Category: Sports News

Well, the Washington Nationals have made a free agent signing. It is not exactly a sexy addition, but according to Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports the Nats have signed Miles Mikolas. The 37 year old Mikolas had been with the St. Louis Cardinals since 2018. At his peak, he was a solid mid rotation starter but now he is a true innings eater.

This is not going to be a pretty season for the Nats pitching staff, and they need bodies to soak up innings. That is exactly what Mikolas can do. Mikolas has thrown at least 155 innings every season since 2022, and has made at least 31 starts every year in that time. The results have not been amazing in that time, with a 4.51 ERA over the last four years, but he takes the ball every fifth day.

After a disastrous 2024, where Mikolas posted a 5.35 ERA, he bounced back slightly in 2025. He posted a 4.84 ERA in 31 starts last year. Mikolas is a control first starter. He has walked less than two batters per 9 innings for his career. That allows him to go deep into games and give his team a chance to win. Since 2022, he is tied for the second most starts by a pitcher.

This is obviously not a flashy addition, and I think there were more interesting innings eating options available. However, he can be a mentor for the young pitchers and take the ball every fifth day. I cannot say I am exactly excited by this news, but I understand the appeal I guess.

Maybe Simon Mathews can do something to help him out, but old dogs like this do not really learn new tricks. One potential option could be to just really trim his 4-seam fastball usage, but he does not really have a standout secondary pitch either. This really is just the epitome of an innings eater.

Mikolas actually does have some history with the Nats. Back in the 2019 playoffs, he and Juan Soto had a bit of a feud over the Soto shuffle. Mikolas was not a fan of the move, and when he got Soto out, he grabbed his crotch as retribution. So, there is that.

I am not a massive fan of this move because I do not see any real upside, but someone has to eat those innings. With Mikolas in the fold, I wonder how the rotation will look. Before his addition, the rotation consisted of Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Jake Irvin and Foster Griffin. It will be interesting to see which one of those five get the boot.

Lord was much more effective in a relief role last season, so that could be the plan. Gray’s spot will be dependent on how he looks this spring. He has missed a lot of time due to injury and we will have to see what his stuff looks like. In a rotation full of question marks, the Nats now have a proven commodity in Miles Mikolas.

Previous Winner

Nathan Flewelling, C
19 | L/R | 6’2” | 200
A | .229/.393/.336 (126 wRC+) 439 PA, 6 HR, 9 SB, 20.3% BB, 27.6% K
A+ | 22 PA, 4 H, 5 BB, 6 K

The 94th overall pick from 2024, Flewelling made his debut at 18 years young and caught a full season (75 C, 26 DH), plus a five game cup of coffee (3 C, 2 DH). Taking the longview, he could grow into 50-60 grade power with 50 grade defense, which makes him one to follow. His plus zone awareness at the plate offsets his lagging contact, and most importantly for the position his ability to call games and frame pitches are already plus. A strong season with the bat at High-A could vault him into Top-100 consideration.

Made a judgement call in Testers and am adding Cooper Flemming from the 2025 draft. It would be helpful for folks to add votes in Testers if you have an opinion on the next candidate profile! And remember, if you don’t see who you want to vote for, put them in Others.

Candidates

Jackson Baumeister, RHP
23 | 6’4” | 224
AA | 4.62 ERA, 4.15 FIP (15 GS) 62.1 IP, 19.5% K, 9.6% BB
AFL | 6 ER (1 HR), 9.0 IP (4 G, 3 GS), 10 K, 9 BB

A shoulder injury derailed what should have been Baumeister’s coming out party, as his previously plus breaking ball was expected to carve up Double-A. After a tough start to the year and two months on the sidelines, Baumeister returned in August and salvaged the season with a brilliant finish. The tough luck continued, however, in the Arizona Fall League, where a line drive struck him in the head, but he escaped without significant injury. Currently, Baumeister has taken on a fastball/slutter profile, with a slow curve in his back pocket, and has shown teachability and pitchability over the years. The former Seminole currently thrives on his frequently used major league fastball that may be better challenged by a promotion to Triple-A.

Homer Bush Jr.
24 | R/R | 6’3” | 215
AA | .301/.375/.360 (122 wRC+) 546 PA, 0 HR, 57 SB, 8.8% BB, 17.9% K

Acquired in the 2024 Jason Adam trade, the starting center fielder at Double-A passed the test of advanced pitching, but just barely. He lacks in-game power due to a lack of use of his lower half in his swing, and he whiffed more often than you can for long term success with a low-power approach. His calling cards are Rays-grade defense and plus-speed, having notably swiped 57 bags in back-to-back seasons.

Cooper Flemming, SS
19 | L/R | 6’3” | 190

One of the best high school bats in the 2025 draft, Flemming surprisingly fell into the Rays laps in the second round. He has a too-quiet swing that lacks the load necessary to hit for power, but he’s historically compensated for that with a high contact rate that would have rated him as first round material if his defense projected to stick. The Rays were able to convince him to forgo an education at Vanderbilt by going above slot ($2.3m, Comp-A money).

Brailer Guerrero, OF
20 | L/R | 6’1” | 215
A | 249.338/.399 (119 wRC+) 222 PA, 6 HR, 9 SB, 11.3% BB, 29.3% K
AFL | 2 H, 0 HR, 2 SB, 3 BB, 16 K, 29 PA

Good news: the $3.7 million 2023 signee made the leap out of the complex league in his final teenage season. Bad News: He was injured yet again, with hamstring and knee injuries limiting him to 51 games for Charleston. The Rays tried to make up for lost time with an aggressive assignment to the AFL that resulted in only two hits in 29 plate appearances. He makes loud contact from a quick, quiet swing which he pre-loads by reaching back for even more power. He appears to make early decisions to swing, leading to a bit extra whiffs against anything off-speed, but that could easily clear up with some consistent playing time.

Trevor Harrison, RHP
20 | 6’4” | 225
A | 2.61 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 82.2 IP (17 GS), 22.4% K, 10.7% BB
A+ | 3.33 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 24.1 IP (5 GS), 23.8% K, 12.4% BB

Harrison entered the season as Baseball America’s top pitcher in the system thanks to a cleaned up delivery and high heat. He ran into some bumps in the road by running up his pitch count against batters, but he still made it over 100 innings in 22 starts. A power pitcher through and through, his hard slider flirts with cutter classification and could evolve into two distinct pitches down the road. It will be interesting to see how his change up plays as he’s challenged at higher levels, but for now he has premium stuff and the upside of a rotation anchor. (video)

OF Victor Mesa Jr.
24 | L/L | 5’11” | 195
AAA (MIA) | .301/.368/.510 (136 wRC+) 171 PA, 7 HR, 4 SB, 9.9% BB, 16.4% K
MLB (MIA) | 6 H (1 HR), 5 BB, 5 K (81 wRC+) 38 PA

This Cuban power bat already made his major league debut with Miami last year after bouncing back from a spring hamstring injury, and was dealt to the Rays in February. He profiles as a fourth outfielder but has an option remaining, so the organization may send him down for regular playing time and one last chance for something more in development. If not, he’s a center field capable on defense, which goes a long way for a platoon bat. In the running for the nicest guy in baseball.

Tre’ Morgan, 1B/LF
23 | L/L | 6’0” | 215
AAA | .274/.398/.412 (119 wRC+) 402 PA, 8 HR, 8 SB, 15.9% BB, 19.2% K

Morgan continued to hit without power in 2025, a great discouragement for some evaluators, but his present 50-grade hit tool and feel for the zone allow a major league projection. He continued his improved, quieter two-strike approach in 2025 that built on his success retooling his swing in the AFL last year. The Rays gave Morgan 14 starts in Left Field last season, and Baseball America called the defense “playable,” but his value is tied to his plus-plus defense at First.

Aidan Smith, OF
21 | R/R | 6’2” | 190
A+ | .237/.331/.388 (114 wRC+) 459 PA, 14 HR, 41 SB, 11.5% BB, 31.2% K

Acquired in the Arozarena trade, Smith became the prince who was promised, a five tool athlete with a strong bat, good face, and a preternatural glove in center field. That promise unraveled a bit in 2025, with his strikeout rate rocketing nine percent and his power stroke faltering after facing harder velocities in High-A, causing both his hit and power grades to drop into the 40’s. It was a full transformation into a “center field” profile, but with his ceiling that’s not a compliment. He plays with a fire, but the dip in contact rate left some evaluators feeling burned.

Brayden Taylor, 2B/3B
24 | L/R | 6’0” | 180
AA | .173/.289/.286 (77 wRC+) 437 PA, 8 HR, 17 SB, 14% BB, 27.7% K
AFL | .264/.400/.472 (.384 wOBA) 65 PA, 1 HR, 5 SB, 12 BB, 19 K

Taylor entered 2025 as a top-100 prospect after demolishing High-A (154 wRC+), and left 2025 as an afterthought on prospect lists, although he was selected as an Arizona Fall League “Fall Star” in between, where he worked to keep his chase rate low and his hard hit rate high. The juice must have been worth the squeeze, as the Rays have elected to invite Taylor to major league Spring Training this year.

Jose Urbina, RHP
20 | 6’3” | 180
A | 2.05 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 92.1 IP (19 GS), 26.4% K, 8.2% BB
A+ | 2 ER (2 HR), 4.0 IP (1 GS), 5 K, 0 BB

Good pitchers grow and adjust, and Urbina has done that consistently at an age young for his level. Physically he has grown in strength, sitting at 96 with the fastball after flashing high octane in 2024, and technically he has grown, refining his dialed up slider and his two-plane curveball into complementary pitches — which lack plus command but are thrown with feel. He shouldered a starter’s workload at 19, and was awarded one additional start at High-A, where he allowed two solo shots and struck out five. Overall, the age, body, and body of work have him on the trajectory of top prospect lists in the near future.

In this edition, we look at the Cubs’ Japanese southpaw.

Shōta Imanaga, the ‘throwing philosopher’, has been with the Cubs for two interesting seasons now. It’s impossible to say whether Shōta, the crafty lefty with fool-me stuff is going to start a given game, or if his alter ego ‘Mike’ will take the ball for as long as it stays in the park.

Imanaga was an All-Star in that splendid rookie campaign, going 15-3, 2.91, allowing 1.4 HR/9, with a strikeout an inning. in 2025, Mike took the ball far too often, and the erstwhile Ace went a thoroughly disappointing 9-8, 3.73, allowed 1.9 HR/9 and struck out 7.3 men per nine-inning stint. The difference was solo homers, more or less. He threw less of them in 2025. 3.0 bWAR, 1.5 bWar, consecutive years.

Most prediction systems see him as even more average than that, with ERAs in the low 4s and win totals of 8 or 9. At that point, I can see the Cubs cutting their losses with Imanaga and just putting Jordan Wicks out there, since that’s what you get from him and he’s way cheaper. Or say Jaxon Wiggins is armed and ready. Something like that. Something Cub.

Might happen before the All-Star Game. You never know.

He’s gonna be okay but I suspect he is going to wear a different uniform next year. He’s 32 and has pitched a lot of innings. Mike is going to show up a few times. But good Shōta is very good indeed.

The stats above are kind of misleading. I remember 2025 as much worse than that. I recall Mike had really bad timing, at least. He needs to pitch in a cavern. Shōta doesn’t.

Spring Training is here! San Francisco Giants players are in action! Excitement — and more importantly, baseball — is in the air!

And still our Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List marches on, as we grow oh so close to finishing our communal rankings of the top 44 prospects in the Giants organization. Only one more name and we’ll have a top 40!

Despite there being seven names on the ballot, the last chapter wasn’t all that close. Earning the title of the No. 39 prospect in the system is someone new to the list: second baseman Nate Furman.

Giants fans haven’t gotten to watch much Furman, as he’s only played 36 games for the organization. The left-handed hitter, who will turn 25 over the summer, came over the Giants in the 2024 deadline deal that sent Alex Cobb to the Cleveland Guardians (Furman was the player to be named later, with LHP Jacob Bresnahan — No. 11 on this list — the headlining piece). The short infielder, who was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, was injured at the time of the trade, and didn’t debut with the Giants until 2025.

Unfortunately, his 2025 was shortened due to injuries as well. He was injured when the year began, and didn’t get on the field until late July, nearly a year after the trade had taken place. But once he got on the field, he wasted no time showing why the Giants love him. He played one rehab game in the Complex League, and drew two walks. He spent five games with the Low-A San Jose Giants, and hit 5-12 with two extra-base hits and three walks.

He spent the bulk of his time with the High-A Eugene Emeralds, getting back up to speed at a level he had conquered in 2024 while in Cleveland’s system. He conquered it for the Giants as well, playing 21 games and slashing .364/.490/.649, for a 1.139 OPS and a 211 wRC+. It was abundantly clear that he was way too good for the level.

Furman concluded the year with a brief stint with the AA Richmond Flying Squirrels, though it wasn’t his first attempt at the level — he played 13 AA games in 2024 before the injury. In nine games with Richmond, Furman didn’t slow down at all, hitting .387/.486/.484 for a .970 OPS and a 188 wRC+.

Those numbers are absolutely dandy, but the real reason for optimism probably comes from somewhere else: the Giants choosing to send Furman to camp as a non-roster invitee. That certainly speaks highly to how they view his skills considering his lack of playing time in the upper Minors, and the fact that players with more experience, like Diego Velasquez, were passed over.

In many ways, Furman mirrors the player he’ll be backing up in Scottsdale, Luis Arráez. He has arguably the best bat-to-ball skills in the entire farm, but struggles to use those skills for power, and his defense is quite suspect. But we know the Giants love contact skills, and across the four levels last year, Furman hit .369 with just an 11.7% strikeout rate.

Those K numbers underscore just how impressive his contact is (some of the strikeouts came by passivity). The Giants had 95 Minor League hitters with at least 100 plate appearances last year, and only six of those 95 had swinging strike rates under 7%. Furman led the way at 3.5%, miles ahead of second place (Turner Hill, 4.7%). His ability to put the bat on the ball is truly impressive. It’s just a matter of what he’ll be able to do with the ball when he does that.

Despite playing just 22 games in AA, it wouldn’t be a shock if Furman starts 2026 with AAA Sacramento, especially if he has a strong showing at Spring Training. That would allow Velasquez to continue developing in Richmond, while placing Furman in good position to establish himself as a depth piece for the Major League roster.

Now let’s add to the list, and a reminder that voting now takes place in the comment section, using the “rec” feature.

The list so far

1. Bryce Eldridge — 1B
2. Josuar González — SS
3. Jhonny Level — SS
4. Bo Davidson — CF
5. Dakota Jordan — CF
6. Luis Hernández — SS
7. Gavin Kilen — SS
8. Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
9. Blade Tidwell — RHP
10. Keyner Martinez — RHP
11. Jacob Bresnahan — LHP
12. Trevor McDonald — RHP
13. Argenis Cayama — RHP
14. Luis De La Torre — LHP
15. Trevor Cohen — OF
16. Jesús Rodríguez — C
17. Parks Harber — OF/3B
18. Carlos Gutierrez — OF
19. Drew Cavanaugh — C
20. Daniel Susac — C
21. Gerelmi Maldonado — RHP
22. Josh Bostick — RHP
23. Lorenzo Meola — SS/2B
24. Will Bednar — RHP
25. Yunior Marte — RHP
26. Joe Whitman — LHP
27. Joel Peguero — RHP
28. Alberto Laroche — RHP
29. Trent Harris — RHP
30. Carlos De La Rosa — LHP
31. Diego Velasquez — 2B
32. Lisbel Diaz — OF
33. Maui Ahuna — SS
34. Cam Maldonado — OF
35. Victor Bericoto — OF/1B
36. Reid Worley — RHP
37. Jack Choate — LHP
38. Rayner Arias — OF
39. Nate Furman — 2B

Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.

No. 40 prospect nominees

Sabin Ceballos — 23.5-year old 3B — .670 OPS/102 wRC+ in AA (420 PA)

Jakob Christian — 23.4-year old OF/1B — .950 OPS/155 wRC+ in High-A (92 PA); .815 OPS/119 wRC+ in Low-A (318 PA)

Reggie Crawford — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 1.04 ERA/4.07 FIP in AAA in 2024 (8.2 IP); 4.66 ERA/4.93 FIP in AA in 2024 (9.2 IP)

Juan Sánchez — 25.2-year old LHP — did not pitch in 2025; 3.93 ERA/5.17 FIP in AAA in 2024 (34.1 IP)

Charlie Szykowny — 25.7-year old 3B/1B — .816 OPS/122 wRC+ in High-A (549 PA)

Jancel Villarroel — 21.0-year old C — .699 OPS/91 wRC+ in High-A (61 PA); .746 OPS/123 wRC+ in Low-A (372 PA)

Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2025 season.

Left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic has won his salary arbitration case against the Royals, according to MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand, and will receive his requested salary of $6.15 million. The Royals had offered $5.15 million.

Bubic had a breakout season last year, posting a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts, with 116 strikeouts in 116.1 innings, earning his first All-Star appearance. But he suffered a left rotator cuff strain in July, forcing him to miss the last two months of the season. Injuries have impacted much of his career – he missed nearly the entire 2023 season with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2024, but as a reliever, and was effective with a 2.67 ERA in 30.1 innings.

The 28-year-old was originally a first-round pick in 2018 out of Stanford, who had mixed results in his first few years in the big leagues despite a plus change-up. Bubic has thrived under pitching coach Brian Sweeney, adding a sweeper that opponents hit just .194 against last year. He is eligible for free agency after the season.

Bubic is the first Royals player to win his arbitration case against the Royals since Andrew Benintendi in 2022. The Royals have 12 wins in 24 arbitration cases in club history. Vinnie Pasquantino also filed for arbitration, but the Royals avoided a hearing with him by signing him to a two-year, $11 million deal.

Eric Lauer is a 30-year-old (31 in June, so this will be his age 31 season), left-handed pitcher. The Jays signed him to a minor league contract in December of 2024. He had been a Jays draft pick in 2013, but he elected to play college ball instead and then was drafted in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Padres.

Since then he’s been a Brewer, Pirate, Astros and pitched in Korea. He pitched in 53 games, 52 starts in 2018 and 2019 with the Padres and 67 games, 60 starts over 4 seasons with the Brewers. And then made 7 starts in the KBO with a 4.93 ERA.

In the majors, he had a 4.30 ERA with 230 walks and 567 strikeouts in 596 innings with a 3.7 bWAR. I really don’t understand why he couldn’t do better than a minor league contract.

Lauer made five starts for the Bisons (4.50 ERA in 24 innings) and then Max Scherzer went on the IL and Lauer was called up. He wasn’t put straight into the rotation, but made three relief starts (9 innings, 1 earned), made a couple of starts, back to the pen (9.2 innings, 0 earned), then to the rotation for 13 starts (the Jays won 11 of them) and then back in the bullpen for September.

If I had the time to look, I’d love to know if that was the best season ever for a guy the Jays signed to a minor league contract before the season, but I’m sure it has to be top five. 9-2, a 3.18 ERA in 104.2 innings. Baseball Reference has him at a 0.8 WAR, FanGraphs 1.4.

Last year he threw:

• Four-seamer 46.5% of the time averaging 91.7 mph.
• Cutter 20.5% of the time.
• Curveball 14.4%.
• Slider 10.6%.
• Changeup 8.0%.

And he didn’t have much of a left/right split, with lefties having a

He’s earned himself a nice raise, though we don’t know how much he’ll be paid yet. He and the Jays went to arbitration; he’ll either make $5.75 million or $4.4 million. We’ll likely find out within moments of when I hit publish, because that’s the way the universe works.

I was wrong….the Arbitrator picked the Jays number, Eric will earn $4.4 million this year.

His role this year is still up in the air. Bieber being out to start the season might open a spot in the pen. And unfortunately, things tend to happen during spring training. If he doesn’t get a starting role, he’ll be good to have as a long man/lefty in the pen.

Steamer sees him as a reliever, pitching in 51 games, 3 starts, 66 innings, with a 4.13 ERA.

MESA, AZ — It has been nearly a decade since the Chicago Cubs won the NL Central in a full season.

They have reached the postseason just three times since 2017.

And they reside in the same division as their annoying neighbors, the Milwaukee Brewers, who won the most games in baseball last season while capturing their third consecutive division title.

The Cubs know all this, but on their first day of spring training, they boldly believe they are now the team to beat in the NL Central, and perhaps become the team that can finally derail the powerful Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the words of Cubs manager Craig Counsell, they have expectations, big expectations, and they worked awfully hard to have them.

They spent $228 million this winter, the second-most money in baseball, signing free agent third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract, trading for starter Edward Cabrera, and bolstering a team that earned a wild-card berth a year ago.

“Everybody’s optimistic right now, we all should be,’’ Counsell said. “I was optimistic last year at this time, absolutely, very optimistic. And we won 92 games. That’s good. You win 92 games, you take it. That’s a playoff team.’’

It just wasn’t good enough to knock off the Brewers, the Cubs finishing five games back in the NL Central.

Yet, with the Cubs spending their most money in an offseason since 2015 − the year before they won their first World Series since 1908 − and the Brewers spending only $3 million, it’s easy to see why expectations are soaring in Chicago.