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Breaking Down the Memphis Redbirds’ 2026 Opening Day Roster

Syndication: Peoria Journal Star

The Memphis Redbirds opened their season on Friday evening against the Gwinnett Stripers (Braves). Several hours earlier, the Redbirds finally announced their opening day roster.

Even with JJ Wetherholt moving up to St. Louis, there is plenty of prospect firepower on the Memphis squad led by Joshua Baez, Quinn Mathews, and Leonardo Bernal. Beyond the big-name prospects, there are a number of depth players that are likely to see St. Louis sooner rather than later. Today, I will break down the roster and highlight some things worth monitoring as the Triple-A season kicks off. 

Starting Rotation

  • Richard Fitts, RHP (26)
  • Quinn Mathews, LHP (25)
  • Brycen Mautz, LHP (24)
  • Jared Shuster, LHP (27)
  • Bruce Zimmerman, LHP (31)

The Cardinals have real rotation depth stacking up at Memphis. Hunter Dobbins is not technically on the roster, but will, I assume, be making his rehab starts in Memphis.  Fitts and Dobbins are expected to contribute at the major league level this year. Behind them in the depth chart, Mathews will look to prove that he has solved Triple-A. You can write Brycen Mautz’s name in pen as well. After that is a bit of guesswork, but Shuster and Zimmerman seem likely to get the first shot at the rotation.

Prospect Watch

Mathews is a consensus top-5 prospect in the system, although he fell out of most national top-100 prospect lists after a wild 2025. If he can start filling up the zone, Quinn will be an absolute menace to deal with. He threw 42.5% of his pitches in the strike zone last season. The major league average is 52.4% with starting pitchers typically sitting in the 45% to 55% range. With the swing and miss stuff that Mathews possesses, he should be able to get plenty of swings outside the strike zone, but nudging his zone% up a few points will give him margin for error. Mautz turned some heads in spring training and will look to build on a breakout 2025 season in which he struck out 28.6% of the batters he faced in Double-A. Mautz could also be a candidate to help in the St. Louis bullpen this year if the options ahead of him falter. 

Roster Considerations

Fitts, Dobbins, and Mautz are already on the 40-man roster, so there are not any artificial barriers keeping them from the majors once the need arises, and performance merits it. Mathews is Rule 5 eligible this December, but without a 40-man roster position, he may need to wait until some of the fringe guys on the roster get their shot. Zimmerman and Shuster both have over 100 major league innings in their careers apiece and provide fine emergency depth, but neither seem likely to force the Cardinals’ hand in any meaningful way. 

The pitching picture will get even more crowded when the injured pitchers start making their way back to action.

Bullpen

  • Ian Bedell, RHP (26)
  • Scott Blewett, RHP (30)
  • Ryan Fernandez, RHP (28)
  • Luis Gastelum, RHP (24)
  • Gordan Graceffo, RHP (26) 
  • Skylar Hales, RHP (24)
  • Tink Hence, RHP (23)
  • Gerson Moreno, RHP (30)
  • Packy Naughton, LHP (30)
  • Max Rajcic, RHP (24)
  • Nick Raquet, LHP (30)

Prospect Watch

Tink Hence is going to start out pitching in relief and is the biggest name prospect in the pen. Reports out of spring training were that his stuff has not fully returned from his 2024 prospect peak, but Hence is still just 23 years old and has some of the highest upside in the whole organization. It will be interesting to see if he is used as a multi-inning reliever and kept somewhat stretched out (the Leahy protocol), or if he is prepared for more of a high-leverage one-inning role. Luis Gastelum is about as good a relief-only prospect you can ask for. After getting plenty of attention in the WBC and Spring Training, he is no longer a sleeper prospect. His changeup is going to be fun to watch the next few years.

Skylar Hales is a solid prospect in his own right. Drafted in the fourth round by the Rangers in 2023, he made it all the way to Triple-A in his second full season. He struggled with the home run ball in his 27 Triple-A innings and put up an ugly stat line, but is noted for having a plus fastball that he ran up to 98.4 MPH in spring training. Max Rajcic was once a top-20-ish prospect in the organization but has fallen down the rankings after a rough introduction to Memphis. This spring, his fastball velocity was up about 2 MPH working out of the bullpen, so there could be a path forward for him if his stuff plays up in shorter stints. 

Roster Considerations

Graceffo, Fernandez, Raquet, and Tink Hence are all already on the 40-man roster and primed to ride the Memphis shuttle this season as they all have options remaining. Both Hales and Gastelum will need to be added to the 40-man by the end of the year. If healthy, Naughton seems destined to be in the STL bullpen sooner rather than later. After three years lost to injury, he looked as good as ever in spring training and will provide insurance if Justin Bruihl falters as the second lefty in the pen. 

Catchers

  • Leo Bernal (22)
  • Jimmy Crooks (24)
  • Andy Yerzy (27)

Prospect Watch

Both Crooks and Bernal are both top-100 prospects with strong reputations for their defense. Crooks struggled making contact last season in Triple-A (26.5% K rate), but still managed a 105 wRC+. He has shown solid exit velocity numbers and a knack for finding the barrel, so if he can improve his plate discipline a bit, he could still find his way to being above average offensively. His chase rate and contact rates were both below average in Triple-A but not egregious so. He actually improved both metrics in his 46 MLB plate appearances, which was encouraging despite the overall struggles in his cup of coffee. Bernal slumped badly in the second half of 2025 and finished with a wRC+ of just 103 in Double-A. His batting line was remarkably similar to Ivan Herrera’s age 21 season in Springfield. As happened with Herrera, prospect fatigue may be setting in a bit with Bernal because he has been on prospect lists since 2022, but he is my pick for a big offensive season. 

Roster Considerations

The catching depth/logjam has been discussed sufficiently and both Bernal and Crooks are already on the 40-man roster. It will be interesting to see how playing time is divided up between them at Memphis. Poor Andy Yerzy is going to have a tough time getting into games. 

Infielders

  • Blaze Jordan (23)
  • Ramon Mendoza (25)
  • Brody Moore (25)
  • Cesar Prieto (27)

Prospect Watch

The infield group at Memphis is easily the least exciting portion of the team. Blaze Jordan is still a bit of a project but has legitimate upside if he can find a way to improve his plate discipline and get the ball in the air. His profile as a hitter reminds me a bit of Alec Burleson from a few years ago but with more ground balls. He is a longshot to be a starting-caliber player, but his combination of contact ability and power is rare enough that he has to be considered a real prospect, in my opinion. Prieto had a nice season in 2025, but entering his age 27 season, looks like a backup infielder or up-and-down guy. Ramon Mendoza earned a promotion from Springfield after putting up a .275/.390/.452 line in 2025. I had never considered him a prospect, but the Cardinals gave him 42 spring training plate appearances, so they must like him a little. 

Roster Considerations

Prieto is the only player in the group to have a 40-man spot. He could be in danger of losing his spot if the Cardinals need to free up room for the promotion of a non-rostered player. Blaze Jordan certainly has a lane to STL as the team has limited right-handed power on the major league club, but he would need to be added to the 40-man. 

Outfielders

  • Mike Antico (28)
  • Joshua Baez (23)
  • Matt Koperniak (28)
  • Colton Ledbetter (24)
  • Bligh Madris (30)
  • Bryan Torres (28)
  • Nelson Velazquez (27)

Prospect Watch

Joshua Baez followed an offseason spent shooting up prospect lists with a spring training spent launching balls over the fence. Colton Ledbetter will be making his Triple-A debut after posting a solid, if unspectacular, batting line for the Rays Double-A squad. Ledbetter has the raw power and prospect pedigree (second round pick in 2023) to grab attention with a good showing in Memphis. It is noteworthy that he was given the promotion while Chase Davis will be asked to repeat Springfield. 

Roster Considerations

Baez and Torres have 40-man spots, but Velazquez seems like he could be the first man up after his excellent showing in spring training. 

This Memphis team looks pretty loaded to me. More importantly, there are ten-plus legitimate prospects that could be headed to St. Louis as reinforcement at any moment.

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Letters to Sports: Bill Plaschke's Dodgers prediction is a winner to some

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 26, 2026: Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) leaves the dugout after the Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on opening day at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Two-way star Shohei Ohtani leaves the dugout after the Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks on opening day. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Very clever, Bill Plaschke. Knowing your track record, you write a column predicting the Dodgers will not win the World Series this year, thereby ensuring that they will, in fact, win the World Series this year. Well done!

Jim Lawson
Santa Barbara

We should thank Bill Plaschke for predicting that the aging Dodgers will NOT three-peat this fall. If a number of his past prognostications (read from cloudy crystal balls) were inaccurate, we have a much better chance to win a third consecutive World Series championship. Let’s call this new branch of science “Reverse Plaschke-ology.” No offense, but he should be careful where he makes his predictions, especially in a barbershop where there are many sharp objects in aging hands. We hope Bill is wrong … again.

Ken Mok
Diamond Bar

Money matters

The Dodgers want a three-peat, and have spent a lot of money on Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker. But why, oh why, do they hold on to Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott? I just cannot fathom it out.

Deborah R. Ishida
Beverly Hills

Making sense of it

It's only fair that a Japanese company has naming rights for the Dodger Stadium field, since the best Dodger hitter, and best Dodger pitcher are both Japanese.

Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood

Three-peat blueprint

Mirjam Swanson’s column on a potential Dodger three-peat brought back great memories of the 2000-2002 Lakers’ championships. However any reference to a “three-peat” should note that Pat Riley — the latest Crypto statue honoree — first uttered the term and then copyrighted it in 1988 shortly after the Lakers won their second consecutive championship.

After sweeping the first three rounds of the playoffs, it appeared the 1989 Lakers would win their third title in a row, but then hamstring injuries to Byron Scott and Magic Johnson severely hurt the Lakers’ chances. Let’s hope a similar major injury bug doesn’t hit the 2026 Dodgers, so we have a better chance of seeing Kiké Hernández or Freddie Freeman do a championship parade dance à la Mark Madsen.

Ken Feldman
Tarzana

Center of attention

Reading about the Angels upcoming season, I have one big concern. Mike Trout playing center field. He gets hurt so easily and he is playing a running position. He should be a full-time DH.

Mike Lorraine
Simi Valley

Leaving home

Congratulations to all the young athletes and their teams on The Times All-Area high school basketball teams. I do wonder about the choices the seniors are making in their commitments to colleges and I look to The Times to explain why UCLA is seemingly not on the radar for these young players.

It used to be known that the Bruins' academic requirements were a significant barrier to many high school players. Is that still true? Are the local graduates not the cream of the crop that Southern California was known for in past years? Are NIL deals affecting the choices of these future freshmen? Is UCLA not making a strong outreach effort for the top local talent? Is L.A. so awful for these kids that it isn't even on their radar to stay close to home?

I am sure I am not alone in seeking clarity around the issue of the exodus of local talent to Missouri, Oregon State, Texas, North Carolina, Nevada, and even more confounding, USC.

David Gerne Echt
Torrance

The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.

Email: sports@latimes.com

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Mets Daily Prospect Report, 3/28/26: Happy minor league opening day!

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets (1-0)

SYRACUSE 3, WORCESTER 1 (BOX)

Welcome back to minor league baseball! With Nolan McLean and Carson Benge both on the major league roster and all but guaranteed to accrue enough innings/at-bats to graduate from rookie status, Jonah Tong will soon be Mets’ number one prospect, and the right-hander picked up where he left off last season, throwing four scoreless innings en route to Syracuse’s first win of the 2026 season. In the top of the fourth, Jose Rojas slugged a two-run homer to give the Mets the lead, a lead that they would not relinquish. Anderson Severino and Austin Warren combined to throw three more scoreless innings after Tong left, while Nick Morabito added on an additional run in the seventh. Things got a little hairy in the bottom of the eighth, when Nick Burdi loaded up the bases without a single out, but he eventually navigated out of the inning allowing just a single run on a groundout. Joe Jaques had a much easier time in the bottom of the ninth, allowing a single but otherwise running into no issues for his first save of the season. One down, 149 more to go.

·  LF MJ Melendez: 0-3, BB, K

·  CF Nick Morabito: 2-4, RBI, K

·  SS Ronny Mauricio: 1-4, R, K, SB

·  1B Ryan Clifford: 1-4, 2 K, E

·  3B Christian Arroyo: 0-4, 2 K

·  DH Jose Rojas: 1-4, R, HR, 2 RBI, K

·  RF Cristian Pache: 0-4, 4 K

·  2B Jackson Cluff: 0-4, 3 K

·  C Hayden Senger: 2-4, R, 2 K

·  RHP Jonah Tong: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

·  LHP Anderson Severino: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

·  RHP Austin Warren: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

·  RHP Nick Burdi: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K

·  LHP Joe Jacques: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (0-0)

NO GAME (SEASON BEGINS APRIL 3)

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (0-0)

NO GAME (SEASON BEGINS APRIL 3)

Single-A: St. Lucie Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SEASON BEGINS APRIL 3)

Rookie: FCL Mets (0-0)

NO GAME (SEASON BEGINS MAY 2)

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Jonah Tong

GOAT OF THE NIGHT

Cristian Pache

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Phillies news: Justin Crawford, Trea Turner, Ben Davis

Mar 26, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford (2) hits a single during the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Now that we have baseball back today, we have to talk about this whole “day off after a game” Opening Day thing. I get it. MLB is scared of opening rainouts and wants a buffer day just in case. However, I am impatient and I want games all the time. Doubleheaders even!

Maybe this will go into the CBA.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

MLB news:

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Braves News: Opening Day victory, additional TV deals, and more

Mar 27, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (1) celebrates after a home run against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves began the 2026 season on a high note after Friday’s 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Ozzie Albies, Drake Baldwin, and Michael Harris II joined in on the fun and each homered. Together, the Braves recorded 11 hits and capitalized on the Royals’ weak spots.

On the other side of the ball, leather was flashed and the pitching staff showed up big. Chris Sale earned the start, and though a bit shaky in the beginning, he finished the night allowing just three hits through six innings. He walked three and struck out six. The bullpen came to play, too, and allowed just two more hits after Sale’s exit.

The Braves go for the series win tonight at 7:15 ET.

More Braves News:

Additional television deals continue to be announced, as Fubo and DIRECTV are now carrying BravesVision. 

The Gwinnett Stripers have announced their Opening Day roster, and it does not include Jhancarlos Lara.

MLB News:

Jason Heyward has announced his retirement after a 16 year career.

The Baltimore Orioles announced that they have agreed to a five-year extension with right-hander Shane Baz. He will be paid $68M.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired Clayton Kershaw as a special assistant, where he will assist the front office. 

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Jayson Tatum ‘thankful’ despite imperfect return to Celtics: ‘It is frustrating’

Mar 27, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after a play during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

In his 10th game back with the Boston Celtics on Friday night, Jayson Tatum delivered his best performance of the season by dominating the second half against the Atlanta Hawks. It wasn’t particularly efficient, at least not by his standards, and afterward, he admitted the process of building himself back up has brought a mix of emotions.

Jayson Tatum’s return to basketball hasn’t been seamless, but he’s grateful for how far he’s come and for those who have been by his side.

“Playing through it,” Tatum told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I feel rusty, obviously. You can probably see in moments when it doesn’t look the same, or it looks rusty. But I think the mindset of onto the next play (helps). I’m thankful that I got teammates and the coaching staff that are patient with me in this moment as I’m trying to figure it out.”

Tatum missed five layups in Boston’s 109-102 win over Atlanta at TD Garden. He had just five points at the end of the first quarter and remained there by halftime after going scoreless in the second, missing all seven of his attempts. Five of those shots came within 13 feet of the basket, making it even tougher to watch as teammate Payton Pritchard kept the Celtics within striking distance while Tatum struggled to find his rhythm and contribute to the cause.

When dissecting the rust itself, Tatum couldn’t pinpoint anything specific.

“It’s all over the place sometimes,” Tatum explained. “I’ll be dribbling the f—ing ball, and I just mishandle it. Sometimes I still have the ball, but it’s just like, ‘Damn.’ It is frustrating. Obviously, some of the shots and layups at the rim — just kind of moving too fast a little bit. It’s frustrating to me.”

Since rejoining Boston after nearly 10 months away from basketball, Tatum has contributed. His 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals through 10 games lead all Celtics. The issue is that Tatum’s recovery didn’t end after he suited back up against the Dallas Mavericks three weeks ago. It’s ongoing, and each game is another step in the process of returning to his old form.

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 27: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics celebrates during the game against the Atlanta Hawks on March 27, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images

That requires a level of patience that Tatum hasn’t had to demonstrate before in his career. So every turnover, every missed layup, every jumper that doesn’t fall is difficult to take in stride at times, knowing it’s a reminder that there’s still work to do.

Tatum overcame his five-point first quarter and scoreless second against Atlanta by turning it up in the second half. He absorbed contact from C.J. McCollum after cutting to the basket and finishing the layup, converting the and-1. He then knocked down a 12-foot fadeaway jumper, helping spark a 21-point surge across the third and fourth quarters before finishing with a season-best 26 points in an impressive turnaround.

But Tatum’s scoring wasn’t what Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla felt helped Boston in the absence of Jaylen Brown.

“I saw his defensive rebounding; I thought that was the most important thing,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “I thought offensively, he got into the paint and was able to get to the free-throw line — shot 10 free throws — just continuing to chip away and give the game what it needs. He was aggressive in his drives. He missed some easy layups there, but as long as he stays aggressive, makes the right reads, and continues to rebound, he’s continuing to get better and better.”

Even if his scoring isn’t flashy, it’s just one of several ways Tatum has pitched in. He has not only rebounded as well as he did before suffering his ruptured right Achilles last May, but he’s also been an elite playmaker, setting teammates up to keep the offense active and flowing.

There’s always the pressure to immediately return to the superstar version Tatum was in his first eight seasons with the Celtics, but that will take time. For now, it helps that Boston’s coaching staff remains by his side through the ups and downs.

Mazzulla played Tatum a team-high 36:36 on Friday night, including the entire fourth quarter. It’s unclear what that will mean going forward, as Mazzulla continues to manage Tatum’s minutes based on his on-court response rather than a fixed plan.

“There isn’t a specific number,” Mazzulla clarified. “It’s more about what looks best for us, where we’re at, what we need, and we continue to go from there. He played the whole (fourth) quarter a couple of games in a row, and he’s handling it well, and we continue to assess that and go from there.”

The Celtics worked their way into a strong position, holding the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference since Jan. 15 and sitting four games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. They earned that spot without Tatum, building an identity to withstand the production lost in his absence. Now, with him back, Boston’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals for a third time in five seasons are more legit than ever. Tatum and Brown’s 50-point combined effort against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday proved the Celtics aren’t just poised for a feel-good, Cinderella run — they’re back and ready to make a serious push for it all.

Tatum will be a key piece of that journey, as he was two years ago.

In the meantime, whenever Tatum needs a break from the basketball court, he looks to those closest to him as a father of two.

“I think right now, when I’m frustrated or really want to be better, just going home and my kids,” Tatum told reporters. “Now I’ve got two boys, and it just kind of puts things in perspective and helps me forget about what just happened or transpired in the game.

“I talk about it all the time: being a father is second to none. And now, having two boys and seeing their relationship develop, it was just one kid running to me when I walked in the house. Now it’s two, so that’s a cool feeling.”

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CSR Weekend Warriors: 3/27-3/29

Greetings, Panthers fans. Welcome to the weekend.

Feel free to use this thread to chat about (almost) anything you want: video games, food, movies, non-football sports, you name it. As long as it’s allowed by the site’s ToS, it’s fair game here.

You know the drill.

This is now an open thread

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Payton Pritchard soars with gritty, all-around performance in Celtics win

Mar 27, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) reacts after making a basket during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

BOSTON — With Jaylen Brown out against the Atlanta Hawks, someone needed to step up to shoulder the offensive load for the Celtics and Payton Pritchard answered the call.

Pritchard finished with a team-high 36 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 13-23 from the field and 6-11 from three-point range. The biggest indicator of how much Pritchard dominated this game was that he ended as a +26 in a game the Celtics won by seven.

Pritchard was asked postgame about filling the Jaylen Brown role tonight and said nothing really changed on his end. “I don’t think my role changed,” he said. “Like any other night, just come out being aggressive, looking to make plays for my teammates or for myself, and just make the right reads.”

In 8 games without Jaylen Brown this season, Pritchard has stepped up with averages of 25.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.3 assists on 48% shooting from the field and 46% shooting from three.

The Celtics offense was slow to start in this game, going down 25-9 with 3:39 left in the first quarter. Joe Mazzulla called his second timeout in a row, seemingly looking for any kind of a spark from someone. That was when Pritchard started to turn it on, scoring 7 points and assisting on another to cut the deficit to 3 points at the end of the first.

In classic Payton Pritchard fashion, he ended the quarter with an incredible buzzer beater, crossing over Dyson Daniels and finishing with a layup that kissed the banners in the TD Garden rafters before falling in.

When asked about his buzzer beater heroics, he talked about the science behind them, saying, “It’s a momentum play and the crowd feels it. Our team feels it. So I feel like it’s crucial because ending a quarter or a half and then going into the next possession you get that energy and the momentum swing.”

When asked about his situational awareness when it comes to taking these shots, Pritchard credited his high school coach for instilling it in him, saying, “I really don’t know… My high school coach, we used to do situations all the time of like end the game, and we would run through like, 8 to 10 situations every day of practice. And I just got really good at learning how to get my shot off in different ways and make a play.”

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Pritchard didn’t slow down after swinging the momentum for Boston in the first quarter, riding his hot streak into the second quarter where he had 12 points on 5-7 shooting. He did a great job when it came to getting his shot off quickly and find ways to get to the basket aggressively.

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Pritchard carried his impressive play into the third quarter with 13 points on 4-7 shooting. The Hawks tested out a new defensive style of not guarding Payton when he was wide open for three. This, as you could imagine, did not work out well for Atlanta.

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Boston dominated the rebounding battle in this game, destroying Atlanta 52-35. Out of those rebounds, the Celtics had 13 offensive rebounds where Pritchard had 3 of them that made a huge difference in the second half. His rebounding led three different scoring plays, one a follow up basket for his own and the other two resulting in Jayson Tatum drawing fouls to shoot free throws.

Joe Mazzulla praised Pritchard’s ability to box out the defenders, calling out specifically the first one he had in the fourth quarter on Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Mazzulla said, “…the offensive rebound that he got looked like a defensive box out, but he got an offensive rebound in the foul [Tatum] drew. They were going out in transition and that could have changed the game a little bit.”

Talking about his offensive rebounds specifically, Pritchard just credited it to hard work and the want to win to win saying, “I want to win. You want to make a play and you see somebody shoot the ball, and I see it coming off the rim, I’m just fighting to try to get in, get an extra possession. Those little things like that can change the game and win a game. So, yeah, it’s just about the want and competitive spirit.”

When asked about the Celtics improvement on the boards as a whole Pritchard said it was all about “hard work, being about your work every day coming in. And, you know, trying to get better at the things that we need to improve at. That’s just a testament to the culture we built here.”

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If Pritchard didn’t start for most of the season, it feels like he would be the runaway favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. Since moving to the bench on February 3rd, he has played in 22 games and has averaged 17.3 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds on 47% shooting from the field and 41% shooting from three.

Pritchard’s ability to come in and just cause chaos coming off the bench is a skill that no one in the league is better than him in. We have seen him be able to take over games and be a complete three-level scorer on the offensive end while being a great on defense for his size. He is a one-of-one type of player and his ability to out-work everyone on the court is an example of how he embodies the culture of playing in Boston.

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March Madness bracket breakdown: Best players to watch in Elite 8

While the coaches pacing the sideline in tailored suits or quarter-zips often get the most attention in men’s college basketball, it’s the players on the court who determine who makes the Final Four and wins the national championship.

The 2025-26 season has been one of the most star-studded in recent memory in the sport, with future NBA Draft lottery picks and wildly productive college players dominating the landscape nationally.

During the 2026 NCAA Tournament, some of the sport’s brightest stars have continued to propel their teams on deep runs. Though standouts like AJ Dybantsa, Darius Acuff Jr. and Darryn Peterson are watching the tournament from home, a number of All-American and all-conference performers are still chasing their dreams of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis on the first Monday night of April.

REQUIRED READING: A scoundrel returns: Will Wade's LSU comeback makes perfect sense

Among that distinguished group, who are the best players competing in the Elite Eight?

Here are the top eight players in the Elite Eight, with one player from each of the remaining eight squads:

Best players to watch in the Elite Eight

Players listed in alphabetical order

Cameron Boozer, Duke

The likely national player of the year has been everything the Blue Devils could have hoped for this season, averaging 22.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game to make him one of just 14 Division I players averaging a double-double this season. The 6-foot-9 freshman, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, has kept up his outrageous production in the tournament, with a double-double in each of Duke’s first three wins, including 22 points and 10 rebounds in a narrow Sweet 16 win over St. John’s. He’s a projected top-three pick in the NBA Draft for a reason.

Brayden Burries, Arizona

Burries is one of several top-10 recruits from the 2025 class who have enjoyed stellar freshman seasons. On what might be the most well-rounded team in the country, Burries is the leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and has been efficient getting there, shooting 50.2% from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range. Though teammate Jaden Bradley earned Big 12 player of the year honors, Burries has been the Wildcats’ best player in the tournament thus far, averaging 19 points per game and shooting 64.3% (including 75% from 3).

Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Tennessee

He's not the best NBA prospect on his team (that would be star freshman forward Nate Ament), but no player has been more indispensable to the Volunteers than Gillespie, who entered the Sweet 16 averaging a team-high 18.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. The Maryland transfer has been a steady, consistent presence for a team that has struggled to score at various points during the season.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue

It wasn’t an accident that Kaufman-Renn was in position to score the winning basket in Purdue’s biggest win this season. The Sellersburg, Indiana native, the rare college player who’s in his fourth season with the program where he started his career, has come through in a big way during the Boilermakers’ run to the Elite Eight, averaging 21.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6% from the field. Teammate Braden Smith, the Division I career assists leader, has had the better career and better season, but Kaufman-Renn has been Purdue’s best player so far in the tournament.

Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

Lendeborg was one of the best players outside the five power conferences last season, averaging a double-double for a 24-win UAB team. This season, he’s proven to be just as effective in arguably the best conference in the sport while being the star for a team that spent several weeks this season ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. The 6-foot-9 consensus first-team All-American is averaging 15.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and in the NCAA tournament, he’s been on fire, making 19 of his 30 shots (63.3%) and eight of his 13 3s (61.5%).

Tarris Reed Jr., UConn

Dan Hurley's team is remarkably balanced, with five players averaging between 10.6 and 14.2 points per game for a squad that's aiming to win its third national championship in the past four years. At the top of that group is Reed, a 6-foot-11 senior center who entered the Huskies' Sweet 16 win against Michigan State leading the team in scoring (14.2 points per game), rebounding (8.9 per game) and blocks (two per game). The Michigan transfer has followed up a strong regular season with an even better NCAA tournament, averaging 20.3 points and 15 rebounds per game. That run included one of the most ridiculous performances of the tournament, with 31 points and 27 rebounds in a first-round win over Furman.

Bennett Stirtz, Iowa

While Ben McCollum’s coaching acumen helped him rise from Division II head coach to Iowa’s first Elite Eight since 1987 in just two years, Stirtz’s on-court contributions didn’t hurt. The Hawkeyes guard has been with McCollum every step of the way the past four years, following the coach from Northwest Missouri State to Drake to Iowa, where he’s averaging a team-high 19.7 points and 4.4 assists per game this season. He’s carried the Hawkeyes offensively, as he’s the only Iowa player averaging more than 10.4 points per game.

Keaton Wagler, Illinois

In a star-studded freshman class, Wagler has been perhaps the most unexpected star. He was the No. 261 recruit nationally in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, but has been one of the best guards in the sport this season, averaging 17.7 points per game and shooting 41.1% from 3. He’s been the centerpiece for a dynamic Illinois team that’s No. 2 in adjusted offensive efficiency this season, according to KenPom.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness bracket breakdown: Best players to watch in Elite 8

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Islanders vs. Panthers Matinee News

Crash as much as needed. | Getty Images

The Islanders’ up-down, up-down form hopefully does not continue today when they host the Panthers for a 1 p.m. matinee in Elmont.

Florida split two games at home (lost to the Wild, beat the Kraken) after finishing a road trip with a 4-1 loss in Calgary. Yes, they are last-except-for-the-Rangers in the East, but the Cup champs are not pushovers and have not thrown in the towel, going 5-5 over their last 10 (just a game worse than the Islanders, by the way).

After squeaking by the Stars on Thursday, if the Islanders can pull off another win chances are it will be by one goal, which is how they’ve gotten 27 of their wins thus far this season.

Islanders News

  • Five dudes who are key to the Isles’ playoff push. [Newsday]
  • Here’s how they lined up at Friday’s practice. [Isles]
  • The Isles ground out a win vs. the Stars, they’ll need that again this afternoon. [Post]
  • The Skinny: “Schaefer has 22 goals, tying Barry Beck (22) for the second-highest total in a season. His next goal will tie Brian Leetch’s NHL record.” [Isles]
  • It was team photo day, and the behind-the-scenes shots are all cute ‘n stuff. Kyle Palmieri and Alex Romanov sightings, plus Matt Martin in a suit and Matthew Schaefer hamming it up. [Isles]

Elsewhere

Just two games last night but the Red Wings won in Buffalo, in regulation, earning a valuable two points from one of their two games in hand.

  • Sidney Crosby is out again. [NHL]
  • The Panthers will be without Evan Rodrigues. [NHL]
  • Bourne: The Maple Leafs haven’t had a clear plan and have suffered for it. [Sportsnet]
  • In today’s episode of Tom Wilson is a POS…:
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Game Preview: Dallas Stars @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3/28/2026

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 11: Roope Hintz #24 of the Dallas Stars skates against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 11, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Who: Dallas Stars (43-18-11, 97 points, 2nd place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (36-20-16, 88 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)

When: 5:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Victory+, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins have a back-to-back coming up that will have a major impact on the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Pens take on the New York Islanders on the road on Monday before matching up with the Detroit Red Wings at home on Tuesday.

Opponent Track: The Stars have hit a recent skid, going 1-4-1 in their last six games (coming on the heels of going 8-0-1 in the first nine games out of the Olympic break). When Dallas is good, they’re very good but that hasn’t been the case recently having lost four-straight games (0-3-1) with losses to Minnesota, Vegas, New Jersey and most recently a 2-1 regulation defeat to the Islanders on Thursday night. Between the Stars’ slide, combined with Colorado’s recent four-game winning streak, it looks like Dallas is heading towards the ‘first round matchup of doom’ this year in the Central Division against Minnesota in what could feature two 105+ point teams squaring off.

Season Series: Back before the Penguins exorcised their shootout demons, they lost a 3-2 shootout decision against the Stars on Dec. 7 thanks to a Mikko Rantanen shootout goal against Tristan Jarry.

Hidden Stat: The Stars clinched a playoff spot on Sunday, which marked the franchise’s fewest games to earn a playoff spot (70) since the team did it in 63 games during their 1998-99 Stanley Cup season (h/t NHL Stats).

Hidden Stat 2.0: Home ice hasn’t been that friendly to the Penguins, who have only won 16 out of the 35 games at PPG Paints Arena (with another “home” win in the standings counted in a victory in Sweden when the Pens were designated as the home team). Overall the Pens are just 16-11-8 this season in their true home arena.

Getting to know the Stars

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Jason Robertson – Wyatt Johnston – Mavrik Bourque

Michael Bunting – Matt Duchene – Jamie Benn

Sam Steel – Justin Hryckowian – Colin Blackwell

Adam Erne – Oskar Back – Nathan Bastian

DEFENSEMEN

Esa Lindell / Miro Heiskanen

Thomas Harley / Nils Lundkvist

Lian Bichsel / Tyler Myers

Goalies: Jake Oettinger and Casey DeSmith

Potential scratches: Roope Hintz (lower body)

Injured Reserve: Mikko Rantanen (lower body), Radek Faksa (lower body), Tyler Seguin (season-ending knee injury)

  • Rantanen is nearing a return from injury, he participated in Thursday’s morning skate ahead of the NYI game (though he didn’t play). As of 12 days ago Rantanen was said to be 10-14 days away, so he’s right in the window for a possible return to action for today’s game.
  • The Stars will be without Tyler Seguin for the rest of the season and the playoffs after placing him on LTIR in February amid his recovery from a torn ACL. They’ll still hope to get Hintz and Faksa back in time for the postseason, in addition to the impending return of Rantanen.
  • Former Penguin Michael Bunting was one of the Stars’ additions at the trade deadline alongside defenseman Tyler Myers. Bunting has since slotted in on Dallas’ second line alongside Matt Duchene.
  • Dallas could soon have two brothers on the same team for the first time since Jamie and Jordie Benn. The Stars recently signed Dylan Hryckowian, brother and former college teammate of third-line center Justin Hryckowian, to an entry-level contract.

Stars going dim

Generating offense has been an issue for Dallas during their current losing streak. They’re currently without two of their top-five point producers and stretching others into bigger roles has had an effect on output lately.

Season stats
via hockeydb

  • Wyatt Johnston has recorded career highs in both goals and points while centering Jason Robertson, who is enjoying his fourth straight 80-point season in Dallas.
  • It’s been an up-and-down season for Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger, although he’s been strong as of late. The Stars are playing the Philadelphia Flyers on the road tomorrow, so they’ll have to decide whether Oettinger or former Penguins goaltender Casey DeSmith will be getting the start in Pittsburgh tonight.
  • DeSmith, by the way, has only played against Pittsburgh once in his career. That happened last year as a member of the Stars, where he stopped 35 of 39 shots but picked up the loss. Oettinger has a lot of career success against the Pens, boasting a 6-1-0 record with a .942 save% and 1.71 GAA.
  • The Stars have been running one of the most formidable power plays in the NHL this season, although their top unit has recently taken a hit with the injury absence of Mikko Rantanen.
  • Dallas has had some injury issues but they haven’t played many different players, just 27 skaters have dressed this season. By comparison, the Penguins have dressed 38 different skaters so far this season.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby* – Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Anthony Mantha

Ville Koivunen – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard / Kris Letang

Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton

Goalies:  Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner

Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Evgeni Malkin (injured)

IR: Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany

  • The Pens canceled a practice yesterday, so we’ll have to wait and see for this morning on any updates on the status of Crosby. If Crosby can’t play, it’s possible that Joona Koppanen will be in the lineup as a bottom-six center. The team could also opt to shift Rickard Rakell or Noel Acciari to center for the day and insert a winger like Avery Hayes into the lineup. Depending on Crosby’s status it could be a very fluid situation with a couple different options on how they want to go about patching a lineup together.
  • We’ll also await word on Evgeni Malkin, officially day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (believed to be in the finger/hand area). Malkin did not even travel with the team to Ottawa for Thursday’s game which might not bode well for his availability just a couple days later.
  • Bryan Rust is currently in the midst of a career-long nine-game point streak (5G-8A) and has points in 14 of his last 15 games played (7G-12A) dating back to Feb. 28th, per Pens PR. Rust’s streak is the second longest active one in the league behind Boston’s David Pastranak (11).
  • Sam Girard is set to play in career game No. 600 today. Not bad for a guy who won’t turn 28 until May.
  • Whether or not the goalie rotation continues will be interesting as well, Skinner has been performing much better than Silovs lately — but the team has other considerations in mind with a massive set of games on Monday/Tuesday against NYI and Detroit. They may want to keep Skinner fresh and in rhythm for that Monday game by not leaning too hard on him today, which would make Monday his third game in five days. They may also not want Silovs to have his next action come on Tuesday and have him go a full week between starts by skipping him today. Lots to weigh and consider for that decision on who plays in goal today for the Pens with more variables in mind than simply this one game.

Erik Karlsson is deep into Paul Coffey territory for points in a single month — always a great sign for any defender. Across the NHL this month, only Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (26) has more points than Karlsson with his 21.

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Today on Pinstripe Alley – 3/28/26

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 25: Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees greets his teammates during player introductions prior to the game between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kavin Mistry/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images

It would’ve been hard for the Yankees to script a better first two games of their 2026 campaign. Sure, they probably wouldn’t have written in four strikeouts from their captain on Opening Day, but otherwise, things have been stellar, with Aaron Judge busting out with his first home run yesterday in another shutout win. Two games mean little when they’re followed by 160 more, but these two games do show what the glass-half-full case looks like for New York; a carbon copy of last year’s league-leading lineup and elite starting pitching lead to excellence.

On the site today, say hello to the minor league season with our first Baby Bomber Recap, as the RailRiders cruised in their first game. Also, Sam will deliver today’s Rivalry Roundup, while Matt’s entry in our Yankee Birthday series celebrates Vic Raschi, who had a great turn with the Yankees during their midcentury dynasty years.

Today’s Matchup

New York Yankees at San Francisco Giants

Time: 7:15 p.m. EST

Video: FOX

Venue: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

Questions/Prompts:

1. It’s just one start, of course, but are you letting your imagination run wild after seeing how Cam Schlittler looked in his season debut yesterday?

2. Have any performances from players on other teams particularly caught your eye two days in?

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Illinois in Elite 8 thanks to pair of do-it-all freshmen

HOUSTON — Rebounding has always come naturally to David Mirkovic. Before he committed to play college basketball at Illinois, the 6-foot-9 forward from Montenegro played two seasons of professional basketball in the Adriatic Basketball Association League, where he averaged 6.4 rebounds per game during the 2024-25 season.

When the ball bounced off the rim or backboard, Mirkovic corralled it, simple as that.

That changed when he got to Illinois last summer.

“It’s much different,” Mirkovic said. “(In Montenegro), I didn’t have coaches that tell me and remind me every day all day to crash the boards or get some of the defensive rebounds. But since I’m playing basketball, every time I was the best rebounder on my team. I would say just naturally, I had that feel for rebounds. So when that combines with the coach that’s put that much emphasis on rebounding, it’s just getting better.”  

Mirkovic is now the top rebounder on an Illinois team that is riding a rebounding wave into Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against Iowa.

This season, the Illini are ranked 10th in rebounds per game (41.1) and seventh in rebounding margin (10.1). It’s not a new strength; Illinois has been a top-10 rebounding team in the country in each of the last three seasons.

“I think the secret sauce is just, it’s something you emphasize every single day,” said Illinois assistant coach Tyler Underwood.

Underwood’s father, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, was Kansas State’s director of operations during the 2006-07 season under head coach Bob Huggins, who is famous for his aggressive rebounding schemes. That left an imprint on Underwood, and in nine seasons at Illinois he’s made rebounding a pillar of his program.

The Illini track individual players’ “go rates” – what percentage of the time they crash the offensive glass – in practices and games. At halftime, coaches check "go rates" and remind players who are falling short to fulfill their offensive rebounding obligations. The message is clear: If you don’t go, your playing time stops.

The Illini are receiving key contributions on the boards from a pair of freshmen, Mirkovic and guard Keaton Wagler.

Through three NCAA Tournament games, Mirkovic is averaging a team-high 10.7 rebounds to go with 13.7 points. Wagler, the team's top scorer averaging 17.7 points, is right behind him averaging 8.0 rebounds.

In the Illini’s Sweet 16 win over Houston, Mirkovic broke the Illinois freshman total rebounding record set by Kofi Cockburn six seasons ago, while Wagler pulled down a career-best 12 rebounds. They became the first pair of freshman teammates to each have a double-double in the same NCAA Tournament game since freshmen became fully eligible in 1972-73. 

“His frame doesn’t scream 12 rebounds, but his toughness does,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said of Wagler.

Prior to Thursday’s game, Brad Underwood told Illini players that they would need a massive effort on the glass to win, especially from the guards. Wagler answered the call.

“He's a great listener,” Brad Underwood said. “We knew that (Chris) Cenac and (Joseph) Tugler, they back tap a lot of balls. They're elite at it. So our bigs were going to have to hit bodies, but our guards were going to have to come clean it up. So we needed a big, big rebounding game from our guards. I thought Keaton just takes everything to heart. He's had some big rebounding games this year, but to do this in this moment – you guys got to understand what a joy it is to coach him, and he doesn't worry about needing to score points.”

While Illinois’ bigs engage in physical battles under the basket to grab rebounds off the rim and box out their defenders, Wagler and the other guards stay alert and track down longer rebounds.

Tyler Underwood said that the Illini chart their misses and find that most occur on shots from the left corner of the court. When they miss from the left, the ball tends to carom to the right side of the basket, so Illinois tells players to flood “opposite and inside” to be in prime rebounding position.

Illinois typically has four players crash the boards after shots on offensive possessions, but last season the team slightly altered its rebounding philosophy. Instead of either the point guard or the shooting guard always being the player responsible for getting back on defense after a shot, the Illini decided that on 3-point shots, the shooter is the one who gets back – regardless of what position he plays.

That nuance has helped Illinois take advantage of their “twin towers,” brothers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic, two 7-footers who each attempt more than half of their shots behind the 3-point line.

“With our pick-and-pop bigs, they end up shooting a lot of 3s, so that draws opponents’ bigs away from the rim, which puts them in uncomfortable sports, which allows guards to rebound,” Tyler Underwood said. “And our bigs end up being back in transition a lot, which is good because they’re our 7-footers.”

David Mirkovic looks for the rebound against Houston in the Sweet 16.

The strategy only works if players like Mirkovic and Wagler pick up the slack on the boards.

“I think rebounding, there’s an element of feel to it, an element of timing, an element of tracking the ball while it’s in the air,” Tyler Underwood said. “Both of those guys excel in that area because they have such a good feel for the game. And then they’re very disciplined and they put their teammates first. They’re willing to make winning plays.”

Both freshmen are do-it-all players who have developed a close relationship with each other on and off the court.

On the surface, the idea of a 6-foot-9 former professional player from Montenegro forming a bond with a skinny guard from Shawnee, Kansas, calls to mind videos of unlikely animal friendships. But the pair’s chemistry has blossomed through a mutual appreciation for hard work and competition, be it playing the “NBA 2K” video game or working out on the court.

“We have some similarities in our personality, like we are both Gen Z, I would say,” Mirkovic said. “The second thing, we had a lot of similarities, basketball-wise. Like we are pretty similar players despite different positions. … I would say our understanding and IQ of basketball and our unselfishness and skill level, that makes us unstoppable.”

Wagler said, “My first impression of him is that he’s a goofy guy who likes to mess around, but then in practices, he’s super competitive. He hates losing drills, no matter what it is. I knew we were gonna get along after that because I’m competitive. I don’t like to lose.”  

They’ve both learned to embrace the Illini’s rebounding ethos, too. Wagler said he and Mirkovic have gained confidence from watching each other succeed.

“I think we both learned that you don’t have to be the most athletic or fastest person on the court,” Wagler said. “You can play at your own pace and still be as good as anyone. We both do the right things and we both want to win. Doesn’t matter if we score however many points, you know – if we got to go in and pass, get assists, get rebounds, we’ll do that.”  

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elite 8: Illini get rebounding boost from freshmen Mirkovic, Wagler

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How baseball imitates life: Authors share tips for sports parents

When the ball goes up, time stops.

As the dreaded popup rises in a youth baseball game, coaches on the bench and parents in the bleachers tense as the world turns into a slow-motion movie reel.

Who’s gonna get it?

Even big leaguers sometimes hate popups. Just before Carl Yastrzemski hit the one that would end Boston’s American League East pursuit in a famous winner-take-all playoff game in 1978, Graig Nettles, the Yankees’ third baseman, said to himself: “Don’t hit a popup to me.”

But Nettles, one of the best fielding third baseman of all time, camped under it and caught it. Overcoming popups are essential to success in baseball and in reality away from the field.

That’s the concept authors Ken Davidoff and Harley Rotbart have grasped in their new book, "101 Lessons from the Dugout: What Baseball and Softball Can Teach Us About the Game of Life."

I would argue most parents don’t often think about these lessons when we watch our kids play. We want them to succeed from the earliest ages.

“Considering the pyramid of ascension in baseball, kids are not gonna be playing major league ball, and many of the kids are not gonna be playing college ball,” says Rotbart, a pediatrician and parenting author who coached his two now-grown sons at baseball, tells USA TODAY Sports. “And if they do it, it will be club ball. So I think that parents have fantasies about their child, if he doesn't make that catch, if he doesn't get the hit with the bases loaded, nobody is gonna sign him.

“He's not going to be drafted anyway.”

Harley Rotbart and Ken Davidoff have a new book that equates baseball with real life.

While chasing the long odds, have you ever thought about how baseball and softball imitate finding success in life? Rotbart and Davidoff, a veteran sportswriter, have teamed to explore that question.  

We spoke with them and picked out 10 tips for parents about how they can apply lessons from baseball for sports and life success.

YOUTH SPORTS SURVIVAL GUIDE: Order Coach Steve's new book

1. Step into the box: Being comfortable and confident is being successful

The book is about 15 years in the making, after Rotbart coached his two sons (now 34 and 38) through high school, taking meticulous notes that became a manuscript. He connected with Davidoff, who covered Major League Baseball for 30 years for a few New York City-area papers to bring it more legitimacy, to connect it more to the big leagues.

Rotbart was exercising the lesson in Chapter 9 ("The Batter’s Box") and finding his comfort zone. In this instance, Davidoff tied the familiar moment to Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who liked to chat with fans in the on-deck circle, which made him feel at home as he calmly walked to the plate.

When he stepped into the box, it was his time to be confident in his preparation, focus in and take charge.

“You are the right person, at the right time,” the authors right in the book. “Believe you can face any challenge, any time, and want to face that challenge. You are in the in the batter’s box, right where you belong.

When you step into the box and aren’t successful, though, a matter of inches – up or back, inside or out – can help you get on track.

“You can change your faith oftentimes without making dramatic changes in your life, but even making incremental changes,” Rotbart says.

Derek Jeter was a master of relaxing himself in the on-deck circle before he stepped into the batter's box.

2. Remember to tag up: Pause and control your anger

Now you’ve made it to one of the bases. If the batter hits a fly ball that is caught, you can’t advance to another without “tagging up.” When the ball leaves the bat, though, your impulse is to run.

But that little pause – that tag up – prevents us from harm and embarrassment. Outside the field, it’s a form of anger management.

How many times have you received an email or text from someone that enrages you? If you respond right away, your reply might be nasty. But if you pause and take a break, your action is more measured and thoughtful.

“There's so much impulsivity in young athletes,” Rotbart says. “They see it in role models. They watch it on TV, the impulsive reaction to umpires, to coaches, to fans. And we have to teach kids to tag up.”

3. Life is a fielder's choice: Decide what is most important

We are told as baseball players to think about what we’re going to do with the ball if it’s hit to us in the field. If runners are on base, we must make a choice.

If our team has a big lead in the game, we get the easiest force play. But if it’s a close game, we might throw across the diamond to third base to get the lead runner.

“It's urgent for you to protect that slim lead and then you translate that over to school,” Davidoff says. “Let's say you're acing chemistry, you're up four runs in chemistry. So, OK, you have homework in five subjects tonight, don't worry about (chemistry) too much. But now you’ve got a “C” in chemistry, you’re only up one run. You need to get that lead runner. You need to turn the double play. You need to really step on the gas with your chemistry and make sure you nail it.”

4. Include everyone: Pinch-hitters and pinch-runners are crucial to the team

We can learn to throw ourselves into whatever role we are given.

“There are players who are not starters, and there are players who may not even be position players by their talent level,” Rotbart says. “But they have other skills that they can bring. They may be a fast runner. They may be able to hit, but not be able to field. And pinch-hitters and pinch-runners teach kids that we should be inclusive and not clickish, that we should want everyone on a team, everyone in our friendship circle, everyone in our class, to be included in activities, becauseeveryone has something different to contribute.”

Even if you're assigned a less prominent or less prestigious assignment on the team, or on the student council, or at the school newspaper, or in a Woody Allen movie with one line, make the best of it:

Go out there and make the catch that nobody expects you to make.

“When the expectations are low, that's when you have the best opportunity to shine,” Rotbart says.

5. If you get yourself into a pickle, you can give yourself up for the greater good

I had a player on one of my Little League teams who was fast and could keep himself caught in a “pickle” between first and second bases long enough for a runner from third base to break for home and score.

The longer a pickle in baseball lasts, the more humorous it gets, and we wonder if the runner who made the “mistake” will still reach a base safely.

“Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't work out, but the analogy in the book is that when you are untruthful, when you say things that are not true, you get yourself in a pickle, and that's when you're lying, and you lose trust,” Rotbart says. “Sometimes you get away with it. Sometimes you advance to the next base. But oftentimes, you get thrown out, and being untruthful, lying is the most common cause for (a) real-life pickle.”

The lesson I like about the pickle is sacrificing yourself. As we know, even with two outs, that run from third base counts if it scores before the player is tagged out.

6. Mound meetings work: Take time to accept advice, or to just catch your breath

Davidoff remembers covering the Yankees’ first interleague visit to play the Colorado Rockies in 2002, and Roger Clemens was having a rough first inning.

He watched third baseman Robin Ventura walk over and chat with Clemens for a few seconds. Davidoff asked Ventura the next day what he had said to the starting pitcher.

“Nothing,” the third baseman told him, “just an excuse to let him exhale and take a deep breath.”

We all need it. Clemens got out of the first inning allowing only one run.

The same concept can apply as a youth coach when you call a timeout as a youth coach or gather your young player on the mound. They often respond by playing better. Sometimes, it’s as simple as you telling them, “I believe in you.”

7. Clean up your messes, and take pride in your spaces

Yoshinobu Yamamoto came to the Los Angeles Dodgers for $325 million in 2023. We know he helped lead Los Angeles to the World Series the last two seasons.

But did you know last October, after he pitched a complete game to even the World Series 1-1 in Toronto, he remained in the dugout and cleaned up trash teammates had left behind?

“Do not leave today's mess for tomorrow,” Rotbart said. “You clean up the dugout, you sweep the field, just like Yoshi Yamamoto did. That's protecting your tomorrow by taking care of your mess today.”

Someone may be playing on the field after you, or an opponent may have hosted you at their home park. You are showing them respect – win or lose – but also showing everyone a piece of who you are.

“Your personal spaces are part of you, signs on the outside of who you are on the inside, like the clothes you wear and how you brush your hair,” the authors write.

8. Stretch for the ball, but know when to pull off the base

Sometimes we want to make a spectacular play by diving for a ball in the outfield, or stretching far in front of us to catch a ball if we’re playing first base.

But what happens if we can’t get to the ball? We miss it, and it rolls to the outfield wall, allowing three runners to score. We don’t reach it and it skips past us at first base and the baserunner to get to second base in a tie game.

Sometimes, we need to slow up and let the ball drop to prevent further damage, or take our foot off the bag to stop the ball from going to the fence. Rotbart has used such analogies when speaking to patients as a pediatrician.

“A clinical example that I have (is) where a parent and an adolescent came into the clinic, and the mom was complaining that her son was doing too much of what his friends, what his cohort was asking him to do,” he says, “and that he would do anything to maintain friendship but he was going too far, doing things he shouldn’t be doing.”

9. Believe in yourself, and don't listen to the chatter

I hear it every time my sons play a high school game. Teams are yelling at each other from the dugout, or fans are yelling from the stands, to try and throw players off their games.

It’s not easy to block out the noise.

“There will always be those who feel better when they’re embarrassing others,” Davidoff and Rotbart write. “In baseball, the best teams and the best players don’t taunt.”

The authors analogize chatter in the book to be like gossip: Saying things that are potentially hurtful, disruptive and distracting or even dangerous (in the case of fly balls).

Chatter might seem helpful in the moment but if a potential coach sees you doing it – in person or on social media – he or she might stop recruiting you.

10. Learn to catch the popup: Take charge and follow through

When the ball is up in the air, we’re waiting for someone on the field to take charge. Maybe it’s the kid who’s under it, but often it’s the one who’s most confident in catching it. Go ahead, call for it.

“Someone has to take responsibility,” Rotbart says. “Someone has to be accountable, and suddenly, the pop fly became a lesson in taking responsibility, following through.”

He thought about it, after watching some of the 700 to 800 kids who came through his baseball program crash into each other on the pitcher’s mound going after a popup. Rotbart reached for his notebook, and the seed of a book was born.

“Double-check everything you do with others to make sure you know who is doing what,” he and Davidoff would craft into lesson No. 48. “If you’re the one ‘calling’ for the ball, make sure others hear you; if someone else is calling for it, make sure you hear them. Messages you send can get lost and so can messages people send to you.

“When it’s important your message – or assignment or project – gets where it’s going and gets seen or heard, follow through and make sure it got there. Otherwise, you’ve dropped the ball.”

Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents for two high schoolers. His Coach Steve column is posted weekly. For his past columns, click here.

Got a question for Coach Steve you want answered in a column? Email him at sborelli@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How baseball imitates life: Authors have lessons for parents

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Yankees news: Pitching staff throws second straight shutout

TAMPA, FL - MARCH 11: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees pitches during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 11, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) | Getty Images

SNY | Phillip Martínez The Yankees are now 2-0 in the 2026 campaign after taking the second game of their three-game set vs. the San Francisco Giants. The 3-0 final score meant that they have now pitched two consecutive shutouts in the Bay Area, led by Max Fried on Wednesday and Cam Schlittler on Friday.

Schlittler, limited to 68 pitches after the minor back/lat scare he suffered in spring training, blanked San Francisco for 5.1 innings, surrendering just a hit and no walks while striking out eight.

MLB Trade Rumors | Steve Adams The Yankees took a minor-league flier on right-hander Luis García, who won the 2022 World Series with the Houston Astros, on a two-year deal. He is currently rehabbing from a second Tommy John surgery performed in the fall of 2025. He returned from the first procedure and was only able to make two starts, in which he had a 3.52 ERA.

The Yankees are probably aiming for García, who has a 3.60 career ERA and is 29, to return at some point in the 2027 campaign.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller Facing left-hander Robbie Ray, Yankees manager Aaron Boone sent the three right-handed hitters and lefty-killers from his bench to the field on Friday: Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and Randal Grichuk. Ben Rice, Ryan McMahon, and Trent Grisham were benched.

Boone, however, didn’t commit to this arrangement against all southpaws and clarified that Rice and Grisham, in particular, will be in the lineup sometimes against pitchers of their same hand.

“Not necessarily,” Boone said. “Ben’s gonna play against some lefties. Grish, too. A lot of it has to do with the first three series, first nine games, this is probably the only lefty we’re gonna see, and we certainly want to get those guys in.

“And obviously they bring a lot to the table against left-handed pitching. So I’m excited to see them get their feet wet and get going.”