who will be pitching in any specific situation in the pen. Theyve given us a 3 man rotation, but beyond that is anyone’s guess. Sophomore Andrew Basel is one of the more experienced returners that has a good low to mid 90s fastball, and a couple hit or miss off speed pitches he has worked on over the summer and fall to improve.

Series History

Nebraska has played Northeastern once before. They met in game 5 of the 2021 Fayetteville Regional. Nebraska won 8-6 to get to the regional final against #1 Arkansas, which they would push to a game 7 before losing in the late innings.

Sunday Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-29 in 2025) vs Grand Canyon Antelopes (31-27 in 2025)

Location: Sloan Park, Mesa, AZ

Date/Time: February 15th, @ 6 pm CT

Head Coach(s): Will Bolt (7th season, 170-126-1) & Gregg Wallis (4th season, 104-73)

Probable Pitchers:  RHP Cooper Katzkee (11-2, 3.08 ERA in 2025) vs. TBD

You know them. You love to hate them. The Lopes are back on the Huskers schedule for a third year in a row. After the contentious 4 game series in 2024, that had multiple late game comebacks by NU and a couple instances where a brawl seemed imminent, the teams met again last season and GCU upset the ranked Huskers. Grand Canyon joins the Mountain West this season after dominating the WAC since becoming a D1 program in 2014.

Scouting Report

Gone are so many of the names we’ve become familiar with the past couple years. Josh Wakefield was drafted, Eddy Pelc graduated, and Zach Yorke transferred to LSU. The top returner is Yorke’s replacement at first base, Cannon Perry. Perry batted .317 a year ago with 16 doubles. He only had 3 home runs, but has shown a lot more power coming into this season, so look for that number to go way up. Dominic Chacon is another returner who should be in the DH role until healthy enough to man an outfield spot. Still recovering from an injury, the coaches think he will eventually be the clubs top offensive producer.

GCUs top incoming transfer is former Tarleton State catcher Milo Perez. He is a catcher that is good enough to be a top of the lineup hitter, may even lead off for the Lopes. He is a great all around athlete, with a great arm to control the running game. He will work the count a lot too, but does not strike out, having only 11 for 2025.

The Antelopes lost quite a bit of their pitching from last years team, and had 2 arms battling for the starting rotation go down with season ending injuries already, including one of the more talented freshman they were planning on relying heavily on. They’ve named their Friday and Saturday starters, but have yet to decide on who will take the ball beyond that. I would not be surprised to see Elijah Higginbotham toe the rubber against the Huskers. His first game in a GCU uniform was against NU last season, in which he threw 5 innings of shutout ball, starting an offensive slump that Nebraska couldn’t pull out of for over a month.

Should the staff decide Higginbotham is too valuable as a high leverage reliever, look for Fresno State transfer JT Guerrero to be next in line to start. Guerrero was the top arm out of the bullpen for Fresno last season, but GCU wants to give him a chance to start, even if it means having him only go 3 to 4 innings while he builds up his stamina.

Series History

Nebraska has a 3-2 record against the Lopes, with all games coming in the past 2 seasons. Nebraska took a 3-1 fiery series win in 2024, while GCU upset the #23 ranked Huskers 3-1 last season.

Monday Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (33-29 in 2025) vs Stanford Cardinal (27-25 in 2025)

Location: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Scottsdale, AZ

Date/Time: February 16th, @ 2 pm CT

Head Coach(s): Will Bolt (7th season, 170-126-1) & David Esquer (9th season, 800-617-3)

Probable Pitchers:  RHP Gavin Blachowicz (3-0, 3.80 ERA in 2025) vs. TBD

The first coach Nebraska will see for the first time is Stanford’s David Esquer. Esquer took over 9 years ago for the legendary Mark Marquess, who brought numerous Stanford teams to Omaha in his 41 years, winning 2 CWS championships. Esquer made the treasonous move from Cal to Stanford and had them rolling in the PAC-12. Stanford made 3 straight CWS trips from 2021-23, but now has to battle through the ACC.

Scouting Report

Second Team All-American infielder, and senior Jimmy Nati will man second base and is the top offensive player for the Cardinal. He hit .300 with 9 doubles, 16 home runs and 50 RBIs. All while playing defense at a high enough rate to be a Gold Glove finalist for second base. 2025 Freshman All American outfielder Tatum Marsh led the team last season with a .377 batting average and .459 on base %.

Stanford also is loaded with young talent and boasts two of the better freshmen to make it to campus after the draft. LHP/OF Brock Ketelsen will see playing time on both the mound and in the outfield. He played summer ball in a collegiate league and struck out 19 in just 9 innings and also hit .328 and had 28 steals. Outfielder Brock Sell was a high school All-American, and projected 2nd round pick going into last years draft.

While they return a ton of offensive experience, the pitching staff is lacking in proven arms. They have named their starters for the first 2 games in Arizona, but are waiting to see how their bullpen looks on Sunday and Monday before naming a starter. It could be time to see what one of their talented freshmen such as Ketelsen above, or Philip Cheong, another 2-way player ranked in the top 100 freshman to make it to campus, can do.

Ryan Speshyock is one of the top relievers in the country. He struck out 38 batters in 27 innings last year. He could be looking at moving into the closer role, or even potentially getting a look at the back end of the rotation.

Series History

Stanford leads the all time series 6-2. The teams last battled in the 2008 season opening series. The teams split a Friday double header in the Sunken Diamond, before Stanford took the series Saturday 4-2.

As ridiculous question-themed title prompts go, this one might take the cake. It’s not without reference, however, as just last summer ESPN’s Jeff Passan referenced the legendary pixie dust of Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona as a means for the Reds to surge forward in the standings, something Tito did while up north in Cleveland for the better part of a decade.

While the science behind said pixie dust is questionable, at best, the reality is that the Reds do have one of baseball’s greatest ever managers in their dugout right now, and he’s entering the second year at the helm. He knows the dugout at this point, and the lack of turnover suggests he’s on-board with how it’s been put together. At this juncture, there’s a familiarity that, in theory, should breed a heightened sense of togetherness in the locker room, something Francona has helped foster at just about every stop in his career.

That career is on the cusp of some even more significance, too.

Tito currently has 2033 career wins as a manager under his belt, good enough for 12th most in Major League Baseball history right now. Of the 11 managers ahead of him on the list, 9 are already Hall of Famers and the other two – Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker – will undoubtedly be in there in short order. Joe McCarthy currently sits 10th on the all-time wins list at 2125, meaning a 93 win season from this Reds club would vault Francona into the Top 10 in all-time wins.

Francona has also guided teams to the playoffs on 12 different occasions. That’s a number that’s good for fifth most all-time, and making it back to the postseason with this Reds club would give him 13 times in the playoffs – a number that would tie Baker for fourth most all-time.

Only 11 managers in MLB history have won more than a pair of World Series titles, with Tito currently sitting on the two that he won in his days with the Boston Red Sox. Should the Reds go all the way this year and claim a title, he’d be tied with Tony La Russa, Dave Roberts, John McGraw, Sparky Anderson, and Miller Huggins with a trio. Only six managers in MLB history have won more than 3 World Series titles.

It’s a testament to his character, the longevity to reach these potential milestones. It’s a testament to his talent and feel for the position, too. Now, it’s up to this young Reds club to begin to truly embrace what it means to be a Francona-led ball club and take the next step up from simply being slightly better than average, and if they do, the future Hall of Famer in the dugout next to them will find himself in even more rarified air all-time.

It’s all up to the pixie dust.

Good morning!

One thing the sabermetric revolution has taught us is that batting order doesn’t matter all that much. At least, not in the traditional sense of putting a speedy runner at the the top, someone who can handle the bat and move him over second, and power hitters in the middle. The general consensus now is that a team’s best hitter should hit second with a high-OBP hitter in front of him. But, ultimately, batting order doesn’t have a significant impact on the number of runs a team scores over the course of the season, and the best thing a team can do is arrange the lineup such that its best hitters get as many at-bats as possible.

Roman Anthony is the best hitter on the Red Sox, and he did spend most of last season in the leadoff spot, a strategy that works pretty well for the defending champions. While Alex Cora hasn’t said whether he’ll repeat that this season, he did speak on batting order yesterday, saying that Willson Contreras will bat cleanup. He further implied that Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Trevor Story will occupy the top three spots, though it sounds like he hasn’t yet decided in what order.

Assuming that Cora will want left-right balance at the top of the order — and conceding that Story doesn’t have the OBP chops to leadoff — that really only leaves one possibility:

1. Anthony
2. Story
3. Duran
4. Contreras

Hitting Anthony second would force Duran and Anthony (both lefties) to hit back-to-back, while hitting Anthony third will inevitably result in a lot of first inning at-bats where he finds himself up with two outs and nobody on, which is exactly what the theory that says your best hitter should bat second tries to avoid.

So what do you think? Do you want to see Anthony in the leadoff spot again or do you have something else in mind?

Talk about that and whatever else you want and, as always, be good to one another.

In what sounds a little like an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” type of situation, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league will consider partnering with prediction markets.

Speaking at the end of baseball’s winter meetings in Palm Beach, the commissioner — who as recently as last year was bemoaning the fact MLB was “dragged” into legalized sports betting — said that this may be the only way to protect against more illegal gambling scandals in the sport.

“We thought it was important for the owners to be updated on why prediction markets are different than sports betting, why we might want to consider being in business with prediction markets in an effort to protect our integrity, to get the kind of protections we need,” Manfred said, according to Front Office Sports. “The regulatory framework — very different. Obviously, state by state on the sports betting side, federal on the other.”

Of course, MLB has had its share of bumps and bruises in the post-PASPA era, from a scandal involving Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter for modern-day Babe Ruth Shohei Ohtani, to the ongoing investigation into Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase, accused of throwing pitches in accordance with gamblers’ wishes.

Manfred did point out that in all cases where there either has been, or seemed like there was, hinky stuff going on, the league found it out via data partnerships with the sportsbooks and their partners.

“Every situation we’ve had has been based on data that we received from sports betting properties,” Manfred said, according to The Athletic. “That data, kind of generically … would be characterized as patterns, right? That pattern emerges, you know, sometimes it’s betting when a particular player is involved. Sometimes it involves individuals that when it starts, you have no reason to believe — it’s not a player that’s betting, it’s just some guy that is a stranger to us. So sometimes it takes time for those patterns to become clear.”

One size fits all

Manfred also isn’t against the idea of one set of federal rules covering the entirety of the prediction market landscape, instead of the state-by-state patchwork of legalized sports betting.

“The interesting thing about the prediction markets is there’s an opportunity to work with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” he said. “If you got where you want it to be, you’d have a nice federal regulation, it’d be the same everywhere. Kind of a nice thing.”

MLB wouldn’t be the first league to sit at the table with Kalshi and company: The NHL has seen teams partner with prediction markets, with more certainly to come.

The NBA and NFL so far have not engaged the prediction markets, but the winds seem to be blowing in that direction, at least for the NFL.

“It’s innovative. That marketplace is dynamic,” Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president, told Front Office Sports last week before the Super Bowl.

Clayton Kershaw, like the Dodgers team as a whole, took a step back in 2018, although they were both still good enough to accomplish similar goals. Kershaw delivered another sub-3.00 ERA, and the Dodgers saw their most difficult division title of this whole Andrew Friedman era come to pass, needing a Game 163 at home to beat out the Colorado Rockies for the NL West crown. A team that severely underperformed its pythagorean win-loss record, winning only 92 games when it indicated it should’ve crossed the 100-win threshold, the Dodgers entered the playoffs without the gravitas of the previous campaign but were still seen as a top candidate to reach the Fall Classic.

The year 2018 marked the first time Kershaw could legitimately be seen as no longer the top option in the Dodgers rotation. Walker Buehler was beyond magnificent in his rookie campaign, starting that decisive Game 163 in a win over Colorado, and it was Hyun Jin-Ryu taking the ball in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Braves after a 1.97 ERA in 15 starts.

As if to have his Michael Jordan’s “and then it became personal to me” moment, Kershaw started game 2 of that NLDS against Atlanta with a vengeance, delivering one of the most efficient postseason outings in the 21st century, covering eight scoreless frames while needing a mere 85 pitches to do so, largely explained by his standard no walks and a surprising only three strikeouts. Still, the Dodgers already led that series 1-0, and for as great as Kershaw was, this wasn’t his most memorable outing during that World Series run.

Quick, if someone tells you to think of the first thing that comes to your mind when hearing the mention of Kershaw against the Brewers in the postseason? You, like me and so many others, might’ve thought about pitcher Brandon Woodruff taking him yard with a home run in Milwaukee, worthy of the game’s premier left-handed sluggers. While the rarity of that moment holds merit, when you assess Kershaw’s track record against the Brewers in the playoffs, there’s a rather transparent argument that it stands out due to the narrative around Kershaw in the playoffs in our subconscious — a narrative built largely on undeniable facts, but one that, at the very least, glosses over the entire story by skipping a few chapters in a quite rude manner. Although not as dominant as in his Wild Card performance in 2020, Kershaw’s most important postseason performance against the Brewers came in Game 5 of the NLCS in 2018.

I had the idea to do a series along these lines for quite a while, and when going back to check Kershaw’s postseason record, none of the previous games we’ve covered stood out as much as this one. For whatever the case, I remembered Kershaw doing well in that Game 5, but not as well as he actually did in what was a pivotal win in a series then tied 2-2 and headed to Milwaukee with someone owning a match point.

The script had been written, the stage was set, and even the “villain” had been properly introduced shortly into the proceedings with a change of starters. Craig Counsell quickly revealed Wade Miley was simply a decoy and threw Woodruff in to cover the bulk of innings one out into the start of the game for the Dodger hitters—the same Woodruff who had homered off Kershaw as the Brew Crew hit around the three-time Cy Young winner in Game 1 of that series.

For those paying attention, there is a consistency from the start of this series of articles: thin margins for Kershaw in each one of these great postseason performances. A large part of why I’m so dismissive of the idea of any logical explanation behind the general struggles of Kershaw in the playoffs is that, on the times he was at his best, of which there were plenty, as we’ve seen, those games were some of the more tightly contested the Dodgers have played, upping the pressure to the nth degree.

Milwaukee scored first in Game 5, once again propelled by a positive at-bat from the hitting pitcher Woodruff, whose one-out walk helped pass the baton to Lorenzo Cain, driving in one on a double — a hit that generated a two-on, one-out situation for Kershaw to navigate through against the heart of the order for Milwaukee. The rally knocked on the door of the future Hall of Famer, and he shut it down with a couple of strikeouts against Christian Yelich and Jesús Aguilar in the middle of a Ryan Braun walk to end the threat.

Out of every one of his nine strikeouts in that game, those two were by far the biggest.

Speaking of pressure, that one run meant the Dodgers trailed in this game until the bottom of the fifth, when finally the bats came alive, but still, throughout his entire seven innings of work, the Dodgers never led by more than two runs., Los Angeles eventually added a couple of insurance runs to help protect his outstanding performance.

Lost in the story of that game, Kershaw played a key part in the Dodgers’ scoring and did so after his outing was finished. The Dodgers’ starter came out to hit in the eighth inning, when the Dodgers led 3-1, and he drew a walk in what ultimately became a two-run frame, upping the Dodgers’ lead to 5-1. With a more comfortable advantage, Dave Roberts went to Pedro Báez and subsequently Kenley Jansen to close the game.

It’s purely speculative, but one might be justified in pondering if a bit more tired Kershaw, having thrown eight and not seven innings, could’ve struggled to secure the final outs he was brought in to do in Game 7. We’ll never know.