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Meet the new battery, same as the old battery.

William Contreras is locked in as the Brewers’ starter, ready for his fourth season behind the plate in Milwaukee. And after speculation throughout the fall and winter about who the backup catcher would be, whether that would be one of a slim group of free agents, a young prospect on the rise, or some other sort of acquisition, the Brewers seemingly ended that discussion by bringing back 33-year-old Gary Sánchez.

Could there be other options involved? Maybe so. Let’s check it out. For reference, here’s last year’s catcher preview.

William Contreras

To say that William Contreras’ 2025 was a disappointment would be a bit bold. Via the measure of WAR, Contreras was still the second-best catcher in the National League and the second-best position player on the Brewers. A 111 OPS+ was a step back (it was 124 in 2023 and 130 in 2024), but that’s still good production for a player who rates pretty well as a defensive catcher.

My level of concern about Contreras’ offensive game is low. There was concern last year about a fractured finger that seemed to be a long-term issue, but he reportedly got that fixed this offseason. That was blamed in part for some of Contreras’ issues driving the ball last year, and it’s true; at the All-Star Break, Contreras was hitting just .245/.351/.347 with six homers through 90 games. But he came back from the break rejuvenated, and from then until the end of the season, he hit .281/.361/.472 with 11 homers in 60 games — that batting line is nearly identical to the .281/.365/.466 line he had in 2024, when he won his second straight Silver Slugger and finished fifth in MVP voting.

This recovery bears out not just in the surface-level stats but in the Statcast data, too. Prior to the All-Star break, Contreras’ average exit velocity was 89.8 mph. After the break, it was 93 mph. A 93 average exit velocity, over the course of the full season last year, would’ve been tied for 14th in the majors.

Entering his age-28 season, Contreras should again be among the best catchers in the league. Before the 2025 season, I wondered if Contreras could work his way into the top three of the MVP discussion in 2026, and I still think there’s reason to ask that question. If the Brewers are as good as we think they can be — which would apparently be a surprise to the awards-voting media yet again — their best player is likely to get some examination for MVP, even if a pitching-again Shohei Ohtani seems destined for his fifth award. That player might be Brice Turang or Jackson Chourio, but there’s a very good chance that it’s Contreras. Also on his side here are the old-timey “narrative” elements: with the loss of Willy Adames before last season and Freddy Peralta before this one, Contreras likely takes the mantle as the obvious leader of this team, non-Christian-Yelich division.

Here’s a question: Should we start to consider William Contreras as the best catcher in franchise history? That title almost certainly belongs to Jonathan Lucroy, who caught for the Brewers from 2010 until he was sent to the Rangers at the 2016 trade deadline. The answer to this question might depend on your views on Baseball Reference’s version of catcher WAR versus FanGraphs’ version; via BRef, Lucroy earned 17.2 WAR in six-and-a-half-ish seasons. But he was also an early hero of the pitch-framing revolution, which factors into FanGraphs’ version of WAR, and that paints Lucroy as a superstar, giving him almost 35 WAR over that six-plus-year stretch.

So, maybe you don’t think Contreras can catch Lucroy if he doesn’t sign an extension. But Contreras has earned 15 fWAR and 12.4 bWAR through three seasons with the Brewers, and while Lucroy at his best was about as good an offensive player as Contreras has been, Contreras has done it more consistently. Contreras is already the second-best catcher in team history, by my estimation, despite the high profiles of Hall-of-Famer Ted Simmons and No. 1 overall pick B.J. Surhoff; a strong season in 2026 could make us at least ask the question as it relates to Lucroy.

Gary Sánchez

It’s hard for me to believe that Gary Sánchez is only 33. If you’d have asked me earlier this offseason, I probably would’ve guessed like 37. He’s in his 12th year in the majors! It feels like it’s been a long time.

As mentioned at the top, Sánchez served as Contreras’ backup in 2024. That season was a mixed bag for Sánchez: he ended up doing a lot of work as the designated hitter, and while he did hit 11 home runs, it was a disappointing season in light of what he’d done in 2023, when he hit 19 homers in just 72 games with the Padres.

Sánchez left the Brewers after 2024 and signed with the Baltimore Orioles for last season, but things went off the rails quickly; he struggled badly out of the gate, got hurt, came back in June, and went crazy, with a .353/.411/.686 batting line, five homers and 20 RBI in his first 14 games back, then went 0 for his next 10, got hurt again, and didn’t play again for the rest of the season. He finished the season with just 29 games played.

Sánchez hasn’t played 100 games in a season since 2022 in Minnesota, and he hasn’t had an OPS+ above 100 in a season in which he played 100 games since 2019. Sánchez can still get into a baseball — his 93.3 average exit velocity in 2025, while in a tiny sample, would’ve ranked tied for ninth in the league, and even in his poorer seasons over the last several years, he’s had pretty solid Statcast numbers. The Sánchez of the last few years has had a walk percentage of 8.2%, which is fine — it was a little higher earlier in his career, so we shouldn’t worry about Sánchez as a free swinger.

The Brewers have seemingly prioritized offense over defense the last few years with their backup catchers, which is a bit of a “zag” from traditional norms; but Sánchez, Eric Haase, and Danny Jansen are all — to some degree — offensive options. (Jansen has traditionally been a good defensive catcher, but the numbers over the last few years aren’t as good.) Sánchez is not likely to be a great asset behind the plate, but the Brewers aren’t going to ask him to catch all that much — in the scenario in which Contreras were to get injured for any length of time, and the Brewers needed a long-term backup, Jeferson Quero would likely figure to take a large amount of the playing time.

Sánchez on defense should be good enough to not really harm the team, and the team doesn’t have him around for defense, really; they have him as a veteran presence to work well with all their young pitchers and to occasionally hit a baseball very far. He can do both of those things.

Jeferson Quero

Speaking of Quero!

The Brewers’ 23-year-old catcher was, as we all know, a consensus top-40 prospect prior to the 2024 season, then injured his throwing shoulder on the first day of the season and missed basically a year and a half. He made it back in the second half of last season and performed reasonably well at Triple-A Nashville for 58 games.

But there is some real concern over that throwing arm: by all accounts, both quantitative and otherwise, Quero is not throwing nearly as well as he was before the injury. That is a big deal: Quero’s arm was touted as perhaps his strongest tool, the thing that made him special as a defensive catcher, and the reason he was in the top 40 on prospect lists.

Part of me wonders if a catcher in 2026 should be able to become a top-40 prospect based almost solely on the strength of their arm, so if it is the case that Quero is now far less heralded as a prospect because of concerns over the arm, maybe he was too high to begin with. But even if he isn’t going to be Pudge Rodríguez back there, there’s still a future for Quero with the Brewers. Maybe he won’t become a star, but he projects as a guy who can be about league-average offensively, and pre-injury scouting reports also praise his receiving and rapport with pitchers.

There is perhaps less confidence that the Brewers have their long-term, post-Contreras catcher in Quero, but he should still be able to be a solid player. If Contreras or Gary Sánchez spend any extended amount of time on the injured list this year, it’s likely that we’ll get a look at Quero in the big leagues.

Reese McGuire

For a couple of weeks, it looked like the 2025 Cub, who was signed to a minor league deal with an invite to big-league camp, would start the season as the Brewers’ backup catcher. But Sánchez’s signing likely means that only a spring-training injury to either of the more-established options will give McGuire a shot.

McGuire isn’t a good hitter, but he can hit a homer every now and then, and he has a good defensive reputation. It was somewhat surprising that he wasn’t able to find a major-league deal this offseason, and I’d be surprised if there isn’t at least some demand for him somewhere in the league at the end of spring training, assuming he doesn’t make the Brewers.

It is not clear whether there are opt-outs — which are pretty common for veterans on minor league contracts — in McGuire’s minor-league deal. So there is a chance that even if he doesn’t make the Brewers’ 40-man roster, he could go to Triple-A Nashville as insurance for Contreras and/or Sánchez. But the Brewers will certainly want Quero to be getting reps there, so if McGuire has an end-of-spring-training opt-out, I’d expect him to use it if, as expected, he doesn’t make the team.

Marco Dinges

Marco Dinges isn’t going to play for the Brewers this year, but I just wanted to add him to the end of this post. Dinges, who hasn’t played above High-A, has some work to do defensively, but in 2025, he hit .300/.416/.514 with 13 homers in 77 games across two levels — a 161 wRC+. He’s an extremely patient hitter with real power. If he can fine-tune his defense and gain more experience as a catcher in 2026, it’s not out of the question that he could vault himself ahead of Quero as the presumed “catcher of the future,” in much the same way Lucroy once vaulted past the more highly touted Ángel Salomé.

Sources say that Michael Conforto has agreed to a minor-league deal. Terms were unavailable at press time. Tyler Austin isn’t going to be available for a while, and per Maddie Lee, Jonathan Long is also nursing an injury. That tweet is in The Feed. Some kinda roster jenga would seem to be in order. We await clarity.

The Cubs are going to host the first HBCU game. “The matchup features a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game between Prairie View A&M University and Alabama A&M University.“ More.

And then.

Lotta former Cubs on that Rockies squad, and they were apparently bent on getting even. Q (two scoreless innings), Willi Castro, Nicky Lopez, enjoy the moral victory. There won’t be many real ones this year. Jameson Taillon and Caleb Thielbar got roughed up but they’ll be back to fix whatever their issues were. Thielbar right now has a 33.75 ERA in .1 innings of work.

The Cubs scored a few runs of their own. But that was too many gopher balls. Poor little guys.

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• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Shota Imanaga’s velocity in first start of spring promising for Cubs.‘‘We’ll take, like, 94, 95,’’ pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. More from Patrick Mooney{$}.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Ben Brown has a new new-third-pitch. “… while he’s still optionable, and while there’s still a chance he could break out as a starter, the Cubs want to leave that on the table.”
• Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball*): Buy stock in Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison while you still can. “… a harder-throwing Rolison could be a strong third southpaw for the pen…“
• Steve Adams (MLB Trade Rumors*): Cubs’ Tyler Austin out “months” following knee surgery. “For now, the well-traveled veteran’s MLB comeback will be on hold.“
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): How PCA is adjusting to life as a Chicago superstar — on and off the field. “The sky’s the limit for him. I feel like he can do anything on a baseball field,” Cubs star Alex Bregman said.
• Maddie Lee (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong riles up Dodgers fans, an indication of his celebrity status. Dodgers fans’ reactions added fuel to the blaze.

Food For Thought:

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series. We will not wittingly publish A. I. – driven articles or clickbait, and insist on unimpeachable sources.

Chase DeLauter was a last minute scratch in yesterday’s Spring Training game against the Texas Rangers. All reports are saying the scratch was out of an abundance of caution when DeLauter reported lower body soreness following the heavy on-field activity to open camp. DeLauter was already not scheduled to play today.

Yesterday also saw Steven Kwan playing center field. Unfortunately the game was not televised or broadcasted anywhere so there is nothing to really report on his performance.

José is already looking to be in great form, having hit two home runs so far this Spring. He technically hit three, but the umps called on a ground rule double, proving they too need Spring Training to get warmed up.

Off the field, José continues to be as great as he is on the field. José teamed up with Franklin Sports to release his own line of limited edition batting gloves. In addition to releasing his own design, José is donating 75 pairs of batting gloves to the Cleveland RBI baseball and softball teams.

Around the League

The ABS challenge system is in full display at Spring Training. Multiple major league players are testing their eye by utilizing the system previously only reserved for the minor leagues. There has been some entertaining results, including Matt Olson challenging a Paul Skenes pitch that was originally ruled a strike and overturned to a ball.

LGFT CC Sabathia’s number will be retired by the New York Yankees this September.

Anne Rogers writes about the pitchers working on new pitches this spring.

Add Schreiber to the list of pitchers working on a kick-changeup, a pitch he introduced last season but then worked on consistently the entire offseason. The right-hander posted a 3.80 ERA and will be a reliever the Royals turn to in middle- to high-leverage situations again, but he has to be able to get lefties out. Last season, left-handed batters had a .754 OPS in 111 plate appearances against Schreiber compared to a .671 OPS in 154 plate appearances for right-handers. With his four-seam, sinker, sweeper and cutter, Schreiber has the east-to-west movement plot covered.

Stephen Kolek was scratched from his outing on Wednesday due to tightness in his side.

“If they can figure out what it is [inside at the complex], we’ll have an answer,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “If not, we’ll have to get him more testing. But we were just being cautious and not forcing him out there.”

Jaylon Thompson writes about how Noah Cameron is preparing for his sophomore season.

So this offseason, Cameron did some scouting of his own — some self-scouting. He went back and looked at some of his starts with the Royals and found that his optimal success came from suppressing his pitch count and being effective in the strike zone.

“I think in the minor leagues, it’s pitch however long you can and have as good of stats as you can,” he said. “You know, feel the best and that’s all you can do. But here (in the majors), it doesn’t matter how you feel and how sexy your stats are. It’s just to help the team, pitch deep and limit their runs. That’s just the name of the game.”

Pete Grathoff writes that Royals broadcasts this year could feature drones.

Craig Brown writes about whether Bailey Falter can add velocity to his repertoire.

Touching 96 mph is a nice goal and everything, but I feel like it’s important to note that Falter has topped 95 mph with his fastballs just twice in his major league career. He did it one time last season, on a sinker, right before he was traded to Kansas City. Of course, all these guys are looking to add velocity these days…and visiting different pitching labs and training facilities with their own coaches to find that edge that will get them a tick more. Especially guys who know they are fighting for a spot on the club and the rotation. This will be an interesting development to monitor going forward.

David Lesky writes about Seth Lugo’s first spring start.

Nothing was in the middle. Last year, after the break, it felt like he was either missing big out of the zone or leaving a pitch right in the middle of the plate to get crushed. I think if my math is right, he’ll make one more start in Royals camp before leaving for the WBC, though I may be off on that, depending on how the Royals set that up. But I’ll be curious to watch the command and that slider in his next outing. It’s easy to lament giving him $20 million per year for the next two, and it would hurt if he pitches like he did in August again, but if he can give the Royals even just league average for 175 innings per year, that’s a reasonable cost to pay for that

And Witt’s drive to improve is relentless. J.J. Picollo, the head of baseball operations for the Royals, wrote in a text, “[Witt] is so easy to deal with because he takes such good care of himself that we have little-to-no concern. More of what we discuss with him is how we can keep him fresh and strong throughout the season.

“Some of the finer points of base stealing are things that are always being discussed, but he is clearly a very good baserunner.”

He is clearly very good at everything.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wonders if the curve is the key to Lugo’s success.

Buster Olney at ESPN ranks Bobby Witt Jr. as the top shortstop in the game.

And Witt’s drive to improve is relentless. J.J. Picollo, the head of baseball operations for the Royals, wrote in a text, “[Witt] is so easy to deal with because he takes such good care of himself that we have little-to-no concern. More of what we discuss with him is how we can keep him fresh and strong throughout the season.

“Some of the finer points of base stealing are things that are always being discussed, but he is clearly a very good baserunner.”

He is clearly very good at everything.

Keith Law ranks Carter Jensen tops on his rookies list.

Jensen has a long history of getting on base, the power is real and he’s a strong defensive catcher. I understand the desire for loyalty, especially given Perez’s tie to the 2015 World Series winning team, but Jensen should be the Royals’ primary catcher this year, with Perez backing him up and maybe playing some first or DHing if there’s a need. Assuming the Royals go that route, Jensen will be a strong contender for Rookie of the Year.

The Yankees are still open to adding a platoon bat.

The Padres shut down pitcher Matt Waldron after a hemorrhoid procedure.

Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day.

Angels owner Arte Moreno says fans don’t really care about winning that much.

What are teams paying per-win in free agency these days?

Tarik Skubal will only pitch once for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

The Yankees will retire the number of pitcher CC Sabathia.

The Pirates are open to a long-term deal with top prospect Konnor Griffin.

Should the Rays have a 5.5-man rotation?

Harrison Bader dents a food truck with a home run, and signs the truck.

An umpire has five consecutive pitches overturned on ABS challenges.

Would you let Jacob Misiorowski throw a fastball to hit an apple on your head?

MLB players want to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics.

How Salt Lake City is becoming a frontrunner for MLB expansion. [$]

The NFL is not expected to get a proposal to ban the “tush push.”

Bodø/Glimt pulls off one of the biggest upsets in Champions League history, knocking out Inter Milan.

An FCC study shows TV station consolidation has led to lower quality for viewers.

Phil Collins, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Oasis, and Pink are among the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Do we really need this much protein?

Your song of the day is Sebadoah with On Fire.

Over the last few years, we have seen a number of rule changes to Major League Baseball. This year is no different, with the addition of the Automated Ball-Strike System (ABS) at the major league level. 

It was originally implemented in the minors starting in 2022, and a few stadiums began using it in spring training last year. It has also been used in the Arizona Fall League since 2024, and they added a “check swing challenge system” last year that may be on the horizon.

MLB players and fans got their first glimpse of the future at the 2025 All-Star Game when the system was implemented.

But the Colorado Rockies got their first taste of it last Friday with the start of spring training games. Opinions varied, but, overall, players and coaches think it’s a good addition to MLB — plus, many of them first experienced ABS in Triple-A Albuquerque.

“I think it’s good,” said Warren Schaeffer. “I’m looking forward to seeing how each team handles it differently. It’s definitely a point of strategy, and each team is going to do it differently.”

Brenton Doyle sees in it a way to keep everyone honest.

“It keeps umpires accountable here and there,” Doyle said, “and when [the umpires] do miss, they know you know where they’re missing. So I think it’s a good reminder for them, and it’s also a chance for us to maybe get some good out of it, too.”

For Hunter Goodman, it’s a way to empower hitters.

“I think it’s interesting,” said Goodman. “But I think in those big situations – in big games – it gives the player the power if they think something was wrong versus getting rung up in a big situation. Now you have the power to say, ‘Alright, I think that was wrong.’ So I think it’ll be cool to see. I think there’ll be some fan interaction with it, and that’ll be exciting as well. I think it’ll be fun.”

Goodman also offered some insight as to how the Rockies are practicing with it during spring training.

“In some of the live at-bats, we would have the TrackMan up, and I’d catch a pitch and be like, ‘That’s a strike,’” he said. “And then we look at the TrackMan and see what it was and stuff like that. 

“Or even our hitters sometimes in lives, (with) the pitching coach or the hitting coach calling pitches,” he continued, “and then they call one and the hitters say, ‘I think that was off,’ and then you look at the TrackMan. So we’re trying to figure it out in different ways.”

Tanner Gordon said they’ve discussed a slightly different ABS strategy for pitchers..

“We’ve talked about just kind of feeling out the game,” Gordon said. “Obviously, you’re not going to challenge the second pitch of the first inning, but a high-stakes pitch, maybe. Maybe with the game on the line, maybe in the seventh or eighth inning that can turn the game one way or another.”

“You definitely want to use it in key situations,” Braxton Fulford added, “big counts, 1-1 counts are a big one. There’s a big difference between a 2-1 count and a 1-2 count.

“Same thing offensively,” he continued. “If you have runners on base and it’s late in the game, you want to use it in those key situations as opposed to just using it. Early in the game, when you think it might be a strike, might not be the best time to use it.”

Fulford was also part of two challenges on Friday – one that went his way and one that went the other way.

“I was struck out on an ABS strike, and then I got one myself, which is a good feeling,” he said. “You think it’s a strike, but you could never do anything before, and now if you think it’s a strike, you can challenge it and get it overturned. It’s kind of a big momentum swing for you and your team.”

Jordan Beck and Kyle Karros acknowledged the inconsistencies they’ve faced with it, but overall are still in favor.

“I think when I was out there on Day 1 (in Triple-A), it seemed like it was pitcher friendly that day because the catcher was, like, 4-for-4 or something,” Beck said. “But I think it’s good. Pitchers still have to throw strikes and stuff, and hitters need to know their zones as well, so I think it’s good.”

“Friday was a unique day,” Karros said. “I feel like literally every single ABS challenge was called a ball and then overturned into a strike — oftentimes two strikes — and that was the end of your at-bat, which feels a little weird just waiting to see if you get punched out. But I think it’s going to be good.”

Karros also acknowledged that he never used it in Triple-A because he wasn’t sure it was a worthwhile skill to learn.

“I felt like it didn’t really make sense to use it,” he said. “If we [didn’t] use it in the big leagues, why would I use it in Triple-A? So I didn’t use it at all then, but I know some guys were challenging.”

He did say he will “100%” start challenging now, though.

Like everything else, Schaeffer has a plan and a framework for teaching his players how to navigate the ABS system effectively.

“It’s not in the hard rules but more about education of the players in terms of game situations and general game awareness, especially in the minor leagues when you’re trying to develop more game awareness,” Schaeffer said.

“When to use it in a higher leverage situation, and if it wasn’t used in a higher leverage situation, it was a conversation behind closed doors about getting better decisions made. Pitchers were not allowed to challenge because of, I think, for obvious reasons, in terms of their body’s moving, their head’s moving, the catcher’s moving the ball… there’s a bunch of different things. And the catcher pretty much knows the strike zone back there.”

Goodman also acknowledged that everyone is experimenting and getting used to the new system.

“During spring training, everybody’s trying to figure things out, whether it’s hitting or pitching or defensive stuff,” he said. “So it’s a great time for us as catchers and hitters to figure out the zone and challenge things and see where we’re at.”

So far, the Rockies have been part of 23 challenges so far and have won 10. 

This will be a story to watch in 2026.

Diamondbacks’ Nolan Arenado ‘will be a force’ in NL West, Rockies’ Warren Schaeffer says | Denver Post ($)

Over the weekend, Patrick Saunders and I walked across the concourse into “enemy territory” to chat with an old friend wearing a different uniform. Nolan Arenado is turning 35 in a few months, but is hoping to bounce back after a down year in St. Louis. Warren Schaeffer offered some memories of their playing days, as well, and is excited to play against him in a different role.

My take will run next week on the SB Nation MLB home page, so be on the lookout!

Amador looking to make noise in Rockies’ 2B battle | MLB.com

Adael Amador is one of many young Rockies fighting to break camp this year. After a meteoric rise, the middle infielder hit a snag as soon as he hit the majors and seems to be slowly fading behind other players who are more MLB-ready. Warren Schaeffer and Josh Byrnes offer their insights as to what Amador could bring to the table in 2026, and the 23-year-old himself says “my confidence was always high.”

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

When I added Nathan Church to the vote, I compared him to Moises Gomez and Matt Koperniak. I’d like to apologize for doing so. I ridiculed those choices and I’m not going to do the same for Church. I don’t know where Church will place on my list, but him being on the list makes sense. He appears to be a defensive-oriented prospect who we hope can hit, who in fact did hit a lot in both AA and AAA and he’s still going to be 25-years-old. He certainly fits the profile of a top 20 prospect in a way I don’t think the other two did. This may be the first year where the voters don’t make an outright bad choice, so good job so far!

1. JJ Wetherholt
2. Liam Doyle
3. Rainiel Rodriguez
4. Quinn Mathews
5. Jurrangelo Cjintje
6. Joshua Baez
7. Leonardo Bernal
8. Jimmy Crooks
9. Brandon Clarke
10. Tink Hence
11. Tekoah Roby
12. Tanner Franklin
13. Brycen Mautz
14. Nathan Church

Comparable Player Poll

I’m going to do something a bit more unconventional for this vote. You see I couldn’t figure out a good player to compare Hancel Rincon with. Namely, I couldn’t figure out a vote where the result didn’t already seem obvious to me. Unless you guys are significantly higher or lower on him than I think anyway. So I’m forcing him into a vote here today. It is a vote between him and two pitchers who won their own three-person polls.

Andrew Dutkanych IV was drafted in the 7th round of the 2024 draft, and was widely considered a higher round talent who dropped because he had Tommy John surgery earlier that year. Last year, in mostly rehab appearances, he showed swing-and-miss, but also some control problems in 9 total appearances, 6 of them in Low A. He’ll be 22 this season.

Mason Molina was also drafted in the 7th round of the 2024 draft by the Brewers. He lasted two appearances and was traded to the Rangers for middle reliever Grant Anderson. He saw time in both Low A and High A before being included in a trade for Phil Maton. He had a lot of swing and miss, but also had some control problems in High A. He’ll be 22 this season.

Hancel Rincon was not drafted in the 7th round of the 2024 draft, but was signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic way back in 2019. The pandemic delayed his progress and he found himself still in the DSL in the 2021 season. He didn’t show much as a prospect until this past season when he pitched well in High A and then pitched REALLY well in AA until an injury ended his season prematurely. He will be 24.

VOTE HERE

New Add

Sometimes, I’m forced to pay attention when I run a player in a comparable player poll – and they absolutely wipe out the competition. I ran Won-Bin Cho, who ranked 21st on last year’s list (I think? He ran against Max Rajcic for the 20th best prospect, but the results are lost to history), Zach Levenson, and Colton Ledbetter against each other. Ledbetter received more than half the vote. That got my attention.

Now I don’t think you guys think Cho is the 21st best prospect – it’s a better system and you might have possibly lowered your opinion of him – nonetheless when a guy easily wins a vote against that guy, I feel there’s a possibility you consider him a top 20 prospect. So I’m listening to what the votes are telling me. The votes are telling me to add Colton Ledbetter to the voting.

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

I really appreciate the players who I add to the list and leave pretty quickly, because I run out of new things to say at a certain point and that point was quite a few votes ago for Baez. You understand the deal. He is very young for his level, and seemingly acts like it, but performance-wise, it’s kind of hard to argue against the kid. Likely to end up at either 2B or 3B, although that is true for just about any notable infield prospect thanks to the presence of Masyn Winn.

Yhoiker Fajardo, RHP – 19

Stats (CPX): 6 G, 20.2 IP, 31.6 K%, 9.2 BB%, 51.2 GB%, .205 BABIP, 0.44 ERA/2.41 FIP/3.29 xFIP

Low A: 13 GS, 51.1 IP, 27.8 K%, 9.4 BB%, 50 GB%, .326 BABIP, 2.98 ERA/2.50 FIP/3.14 xFIP

Scouting: 40/45 Fastball, 55/60 Slider, 30/50 Change, 35/50 Command

It’s always tough to judge a prospect like Fajardo, who is sort of absurdly young for the level he will pitch at in 2026. Granted, they might put him back in Low A, because he only made 13 starts and he is still only 19. But he is at least on the doorstep to High A. He’s already built up to throw 71 innings and at the lower levels, he missed a lot of bats. All of these are good signs. The scouting numbers are sort of underwhelming, but hard to scoff at 50 potential command and an elite out pitch at the same time.

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

Let’s hope we get good news on Henderson, but for now we are firmly in the uncertain stage. I’ve mentioned it before, but for some reason Henderson’s injury, even if serious, feels like a slight hiccup to me – I’m currently not worried long-term about his injury-proneness. But I don’t have a good reason for that. Feels like a rite of passage for all pitchers. But, it is not guaranteed that he will have a serious injury either. Good luck in figuring out how to weigh this information for your vote.

Cooper Hjerpe, 25 – LHP

Didn’t pitch

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

It’s possible I feel that way about Henderson because my comparison point is Cooper Hjerpe. Hjerpe has a higher upside, but has had significant issues with injuries. We’re hoping that the Tommy John solved those issues, that all the previous injuries were in some way connected to the fact that his arm needed to be repaired. Thus repaired, he can be healthy for at least some stretch of time. And we should find out this year somewhat – he had the surgery in April of last year, so he should pitch in 2026.

Colton Ledbetter, 24 – OF

Stats (AA): 535 PAs, .265/.337/.378, 9.5 BB%, 23.9 K%, .114 ISO, .339 BABIP, 112 wRC+

Scouting: 30/35 Hit, 40/50 Game Power, 55/55 Raw Power, 50/40 Speed, 50/50 Fielding

You might be mistaken for double checking his stats and scouting numbers, because they don’t exactly line up. It makes more sense if you include his 2024 into the equation. He had actual power in High A, but struck out quite a bit. Actually his 2024 season lines up pretty well with the scouting. It doesn’t mean the scouting is outdated, because the effort to strike out less by Ledbetter seemingly led to a big drop in power. The power may not exist without the bad hit tool. Of course if he manages to maintain the K rate and add power, well then we may have something here.

Chen-Wei Lin, 24 – RHP

Stats (Low A): 12 GS, 38.2 IP, 27.2 K%, 17.2 BB%, 50 GB%, .283 BABIP, 4.89 ERA/3.69 FIP/4.17 xFIP

High A: 4 GS, 9.2 IP, 41.7 K%, 18.8 BB%, 50 GB%, .412 BABIP, 9.31 ERA/4.80 FIP/2.76 xFIP

What a crazy season. Limited by injuries – you’ll notice the innings per start is pretty low – he struggled with control all season. Walked a lot of guys. But he also struck out a lot of guys and I actually find it crazy that he struck out 20 of the 48 batters he faced in Springfield. Other things went wrong, but that’s a lot of strikeouts. I’d like his stats a lot more if he had thrown 5 innings per start.

Ryan Mitchell, 19 – OF

No stats

Scouting: 25/55 Hit, 25/50 Game Power, 40/55 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 25/50 Fielding

I apologize, when I re-added Mitchell to the voting, I don’t think I realized he now had scouting numbers on his Fangraphs pages. Mitchell was drafted out of high school, so we should probably expect him to play in the complex leagues, although he is really, really worth paying attention to if the Cardinals send him to full-season Low A ball out the gate. He might be kept in minor league camp later even if they plan for him to start in Low A, just because it’s tough to jump from a high school baseball schedule to a 5 month schedule in A ball.

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+

Scouting (Baseball Savant): /45 Hit, /55 Power, /55 Arm, /45 Field

Thank you to Steve in Alabama – not a random guy I met from Alabama, that is the username of a commentator here – for sharing that Baseball Savant has given Ortiz some scouting grades. He wondered if those were current or potential, but I am relatively sure those are potential grades. They aren’t giving a guy in High A a current power number of 55. And it more less tracks with his stats as well. He has shown swing-and-miss and that is considered his weakness so it makes sense he has a 45 hit tool. Power actually seems high, but I’ll certainly take it, and keep in mind both Low A and High A are not good places for power hitters. And I don’t believe his defense is considered anything to write home about either.

Yairo Padilla, 19 – SS

Stats (CPX): 38 G, 148 PAs, .283/.396/.367, 12.2 BB%, 14.2 K%, .083 ISO, .340 BABIP, 119 wRC+

Scouting: 25/55 Hit, 20/55 Game Power, 40/60 Raw Power, 50/40 Speed, 30/40 Field

Presumably, Padilla will be spending the 2026 season in full-season Low A. That means he’ll be at Palm Beach, an incredibly hard place to have power. I would not not necessarily expect his potential power to show up and really any increase in power, however marginal, should be seen as a huge positive given the difficult run environment he will be entering. But yeah as things stand, it doesn’t seem like 2026 will answer the question on Padilla’s power and if it does, he’s going to be way higher on this list next season.

Tai Peete, OF – 20

Stats (High A): 529 PAs, .217/.288/.404, 8.7 BB%, 30.6 K%, .187 ISO, .282 BABIP, 79 wRC+, 79 DRC+

Scouting: 20/30 Hit, 30/50 Game Power, 50/60 Raw Power, 60/60 Speed, 45/55 Fielding

You guys still surprise me sometimes, but I also feel like I have a pretty good handle on prospects that this community likes and prospects this community will not like. And I was pretty sure this community wasn’t going to vote for Peete. You guys value performance and proximity probably more than a typical outlet will and it’s not hard to see why, but Peete has neither of those things going for him. He’s a scout pick. Scout picks require a bit more faith than someone actually performing.

VOTE HERE

It is far, far, far too early to make any proclamations about the San Francisco Giants, positive or negative. It’s far, far, far too early to make any proclamations about any of their players, save for things like “Logan Webb is awesome,” and “Jung Hoo Lee is cool” and “Does Christian Koss have a book club and if so how can I join.”

But so far, things have looked excellent for the position player acquisitions that Buster Posey and Zack Minasian made this offseason. Second Baseman Luis Arráez has hit 3-6 with a double, and generally played decent defense. Center fielder Harrison Bader has hit 4-9 with a double, a walk, and a home run so impressive that it caused property damage.

Things haven’t been quite as pretty on the pitching front. Reliever Sam Hentges has dealt with an injury setback, and is unlikely to be available for Opening Day. Starter Tyler Mahle is sick, and we haven’t seen him pitch yet. And starter Adrian Houser made his spring debut on Wednesday and gave up four baserunners, including a home run, in two innings, with no strikeouts. On the other hand, many of the NRI relievers, like Caleb Kilian and Michael Fulmer, have pitched well.

Again: it’s too early. Far, far, far too early. It will be too early this time next month, too, and even this time in April. Bader and Arráez might end up having awful seasons while Mahle and Houser make 30 starts each and garner Cy Young votes.

But while it’s many months too early to judge these players, it’s never too early to predict them. So … which offseason signing will look best when the season is over?

I don’t mean the player who will increase the win total the most, per se. More the player who we’ll get to the end of the season and say, “Yeah, Posey and Minasian were cooking with that one.”

For me, it’s a non-roster player: reliever Gregory Santos. I’ve been a big believer in Santos for years, and was sad when the Giants got rid of him due to roster logistics. He was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2023, and it’s not like he fell off the last two years — he was just injured. And those injuries weren’t even to his arm, so there’s a strong reason to believe that he’ll bounce back this year if he can stay healthy. We’ve already seen it, as he breezed past 100 mph in his preseason debut.

And if he does pitch well, the Giants will have him under team control for two more seasons after this one.

So that’s my pick. What’s yours?

The 2026 Yankees are defined, at least so far, by continuity: the organization opted not to make a major splash this winter, with all but two members of last year’s ALDS roster returning for this year’s campaign. Even in such an inactive offseason, though, a number of players find themselves in new uniforms this season. While no truly big-ticket players have departed this winter, there has still been enough turnover for us to take our annual look throughout the league to check out old friends in their new threads.

Luke Weaver

Arguably the biggest departure of the winter was Luke Weaver. A former starting pitcher who reinvented himself as a dynamic reliever and became a fan favorite both for his fun personality and his strong performance as the closer during the Yankees’ trip to the World Series in 2024, Weaver signed a two-year, $22 million deal to join former Yankees closer Clay Holmes in Queens.

Devin Williams

Of course, Weaver wasn’t the only former Yankees closer to make the trip across town this winter. Two weeks prior to Weaver’s signing, Devin Williams inked his own three-year, $51 million contract with the Mets. While very few Yankees fans will lament Williams’ departure, as he never quite got into a groove with the Bombers, this does continue a rather strange trend in recent years of the Mets targeting former Yankees in free agency.

Jonathan Loáisiga

The longest-tenured Yankee to depart this winter, Jonathan Loáisiga joined the Arizona Diamondbacks on a minor league deal after his team option was declined in November. Johnny Lasagna looks to bounce back after struggling in his return from Tommy John surgery.

Ian Hamilton

Ian Hamilton joined the Atlanta Braves organization on a minor league deal after being non-tendered in November. He spent three years with the Yankees, starting with an elite 2023, a solid 2024, and a lackluster 2025.

Mark Leiter Jr.

Acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the 2024 trade deadline, Mark Leiter Jr. was left off the postseason roster in 2024, then added as an injury replacement, and got critical outs as the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians to punch their ticket to their first World Series since 2009. Unfortunately, that would be the highlight of his career in pinstripes. Due to his inconsistency, the Bombers opted to non-tender him this past winter, and he inked a deal with the Athletics.

Scott Effross

Sensing a theme, here? The sixth Yankee reliever to depart in free agency this year, Scott Effross was supposed to be a dominant reliever with several years of team control when the Yankees acquired him from the Cubs at the 2022 trade deadline. Unfortunately, the injury bug got him, and he wound up making just 27 appearances across four seasons in pinstripes. Looking to revamp the bullpen, the Yankees non-tendered him in the winter, and he found himself in Detroit on a minor league deal.

Austin Slater

The only non-reliever to depart this winter, Austin Slater was acquired at the trade deadline last year to give the Yankees some pop against lefties. Unfortunately, injuries limited him to just 14 appearances, and while the Yankees had some interest in bringing him back, he opted for a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers, where he is competing for the fourth outfield spot.

Former Prospects

Several Yankees prospects departed this winter, most of them as a result of minor trades. These include Dillon Lewis, Dylan Jasso, and Brendan Jones, who were traded to the Marlins for Ryan Weathers, and T.J. Rumfield, who is now a Rockie.