Category: Sports News

The final review of the 2025 season will be looking at each position in the Astros farm system. Next up is the relief pitchers.

BEST OF THE BUNCH

Nick Hernandez

Hernandez has been in out of the season for a few years. He had a dominant season in Triple-A posting a 2.12 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 46.2 innings. He pitched some in Houston too, totaling 10.2 innings and allowing 6 runs. He is a free agent so not sure what his future holds, but it was a solid season for him.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 2.12 ERA, 46.2 IP, 25 H, 11 ER, 22 BB, 63 K, 12.2 K/9

Alimber Santa

Santa has been in the system since 2021 and has some high potential. The Astros moved him to full time relief role in 2025 and he had the best start of his career posting a 1.26 ERA with 63 K in 57 innings for the Hooks in Double-A. He was promoted to Triple-A but struggled with a 6.92 ERA. He should be back in Triple-A in 2026 and is only 23 years old.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 2.31 ERA, 70.0 IP, 46 H, 18 ER, 39 BB, 82 K, 10.5 K/9

Ramsey David

David was drafted by the Astros in the 10th round and immediately started turning some heads with his heater reaching 99 MPH in Spring Training. He started the year in Single-A and had a 3.86 ERA with 51 K in 51.1 innings. He dominated in High-A posting a 1.40 ERA before finishing the season in Double-A. Overall, he showed plenty in his first full season to be excited about his potential in 2026.

2025 Stats: 30 G, 3.47 ERA, 85.2 IP, 61 H, 33 ER, 51 BB, 87 K, 9.1 K/9

Colby Langford

Langford had a very interesting season. On one hand, he was dominant striking out 87 over 60.2 innings and holding opponents to just a .177 batting average against. On the down side though, Langford walked 63 in 60.2 innings. Obviously he has some dominating stuff from the left side, just has to clean up the command.

2025 Stats: 42 G, 3.26 ERA, 60.2 IP, 36 H, 22 ER, 63 BB, 87 K, 12.9 K/9

THE REST OF THE PACK

Hudson Leach

Leach has some of the nastiest stuff in the system and was dominant at times in 2025, but overall finished with a 5.54 ERA. He did finish with 63 strikeouts in 39 innings, including some run in Triple-A. He should return to Double-A or Triple-A in 2026.

2025 Stats: 34 G, 5.54 ERA, 39.0 IP, 33 H, 24 ER, 24 BB, 63 K, 14.5 K/9

Amilcar Chirinos

Chirinos is another right-hander who at times was dominating. He started the year in High-A and struck out 38 over 22.2 innings, but had a 5.56 ERA. He finished the season in Double-A with a 4.30 ERA over 29.1 innings.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 4.85 ERA, 52.0 IP, 51 H, 28 ER, 28 BB, 65 K, 11.3 K/9

Wilmy Sanchez

Sanchez is an undersized right-hander with an electric fastball. Like some others on this list, he was dominating at times but his command bit him a lot. He finished the season with a 6.05 ERA and 51 walks in 61 innings, though he did strike out 75.

2025 Stats: 46 G, 6.05 ERA, 61.0 IP, 59 H, 41 ER, 51 BB, 75 K, 11.1 K/9

Michael Knorr

Knorr was a 3rd round pick in 2022 but hasn’t live up to the hype yet. He pitched strictly in relief in 2025 posting a 5.03 ERA over 53.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He has some good stuff but just hasn’t translated to success.

2025 Stats: 20 G, 4.34 ERA, 120.2 IP, 99 H, 53 ER, 55 BB, 122 K, 9.1 K/9

2026 OUTLOOK

The back end of the bullpen is locked down with Abreu and Hader but after that, there are some holes that probably need to get filled. I’m not sure it will be from anyone on this list, but the Astros will most likely look towards some of the starters who could help in the pen. Maybe someone like Blubaugh or Ullola will get some pen time as well.

1900
Charles Comiskey received permission to relocate the Western League’s St. Paul Saints to Chicago, where they will become the White Sox of the American League.

1957
With air travel commonplace and MLB now stretching from coast to coast, the league considered drafting a plan to create a player pool to be used in the case of a plane crash. For whatever reason (likely that in the case of such a disaster a franchise would have to fold its current season and receive help from other clubs with an offseason draft) a plan never was put forth.

1964
Jim Brosnan is given permission from the White Sox to seek a deal with another team, after GM Ed Short forbids any further in-season writing (Brosnan previously had authored the classic book, The Long Season, as well as Pennant Race). Brosnan, who was acquired during the 1963 season and threw extremely well out of the pen (2.84 ERA, 15 saves and 1.1 WAR) for the pennant-chasing White Sox, would be released by the team on February 25.

Brosnan never pitched another game in the majors, his career over at age 34.

1981
Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn gained control of the Chicago White Sox for $20 million, after American League owners turned down Bill Veeck’s attempt to sell to Eddie DeBartolo.

For franchise value context, on the same day the owners approved an 80% sale of the Seattle Mariners for $10.4 million.

Reinsdorf’s original partner was William Farley, but Farley dropped out in part because the White Sox went out and signed free agents Ron LeFlore and Jim Essian. Farley didn’t approve of the team spending $3 million for them — even though Veeck got the money for the signings from DeBartolo. 

Reinsdorf originally was part of a group trying to buy the New York Mets. Einhorn originally was part of a group trying to get the San Diego Padres.

1998
The end of Ozzie Guillén’s White Sox career became official, as the 34-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore. Ozzie’s first year away from the White Sox since 1985 proved eventful, as the O’s released him a month into the season. But Guillén would catch on quickly with Atlanta and would see action in both the 1998 and 1999 postseasons with the Braves.

2002
In the moment, it was a strange trade by GM Ken Williams, as the White Sox traded stalwart outfielder Chris Singleton to Baltimore for young utilityman Willie Harris.

Singleton had an extraordinary rookie season in 1999 (4.8 WAR and 20-of-25 steals playing a superb center field, somehow garnering just sixth place in AL Rookie of the Year voting) and had bounced back nicely with a 2.2-WAR 2001 after a tough sophomore season. Harris, younger by five years, never came close to reaching even those heights in Chicago.

However, Harris will always have a special place in the hearts of White Sox fans, scoring the winning (and only) run of the 2005 World Series Game 4 clincher. Harris lead off the eighth inning of a scoreless tie with a single to left, then was grinded over to third by a Scott Podsednik sacrifice bunt and Carl Everett ground out and driving in by Jermaine Dye’s dribble single to center field. Harris was 2-for-2 in the 2005 playoffs, the only postseason of his career.

2013
A damning story in the Miami New Times listed the names of several major leaguers who were customers of a PED clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., Biogenesis Laboratories. Álex Rodríguez is the headliner of shame, but three past or future White Sox are also named: Bartolo Colón, Melky Cabrera and Yasmani Grandal. All three had tested positive for PEDs within the year, legitimizing the case against Biogenesis.

Meet the Mets

Outside of some minor moves the Mets are most likely done adding this offseason.

The team has not shown any recent interest in Austin Hayes after they signed Luis Robert Jr.

Manager Carlos Mendoza dropped some hints as to how he would construct this year’s lineup on a recent podcast appearance.

The Mets signed infielder Grae Kessinger to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.

Around the National League East

The Braves could add to their starting rotation with the free agents still on the market before spring training begins.

The Marlins will predominatly face teams in the National League East in August which could affect potential playoff races.

Nick Castellanos and manager Rob Thompson have a strained relationship stemming from an incident last season and the Phillies are still expected to part ways with the outfielder.

The Nationals claimed shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Mets.

Around Major League Baseball

The Yankees acquired righty Angel Chivilli from the Rockies to add depth to their bullpen.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is joining a stacked Dominican Republic team for the World Baseball Classic.

The payroll disparity between teams is the highest it has ever been with the Dodgers having a higher payroll than the lowest five teams combined last year.

Both Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa will miss the World Baseball Classic after failing to get insurance on their contracts for the tournament.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Brian Salvatore reveiwed José Azócar’s brief season with the Mets.

A.J. Ewing came in at number 6 on Steve Sypa’s prospect list.

This Date in Mets History

On this date in 1989 the Game Winning RBI was retired as an official statistic which makes Keith Hernandez the all-time leader in that category.

All of Major League Baseball has been debating for a while if A), what the Dodgers are doing with their payroll is the ‘correct’ way of doing things; B), how long it would be sustainable; and C) will it finally trigger a salary cap.

For the Dodgers front office, doing it ‘correctly’ is just semantics. Whatever one thinks of how Andrew Friedman and Co have gone about things, there’s no denying that winning three World Series in six seasons is something to be envied. They employ the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani, who has brought them untold amounts of revenue in advertising and other areas. The winning ways, combined with their clubhouse culture, has made it a top destination for the top free agents.

On Wednesday, Jack Harris posited that the Dodgers Front Office will not be able to do what they have been for very much longer.

While the Dodgers will still have their winning culture and ability to assess talent and be an enviable destination, when the salary cap or something similar in implemented, the “Golden Age” of this iteration of Dodgers Baseball will be over. As Harris puts it, the Dodgers will go from being a team that ‘should’ win it every season to a team that ‘could’ win it all.

Harris also wonders just how long the Dodgers will have their dominance with their aging core. Kyle Tucker and Andy Pages are the only two everyday players that are under the age of 30, with Tucker not being far off, at the age of 29. Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernandez have contracts expiring at the end of the next two seasons. The Dodgers do have one of the top farm systems in all of the majors but had to give away their second and fourth round drafts to sign both Tucker and Edwin Diaz this offseason. But, as this organization has shown time and again, they will find a way to field the best team possible.

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The Dodgers have been doing a Dodgers Love LA Community Tour. On Tuesday, Dodgers alumni Dennis Powell and Matt Luke visited Hollydale Elementary School, hosting a Playworks Recess Takeover. They also handed out groceries and essentials to food insecure families.

On Wednesday, Steve Yeager and Billy Ashley met with emergency personnel to thank them for their services.

The tour will continue before its culmination at Dodger Fan Fest this Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The final infield bat? Up in the air. Free agents? Available. A trade for CJ Abrams? Possible. Maybe? The Washington Nationals did just trade Mackenzie Gore so it’s possible they burn things completely to the ground. Gore, however, did cost the Texas Rangers a king’s ransom of prospects.

We are, as of today, January 29, 2026, 55 days away from Opening Day. It’s a little early for countdowns, but in this weird period between building the team and heading to Spring Training, let’s go ahead and do one anyway, taking a look at the Red Sox players who have worn number 55.

55 isn’t the most popular uniform number but also isn’t the least. Just 9 players for Boston have donned it versus 61 players for number 28, the most worn number.

Let’s remember some guys.

Chris Martin

You don’t need much of a reminder about Martin. The 6’8” righty reliever wore 55 during his two-year stint in Boston in 2023-2024. A real ace of a signing, Martin put up the best season of his career in 2023. Sadly, that team wasn’t in a place to take advantage of a shutdown reliever having a career year.

Matt Strahm

Who can forget Matt Strahm and his very long hair in 2022? Sadly this was his worst full season in the majors, although a 3.83 ERA / 3.72 FIP across 44.2 innings isn’t terrible either. He was one and done, signed as a free agent. He’s been a valuable part of the Phillies bullpen over the last three seasons but found himself shipped off to Kansas City in December.

Christian Vázquez

When he first came up in 2014, Vázquez wore 55. When he returned for good from 2016-2022 the World Series hero took up number 7, currently worn by Masataka Yoshida but previously worn by luminaries like Trot Nixon and J.D. Drew.

Chris Capuano

Do you remember Chris Capuano’s Red Sox career? I had forgotten too. He actually shared 55 in 2014 with Vázquez. The lefty appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen and over 31.2 innings allowed 15 runs. He was released on July 1 that year, signed by the Colorado Rockies on the 4th, and then purchased by the Yankees on the 24th before ever pitching for the Rockies. He had some memorable seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers but not for John Farrell.

Ryan Kalish

We’re all the way back to 2010-2012 now for Ryan Kalish and if you don’t remember the hype, it was a lot. Kalish was the number one player in the farm system according to SoxPropsects back in 2011. In 2010 he was behind possible two-way player Casey Kelly and Josh Reddick/Lars Anderson, depending on if you looked in April or June. His .710 OPS over 53 games as a 22-year-old would turn out to be the high water mark of his career. After being released he would latch on to the Theo Epstein Cubs and hit .286/.444/.286 in 7 games in 2016 but presumably collect a World Series ring. He wasn’t released until December 2013 but didn’t appear in the majors for the Red Sox, losing out on a second World Series championship. That would have really made him a trivia answer.

Joey Gathright

The speedster wore 23 in his 2009 Red Sox callup and 55 for his next and final major league action in 2011. He could steal 20 bases a year (for the Rays and Royals – he stole 2 in 24 games for the Red Sox) but couldn’t hit the ball with power, owning a .303 career slugging percentage.

Jeff Bailey

Bailey was drafted by the then-Florida Marlins in 1997 before being purchased by the Montreal Expos in 2002, where he would remain for a year. Upon tasting free agency he signed with the Red Sox in November 2003. He would then spend three more years in the minors. A decade after he was drafted, and 961 minor league games later, Jeff Bailey would make his major league debut on July 6, 2007. He’d get two more games that season, 27 in 2008, and 26 in 2009. He wore 55 for all of them.

Lenny DiNardo

Former pitcher and current NESN analyst Lenny DiNardo wore 55 from 2004-2006. Claimed off waivers by the Oakland A’s from the Red Sox in February 2007, he cleared the way for 55 to open up for Jeff Bailey.

Ramiro Mendoza

A one-and-done Red Sox reliever in 2003 who never lived up to the work he did with the Yankees. His final appearance for Boston was Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS.

Todd Erdos

Boston was the last stop of his five-year career and the righty bullpen arm appeared in 10 games.

Rich Croushore

Croushore tossed 4.2 innings for the Red Sox in 2000. He was traded by the Rockies to Boston (with others) for Jeff Frye, Brian Rose, and John Wasdin. Those are sure some throwbacks.

Below is a picture of John Wasdin because Getty didn’t have one of Croushore as a Red Sox player.

Brian Shouse

8.0 innings in Boston in 1998. Signed as a free agent and released.

Carlos Reyes

In 1998, Reyes wore 55 for the Padres and Red Sox but never wore the number in any other year or on any other team.

Jeff Suppan

Suppan would wear 55 from 1995-1997 but would wear 35 for his 2003 return to Boston.

Suppan would later lose Game 3 of the 2004 World Series to the Red Sox, making a memorable base-running blunder.

Joe Hesketh

Another lefty pitcher for the list, he’d take 55 from 1990-1994.

Phil Plantier

Plantier would only spend 14 games in the majors in 1990 and when Hesketh was acquired he was in the majors and took 55 over. Plantier would wear 7 when he came back and 29 in 1991-1992.

Randy Kutcher

Possibly a fan of the number 5, Kutcher would wear 55 in 1988 before changing to 5 for 1989 and 1990. Although before he was in Boston he wore 9 and 19 with the San Fransisco Giants.

La Schelle Tarver

One-and-done for both the Red Sox and his major league career, Tarver, listed as a centerfielder and pinch runner, wore 55 for all of his 13 games.

Bob Veale

The first Red Sox player to wear 55, Veale did so from 1972-1974, the final three seasons of his career. Over 10 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates before that he wore 39. In Boston, 39 was taken by Mike Garmen when he arrived and then Tim Blackwell after Veale had settled into 55.

Good morning, baseball fans!

The newest member of the San Francisco Giants, Harrison Bader, joinedThe Max Mannis Podcast earlier this week to discuss his decision to join the Giants’ organization.

During the episode, Bader discusses his approach to facing his new team’s biggest rivals and reigning World Series champions (boo), the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In a post from Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area, Rodriguez quotes Bader’s conversation with Mannis, saying:

“I think it just gives you an opportunity to go out and compete against some of the best players in baseball — and that’s awesome. Dive into that energy, have a game plan and trust it. Go out there and execute. That’s really all there is to it.“

You’ve got to love that outlook. It’s not easy to be the newest member of the Tune Squad, sizing up the MonStars, so I respect his perspective.

You can watch the full video below, it’s a little under a half hour. So get your coffee, settle in, and get to know your newest outfielder!

David Lesky looks at who could be a candidate to lead off for the Royals.

If what we saw from Garcia in 2025 is real, and the Royals are betting on it with the contract extension, he fits as a pretty traditional leadoff hitter that blends old school with new school….

I think the argument against it is that he’s needed in the middle of the lineup too. If he’s hitting first, that probably props Salvador Perez up to the fourth spot, which is maybe fine, but I would still like to see him hitting fifth or sixth as we saw often toward the end of last season. Putting someone else in the leadoff spot with Garcia hitting fourth, Perez fifth and then finishing the lineup helps make it look a whole lot deeper. But at the same time, that’s giving fewer at bats to someone who might deserve more. It’s easy to see why it’s a bit of a conundrum.

Craig Brown looks over the list of non-roster invitees to spring training.

Former first round picks Frank Mozzicato and Gavin Cross were both eligible to be selected in last month’s Rule 5 draft. Now they’re heading to big league camp in Surprise.

For me, among the most intriguing names—aside from Mitchell and Ramirez—will be lefty Hunter Patteson and outfielder Carson Roccaforte. Patteson turns 26 in April and has only topped out in Double-A, but saw a velocity jump last season and has what Baseball America calls “advanced pitchability.” Talk to me like that and you have my attention. Roccaforte is a guy who I think could push his way to Kansas City at some point this summer. His profile and work in the minors has me sold.

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN ranks Kendry Chourio (#124), Josh Hammond (#132), and Blake Mitchell (#143) in his 101-200 prospect list, listing Chourio as the prospect with ace potential.

Chourio has the elements to become a front-line starter I’m looking for: enough velocity, plenty of command, the potential for three above-average pitch shapes and surface number performance. The reason he just missed the top 100 is because he isn’t very projectable and needs to tweak his breaking ball shapes — but the spin rates and break suggest he has the ability to do that. At the same stage of development, there are parallels to Seth Hernandez — but Hernandez’s size, velocity and the athleticism he has demonstrated as a position player are why he has more upside and therefore ranked a good bit higher.

The Royals will cover the cost of admission to the Negro League Baseball Museum in February.

Pete Grathoff writes how Bobby Witt Jr. got a one-day job with his hometown Dallas Stars.

He also writes how Vinnie Pasquantino is not looking forward to his arbitration hearing.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wants a reunion with Jackson Kowar.

Colorado acquires Edouard Julien from the Twins.

They also traded reliever Angel Chivilli to the Yankees.

The Brewers sign catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league deal.

The Braves are interested in free agents Lucas Giolito and Chris Bassitt.

A breakdown of the payroll disparity in baseball.

What teams could break out in 2026?

Will the Yankees trade their outfield depth?

Which players are ripe for a contract extension?

Will Cleveland get any help for José Ramírez?

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants to manage Team USA in the 2028 Olympics.

The Giants will have a Pablo Sanchez Backyard Baseball bobblehead giveaway.

A look back at the interception that ended the last Patriots/Seahawks Super Bowl matchup.

What teams could trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Cremations have become more popular than burials.

Is Dave Filoni bringing Darth Talon back to Star Wars canon?

The restaurant chain Twin Peaks files for bankruptcy.

Your song of the day is Jeff Buckley with Grace.

In the vote for the #4 prospect, Quinn Mathews did not win by a lot. It was a two-man race and Joshua Baez was only 14 total votes short of Mathews’ total. He received over double the votes of the third-place vote getter. It is not a hard and fast rule, but it was a pretty safe bet that Baez would win this vote and comfortably. That is exactly what happened. He received over half the votes in a poll with eight other players. The current list stands at:

1. JJ Wetherholt
2. Liam Doyle
3. Rainiel Rodriguez
4. Quinn Mathews
5. Joshua Baez

Comparable Player Corner

Last week, I ran a comparable player poll of two players I was considering adding to this poll. I in fact told you that I would add the player who won the poll, which I did do. This is maybe the opposite of that. There’s a certain class of prospect who could be just about anywhere on a Cardinals’ list, including well out of the top 20. Not top 10, but after that. And it’s especially hard to know who a relatively random collection of Cardinals fans will think is the 19th best prospect, when another site might think them the 50th best prospect. On the flipside, some site thinks a prospect is the 19th best prospect and this crowd might not give them a single vote if I put them on the voting. So occasionally, I need to put those kinds of prospects in this section to know if I need to start considering adding once we hit the 10th vote or if I can ignore them completely.

I try to find a hook when I place two players in this section. There needs to be something similar about the two players. A lot of times, I try to just compare two players who play the same position. Today’s two players are similar only because they are both probably going to be in Memphis and both have a decent shot of making their MLB debut. That’s just about the only similar thing about them.

Blaze Jordan’s big selling point, to be honest, is his age. Drafted out of high school, he’s been a professional since he was drafted in 2020, and yet he turned 23 a little over a month ago. He already has over 300 PAs in AAA. That gives him time. He is essentially a right-handed Alec Burleson, but a Burleson who probably can’t play 3B instead of probably can’t play OF. Jordan also has more questions about his contact quality than Burly did. But free swinger who makes a lot of contact who would benefit from being more selective? Yeah that’s Blaze.

Bryan Torres’ big selling point is his performance and his versatility. He can play anywhere, and he has. His pro career started as a catcher, so he would probably even be the emergency catcher. He destroyed AAA, albeit with a huge BABIP and not a lot of power. The question is really if his stats will translate, which is a question because of his age: he’s 28 next season. Why does that matter? Well, 26 and 27-year-olds hit in AAA all the time, it is a little bit more rare that they continue hitting in the majors. Nothing represents this more than the wide range of projections he has, as high as 108 from ZiPS and as low as 77 by THE BAT. (With 88, 93, and 101 in between – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such variety)

VOTE HERE

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As I said above, I ran a comparable player poll in which I told you I would add the winner of the head-to-head. Which means Brycen Mautz is getting added to the voting. As you will see below, he had a truly excellent season in AA. He is on the 40 man and stands a good chance of making his MLB debut in 2026. I mentioned in the past two votes that I was going to use the advantage of getting to add two players by using last year’s list for one of the players – a player I pretty much know how this crowd feels about – and also add a player that has never been voted on.

So in a way, I’m kind of skirting that when I call Mautz the player where I have last year’s list as a frame of reference. He was not actually on last year’s list. He was on the 2024 list. But most importantly, I did directly say that he was going to be in this vote, so he certainly fits the known quantity addition more than the unknown quantity. The unknown quantity is recent trade acquisition Jesus Baez. No idea how high you guys are going to be on Baez, but he’ll probably land in the top 20, so feels like a good time to add him.

Jesus Baez, IF – 21

Stats (High A): 416 PAs, .244/.327/.397, 10.3 BB%, 18.5 K%, .153 ISO, .270 BABIP, 116 wRC+, 121 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 30/45 Hit, 35/50 Game Power, 50/55 Raw Power, 40/40 Speed, 40/45 Fielding

So this was not intentional – I only realized after I had decided to add him – but Jesus Baez replacing Joshua Baez is kind of funny. There’s going to be a Baez in the voting for quite a few votes. It actually kind of worked out. It may have been confusing if Jesus and Joshua were ever on the same vote, and I’m kind of kicking myself for not thinking of replacing Joshua with Jesus before, because yeah them being on the same ballot would be confusing. Again total accident.

I listed Baez as an infielder and not a specific position, because I realized I didn’t know what position to put. He plays SS the most, but nobody really thinks he’ll stay at SS. The Cardinals actually played him at DH more than either 2B or 3B. That’s not to suggest he’ll land at DH, just that it’s an open question which position the Cardinals will prefer him at. If he’s heading to Springfield, Jeremy Rivas is in his way at SS, though he’s not considered a prospect, but he’s much better defensively. Deniel Ortiz may be in his way at 3B, although he also plays some 1B and there ain’t nobody at 1B in Springfield. So his position is infield for now.

Leonardo Bernal, C – 22

Stats (AA): 107 G, 455 PAs, .247/.332/.394, 10.8 BB%, 16.9 K%, .146 ISO, .274 BABIP, 103 wRC+, 113 DRC+

Scouting (FG): 35/50 Hit, 35/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 40/30 Speed, 40/55 Fielding

Bernal seemingly had one weakness in his offensive profile and that was BABIP. He did have a .333 BABIP in High A last season and also his DRC+ does suggest he deserved a higher one. At the same time, he cut his K rate from 22.8% to 16.9%, and a possible consequence of that was he made weaker contact on plate appearances he struck out on in 2024. If that makes sense.

Also, these aren’t listed in my stats, but worth pointing out. Bernal allowed 42 stolen bases, but caught 27 base stealers for a 39.1% caught stealing rate. Pretty sure that’s good. Also fun fact, given he is not fast, he himself swiped 13 bases and got caught stealing just 3 times. He stole 7 bases to 7 caught stealing last season, so probably not a talent of his, but always fun to see a slow guy steal some bases.

Brandon Clarke, 23 – LHP

Stats (Low A): 3 GS, 9.2 IP, 47.2 K%, 5.6 BB%, 68.8 GB%, .125 BABIP, 0.93 ERA/0.98 FIP/1.32 xFIP/3.66 DRA

High A: 11 GS, 28.1 IP, 31.2 K%, 18.1 BB%, 62.5 GB%, .254 BABIP, 5.08 ERA/4.17 FIP/4.74 xFIP/4.75 DRA

Scouting: 60/60 Fastball, 70/80 Slider, 40/50 Change, 30/40 Command

Clarke threw so few of innings partially because of injuries, in particular nagging blister issues, which surely there’s a way to prevent those in the future. The other reason, if you can tell by his innings per appearance, was because of how the team used him. His injury history before ever entering pro ball caused them to limit his innings – he didn’t pitch at all in 2024 due to thoracic issues.

But in his limited time, he did two of the three things I want pitchers to do: he struck out a lot of batters and he got groundballs when hitters did make contact. In Low A, he also did the third thing, which was not walk hitters. He walked a lot of hitters in High A, definitely impacted by his nagging blisters, although I’m sure he struggled with control more generally too.

Jimmy Crooks, C – 24

Stats (AAA): 98 G, 430 PAs, .274/.337/.441, 8.4 BB%, 26.5 K%, .167 ISO, .352 BABIP, 105 wRC+, 106 DRC+

MLB: 15 G, 46 PAs, .133/.152/.244, 0 BB%, 37 K%, .111 ISO, .185 BABIP, 5 wRC+, 67 DRC+

Scouting: 35/40 Hit, 40/45 Game Power, 50/50 Raw Power, 20/20 Speed, 60/70 Fielding

There needs to be a term – and honestly there might be a term for what I’m looking for – for a player like Crooks, whose stock seems to be down by the fanbase due to limited exposure in the MLB. It’s not prospect fatigue – Crooks hasn’t been in the conversation long enough to suffer from that. But he looked bad in the majors. That has almost certainly impacted peoples’ opinions of him. He looked bad in 15 total games as a 23-year-old making his MLB debut. Do I need to share Mike Trout’s rookie stats to show you why maybe we shouldn’t put a lot of emphasis on those 15 games?

Now, there are almost certainly some fans whose opinions changed based on the totality of his 2025 season, primarily in AAA – which did come with a higher K rate. But there are definitely fans whose opinions changed because they saw him be terrible at the MLB level and for no other reason. And I’m saying honestly his MLB performance should essentially be completely ignored – it’s just too small of a sample, too big of an adjustment, too big a moment in Crooks’ life – to treat it with any kind of significance.

Tink Hence, 23 – RHP

Stats (Three levels): 8 G, 21.1 IP, 27.9 K%, 15.1 BB%, 45.8 GB%, .255 BABIP, 2.95 ERA/3.80 FIP/4.18 xFIP, 4.56 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fast, 50/55 Slider, 60/70 Change, 45/55 Command

Hence probably suffers from prospect fatigue however. Granted, it’s not like he hasn’t given us reasons to be fatigued. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. I did argue last year, when I ranked him high on my list, that his injury issues were a bit overblown, and that’s harder to argue this year. I will say that looking at his innings totals since drafted is rather misleading though – his 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons went according to plan. His 2024 season was his first hiccup, but he still threw nearly 80 innings. (and was amazing in those innings I must add)

Last year was probably the first year where he truly deserved his reputation in my opinion. Still only 23 in 2026, let’s hope they figure out a way to keep him healthy.

Ixan Henderson, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 132 IP, 25.2 K%, 9.6 BB%, 37.1 GB%, .278 BABIP, 2.59 ERA/3.16 FIP/4.00 xFIP/4.51 DRA

Scouting: 50/60 Fastball, 45/50 Slider, 30/40 Change, 40/45 Cutter, 40/50 Command

As more of a stat follower than someone who scouts players or even looks at scouting reports of players, I am rather surprised how Fangraphs rates his pitches. If forced to guess, I would have predicted his secondaries were good, but his fastball was below average. It’s almost the opposite. I don’t know if this is accurate of course. But he’s a fastball/slider pitcher who needs a third pitch – according to this person’s opinion of course. Certainly, these scouting numbers for his pitches suggest an easy transition to the bullpen at the least.

Cooper Hjerpe, 25 – LHP

Didn’t pitch

Scouting: 55/55 Fastball, 55/60 Slider, 50/50 Change, 45/50 Cutter, 45/50 Command

The good news is that Hjerpe should be ready to pitch fairly early in the season since he had his Tommy John surgery pretty early last season. Recovery is 12-16 months, so he seems to be in the window to pitch some innings this year. The bad news is that his career high in innings right now is 52 innings, so it does kind of feel like there’s a real ceiling in how many innings he will actually pitch this upcoming season.

Brycen Mautz, 24 – LHP

Stats (AA): 25 GS, 114.2 IP, 28.6 K%, 7.1 BB%. 41.2 GB%, .286 BABIP, 2.98 ERA/3.58 FIP/3.20 xFIP/4.54 DRA

Scouting: 45/45 Fastball, 55/55 Slider, 40/45 Curve, 35/40 Change, 45/55 Command

I imagine the thing they are working hard on with Mautz is figuring out a way to not allow quite so many homers. For the second straight season, he carried a fairly high HR/FB%. When hitters hit the ball in the air, they leave the park more than expected (hence the FIP and xFIP difference). But going from a pitcher’s park to a hitter’s park, Mautz improved in just about every way statistically, so his change from a 14% HR/FB% to a 13.1% HR/FB is actually a little more impressive than it sounds. It’s not that hard to hit homers in Springfield. He also struck out quite a few more batters, walked less, and induced more groundballs.

Deniel Ortiz, 21 – 1B/3B

Stats (Low A): 320 PAs, .285/.406/.446, 15.3 BB%, 27.5 K%, .162 ISO, .386 BABIP, 145 wRC+, 119 DRC+

High A: 130 PAs, .336/.438/.500, 13.8 BB%, 22.3 K%, .164 ISO, .436 BABIP, 168 wRC+, 97 DRC+

There are a couple questions with Ortiz. The first question is will he keep this up? He has a little more swing-and-miss in his game than you’d like, although obviously he managed to cut his K rate when he got promoted to High A. The second question I have is: when will scouts buy in? He was a 16th rounder and I don’t think he ranks particularly high on any Cardinals team list, but I mean clearly if you perform well enough, they’re going to start paying attention. Baseball America in their deep dive on the Cardinals’ system, mentioned him as a sleeper prospect. But you can’t be a sleeper prospect without ranking somewhat low. Will certainly be an interesting player to follow.

Tekoah Roby, 24 – RHP

Stats (AA): 10 GS, 47 IP, 31.1 K%, 6 BB%, 42.9 GB%, .273 BABIP, 2.49 ERA/2.90 FIP/2.73 xFIP/4.56 DRA

AAA: 6 GS, 31.1 IP, 22.6 K%, 6 BB%, 44.7 GB%, .319 BABIP, 4.02 ERA/4.01 FIP/4.04 xFIP/4.50 DRA

Roby had Tommy John surgery in July of 2025, so his ability to pitch next year is a little more question than Hjerpe. But he pitched well last year, re-establishing himself as a prospect. Without the injury, I wonder how high he would be selected. I also feel that Roby was an example of a prospect that didn’t get as much love because he was a deadline acquisition so there was less attachment. However, fans have gotten familiar with him for now two and half seasons, so he’s probably not harmed by this effect anymore.

VOTE HERE

We are within a month of pitchers and catchers reporting which means, the equipment truck is making its annual trek to Goodyear, Arizona. The truck departs today, signaling spring’s prompt arrival better than any groundhog.

To kick things off, José Ramírez will be signing his shiny new contract extension at Progressive today.

A couple of LGFT moments:

Grady Sizemore, first base coach for the Minnesota Twins did an interview on the Inside Twins podcast.

After being traded to the Colorado Rockies just before the start of the 2025 season, it looks like Tyler Freeman is hoping to develop into a leader on the field and in the clubhouse for the Rockies.

Around the League:

NBC is reportedly striking a deal with Clayton Kershaw for MLB coverage.