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The Athletics will be starting Jacob Lopez in the series opener in Cobb County against our Atlanta Braves. Lopez is a left-handed starter. As such, Walt Weiss has decided to break out the left-hand counter lineup and as such, Ozzie Albies is batting right-handed and hitting third in this particular lineup once again.

Here’s the entire Braves lineup:

If the lineup looks really familiar, that’s because this is the exact same lineup that the Braves rolled out there on Opening Night. That was a 6-0 win for the Braves so maybe that’ll be a good sign for what’s coming tonight. For now, here’s hoping that Ozzie Albies continues to make the manager look good for placing him that high in the lineup against left-handers.

Here’s the lineup for the A’s:

As I mentioned in the preview, the Blue Jays absolutely had their way with this lineup (except for old friend Shea Langeliers) so they may be looking for a bit of a breakout tonight against Bryce Elder and the Braves pitching staff.

What do y’all think about this lineup from the Braves?

Dylan Garand, Adam Edström, Adam Sýkora, Matthew Robertson, and many of the New York Rangers’ young players of the past and present all have something in common. 

They’ve all been mentored by Jonny Brodzinski at the American Hockey League level with the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

The AHL is a developmental league, as a significant amount of attention and coverage within the league centers around young players. 

However, what is often overlooked is the importance of veteran players who compete in the AHL and hold prominent leadership roles. 

Since signing with the Rangers in October of 2020, Brodzinski has been a valuable piece for the organization, but a lot of his contributions haven’t even come in the NHL. 

From 2020 to 2024, Brodzinski played 113 games for the Wolf Pack, while also serving as the team’s captain for much of that time. 

Brodzinski is a player who’s always had to fight for a roster spot and work hard to earn his opportunities. Those experiences helped him relate more to younger players in similar situations, trying to work their way up to the NHL. 

“I think being in those situations a lot, it kind of helps me lead those guys a little bit better,” Brodzinski said. “Being a bubble guy pretty much my whole career, being the last guy cut out of camp three or four times, I think it can teach you a lot of things. What it takes to stay here, not only make it here, but then stay here, I think is the hardest part. Anybody can get up and play one or two games in the NHL, but it's a lot harder to stick and stay and really earn the trust of the coaching staff. Just trying to tell them (younger players) things that can help them stick.”

The 32-year-old forward has spent the vast majority of his professional hockey career playing at the AHL level. 

Through his time with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, and the San Jose Barracuda, the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate, Brodzinski transitioned from a young, wide-eyed kid into a bona fide leader, which he did by looking up to veterans in his shoes and learning from them.

“It kind of just evolved over time,” Brodzinski said of his leadership qualities. “When I was younger, I looked up to the leaders that were on the team, and kind of adapted my leadership style. Through that, I had a few guys that kind of led in a similar style that I do, where it's a little bit by example, but some of my best friends are the younger guys. It’s just about trying to empathise with everybody, being able to be good friends with everybody, I think is a huge asset… 

“Being down in Hartford, being with Ontario, and just kind of grinding it out there, and really trying to figure out my game personally. Once I did figure that out, it’s a little bit easier to help these younger guys get up through that American Hockey League bubble area, and kind of push through to this spot.”

In 48 games with the Rangers this season, the Minnesota native has recorded six goals, seven assists, and 13 points, while averaging 11:01 minutes. 

The impact that Brodzinski brings to the table goes far beyond his individual statistics. 

While not a regular mainstay in the Rangers’ lineup, Brodzinski has been up in the NHL for the past two seasons, with his presence carrying weight within the locker room. 

Brodzinski’s team-first mentality to be flexible regarding his specific role, on top of the way he’s taken it upon himself to mentor the team’s young talent, certainly does not go unnoticed amongst the Rangers’ coaches and teammates. 

“He’s a great pro,” Mike Sullivan said of Brodzinski. “He’s in and out of the lineup. He knows what his role is, he embraces it. He works hard when he's not in the lineup. He keeps himself ready when he gets in the lineup. He tries to make an impact and help us win. Sometimes we use them on the wing, sometimes we use him in the middle. We move him all around the lineup. I think he's a positive influence on the young players when they come up. He’s got a great attitude, and he embraces his role most importantly.”

Recently, the Rangers recalled Garand and Sýkora from the AHL, and the two have run with their NHL opportunity, taking full advantage of what could be an audition for the 2026-27 campaign.

Seeing them thrive with the Rangers brings joy to Brodzinski, who grew a strong bond with both of them in Hartford and empathizes with their journey to have gotten themselves to where they are now. 

“It’s great,” Brodzinski said of watching Garand and Sýkora play in the NHL. “I’ve been playing with them for a little while. I think it's the work ethic, more than anything, is what you see all the time. Before practice, after practice, they put so much into becoming the best hockey player that they can be. It’s really, really good to see it finally be rewarded. I think it’s just great.”

Adam Sýkora's ‘Unmatched Energy’ Uplifting Rangers Through The Home Stretch Of Season Adam Sýkora is the jolt of energy that doesn't seem to ever run out of steam. 

On Jan. 16, Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury issued a letter, outlining the team’s plan to “retool” the roster, with an emphasis of getting younger. 

Since the letter was released, we’ve seen more young players called up and given increased responsibility on a game-by-game basis. 

Similar to his days playing in the AHL, Brodzinski is focused on trying to help the team’s youth thrive and develop into players who could stick around with the Blueshirts for years to come. 

“It's awesome to see these guys here. It's awesome to see him succeed,” Brodzinski said. “It’s the best part about hockey, watching the next generation of Rangers’ break through and really have fun with it. I think they're bringing a lot of enthusiasm and energy, all the right things we need right now.”

The Cubs wrapped up their first series against the Nationals at home over the weekend. It didn’t go as planned with the North iders dropping two of three games after both Matthew Boyd and Shōta Imanaga had some trouble with the long ball. But the big news last week wasn’t the opening series, it came in terms of contract extensions, with Jed Hoyer and company wrapping up one big deal on the eve of Opening Day extending centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong through the 2032 season and completing another with second baseman Nico Hoerner at the end of the week. Today, let’s take a closer look at the numbers behind PCA’s deal. You can see the basic structure of the deal by year per Jon Heyman below:

The deal does not include a team option which ESPN’s Senior MLB Insider, Jeff Passan noted is rare for an extension of a young player under team control:

Obviously the money matters a lot here. Buying out PCA’s arbitration years at $55 million, followed by $30 million a year guaranteed in free agency says that the Cubs believe PCA will be a star. The fact that this is a six year deal rather than a longer deal like the fully guaranteed 12-year contract Julio Rodríguez signed for a guaranteed $209 million or a pre-debut deal like eight year contract Jackson Chourio signed for a guaranteed $82 million tells you a little bit about where the Cubs see PCA relative to two other young, star outfielders. Unlike PCA’s deal, both of those deals have options. Like PCA’s deal, both of those deals have escalators that can push the value of the contract far higher than its guaranteed rate, in PCA’s case adding potentially $18 million to the deal.

Pete Crow-Armstrong gets the benefit of being assured he’ll hit free agency before his age-30 season. That’s an interesting nugget in this deal given that the biggest question mark in terms of PCA’s long-term value is his ability to control (or not) the the strike zone. A skill that he could continue to improve on marking last year’s gains or one that could fall apart entirely as he ages. From FanGraphs’ write-up of the extension:

That’s decent, but I don’t know if I’d call it plus power or anything; Crow-Armstrong’s EV90 in 2025 was 81st out of 145 qualified hitters. That’s where the other two changes come in. As a rookie, PCA had a 79.2% Z-Contact%. Anything below 80% in that mark is survivable, but it’s hard to thrive in that range without truly elite power. In 2025, he raised his in-zone contact rate to 83.8%.

Third: He is getting the absolute maximum out of what contact he makes. The most valuable batted balls, in general, are hit in the air and to the pull side. In 2024, Crow-Armstrong put 19.3% of his batted balls in that direction, which is above average, even good. In 2025, that number was 30.2%, which was the seventh-highest figure out of 251 players on Baseball Savant’s leaderboard.

Crow-Armstrong hit 31 home runs last year because he got the absolute maximum out of his plate discipline and quality-of-contact numbers. Add in the defense and the baserunning, and I think this might literally be the best all-around baseball player you could have with a 4.5% walk rate and a .247 batting average.

But he’s still a player with a .247 batting average and a 4.5% walk rate. Or, to use the more legible figure I mentioned above, a .287 OBP. Last year, Crow-Armstrong made more outs per plate appearance than Nick Castellanos, Lenyn Sosa, and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Is it possible to be a franchise player if that’s true? We’ll find out.

To put this slightly differently, there are question marks about whether PCA will age like Javy Báez or Castellanos — both players who had above average contact skills, right until time caught up to them and then they didn’t.

In that sense, this deal is timed perfectly for both the Cubs and PCA. The Cubs will get a chance to see how that contact tool develops (or doesn’t) over the next six years. If it looks like it will age poorly, they locked down the very best years of PCA in centerfield at Wrigley Field and he should still be a valuable enough player to command additional years of service with another team. If it looks like that tool has improved, they can attempt to negotiate another extension that would make PCA a Cub for life. You can get a sense of the variability in PCA’s hit tool from this 15-game rolling wOBA chart through the 2025 season:

Even with some concerns about a contact tool that may provide some high-highs and low-lows similar to last season, his defense should provide a floor that makes the deal well worth the guaranteed $115 million. PCA is already one of the best defenders in the league. According to Statcast, he saved 22 runs in centerfield during the 2025 season and was tied with Bobby Witt Jr. for the league lead in outs above average with 24. The value of his run-prevention in centerfield alone makes this a smart extension for a Cubs team that tends to sign pitchers who pitch to contact.

And then there’s the chance that PCA finds the level he hit in the first half of 2025 consistently and puts up multiple 30-30 seasons during the lifetime of his extension. If PCA can be a perennial 30-30 guy in addition to the value his glove provides, this deal could wind up being a steal for the Cubs.

Milwaukee has acquired Venezuelan outfielder Luis Matos from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for cash considerations. To make room on the 40-man roster, LHP Sammy Peralta has been designated for assignment.

Matos, the Giants’ No. 7 prospect heading into the 2023 season, made his major league debut in May of that year and recorded at least 150 at-bats in each of the last three seasons. He mashed in the minors, posting an .837 OPS in Triple-A last season, but so far that production has failed to translate to the majors. He had the best season of his career in 2025, but his .690 OPS mark was still below-average.

Matos, who’s still just 24, was DFA’ed by San Francisco last week despite slashing .260/.327/.440 in 50 at-bats this spring. He figures to play a depth role in Milwaukee’s outfield as a right-handed option after the injuries to Andrew Vaughn and Jackson Chourio in the last week. The team has not announced a corresponding move to open a spot on the 26-man active roster.

Also of note: Matos is a certified Brewer killer, with a career 1.255 OPS in 20 at-bats against Milwaukee. If you can’t stop ‘em, get ‘em.

Peralta, 27, was claimed off waivers from the Angels over the offseason. In parts of three MLB seasons with the White Sox and Angels, the lefty has made 30 relief appearances, with a 5.12 ERA, 4.29 FIP, and 37 strikeouts across 45 2/3 innings. He made six appearances this spring, allowing six runs (five earned) with three strikeouts over six innings of work. Sent to Triple-A Nashville to begin the season, he’ll now head back to waivers.

Baseball returns to Kansas City today as the Royals host the Twins for their 2026 home opener. After going 1-2 over the weekend against the Braves, the Royals will look for a win today to reach .500, as sort of meaningless as it is this early in the season.

Max has you covered on the series preview, as usual, which you can find here. He also has you covered on some of the logistics of opening day.

For today’s game, Kris Bubic takes the hill for the first time this season. We last saw him start a game during the regular season on July 26th, 2025, before he was injured and shut down for the season. He was in the midst of an excellent season in which he threw for a 2.55 ERA / 2.89 FIP / 3.3 fWAR. There was a lot of trade speculation during the offseason since he is entering the final year before free agency, but a trade never materialized. I imagine that speculation will restart in June/July depending on how the Royals are positioned in the playoff race. In the meantime, I just hope to see him healthy.

The Twins send Simeon Woods Richardson to start. He’s a big right-handed pitcher who throws roughly five pitches – a four seam fastball, slider, curveball, split-finger, and changeup. To me, the split-finger and changeup share a similar movement profile; his changeup is just slower. His fastball sits about 93 on average, so he doesn’t bring any overpowering heat and does not get a ton of strikeouts.

Woods Richardson pitched to a 4.04 ERA / 4.52 FIP / 1.2 fWAR in 23 appearances last year across 111.1 innings. He’s definitely hittable. It will be interesting to see if the new fence line at Kauffman will make itself known in the first game. It will be a warm opening day – the ball may carry more than usual for a March game, and Woods Richardson is a fly ball pitcher. The ingredients are here for some fun.

The game starts at 3:10pm US Central time. You can watch the game on Royals.TV, or if you are local to Kansas City, it will be available over-the-air on KCTV5/KSMO. You can listen on 96.5 The Fan or the Royals Radio Network.

Lineups:

The San Francisco Giants head south to take on their division rival San Diego Padres tonight at Petco Park.

Taking the mound for the Giants will be right-hander Landen Roupp, who completed the 2025 season with a 3.80 ERA, 3.91 FIP with 102 strikeouts to 45 walks in 106.2 innings pitched.

He’ll be facing off against Padres right-hander Walker Buehler, who completed the 2025 season with a 4.93 ERA, 5.66 FIP with 92 strikeouts to 61 walk in 126 innings pitched between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies. Buehler, of course, is a familiar face in the NL West, having played the majority of his career thus far with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Game #4

Who: San Francisco Giants (0-3) vs. San Diego Padres (1-2)

Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California

When: 6:40 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: Fox Sports 1

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

First Pitch (CT): 3:10 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo’ Foe: Royals Review

After a back-and-forth game against the Orioles, the Twins are back in action this afternoon against Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are running back largely the same squad as 2025 and banking on better health from their pitchers and continued improvement from former Top 100 prospects Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. If that sounds similar to the Twins, you would be absolutely correct!

The Royals are sending lefty Kris Bubic to the mound for his first start of the season. Bubic was phenomenal in the first half last season, leading to an All-Star nod, but faltered down the stretch as fatigue and injuries kept him off the field. The Twins will run out the same lineup they did on Opening Day vs fellow lefty Trevor Rogers, though they’ll need Luke Keaschall and Ryan Jeffers to show some life if they want to get some traction.

Lineups

As the Colorado Rockies MLB and Triple-A teams move into action, rosters are becoming available for the rest of the organizations farm system.

Triple-A Albuquerque

The Albuquerque Isotopes will field the following roster to start the season:

For the Isotopes, the name of the game is tested depth.

Very few players on this roster are making their Triple-A debut. Instead, the Rockies brought in a group of versatile veterans, and some of them young players. The focus will be letting roster progression happen naturally using that depth rather than promoting players before they are ready.

Charlie Condon (No. 1 PuRP) and Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP) are the position players to watch. On the pitching side, LHP Welinton Herrera (No. 17 PuRP) is the big bullpen name. Then of course the roster features two starters on the cusp of promotion: RHP Gabriel Hughes (No. 12 PuRP) and LHP Sean Sullivan (No. 8 PuRP).

Double-A Hartford

This year, the Yard Goats will begin the season with the following roster:

Things become a bit more complicated when looking at the Yard Goats roster.

There are a number of repeat assignments, some of which are clearly warranted. The Rockies decision to send Victor Juárez (No. 44 PuRP) back to Hartford after ending last season in ABQ is an interesting move.

However, there are also a few aggressive promotions, like Jimmy Obertop (who wasn’t impressive in Spokane to end last season). The decision to send Braylen Wimmer (No. 40 PuRP) going back to Hartford is notable. He spent 45 games there last season and to go back to playing at a high level so soon after his brain surgery shows he believes in himself and the organization believes in him as well.

Look for LHP Griffin Herring (No. 10 PuRP) and INF Roc Riggio (No. 14 PuRP) to be in Albuquerque by the end of the season.

That said, that fact that Dyan Jorge (No. 21 PuRP), Zach Kokoska (No. 53 PuRP), and Benny Montgomery (No. 43 PuRP) are still not able to bust past Double-A is a concern.

High-A Spokane

The Spokane Indians will begin the season with the following players:

Here’s where things get interesting.

The Rockies were very aggressive with the pitching staff assignments. Having RHP Yujanyer Herrera (No. 22 PuRP) and RHP Jordy Vargas (No. 21 PuRP) healthy and pitching right out of the gate is excellent, and the organization finally letting RHP Jackson Cox (No. 16 PuRP) off the leash after being overly cautious with him in Fresno last season.

RHP Brody Brecht (No. 3 PuRP) clearly has earned the promotion, and Antoine Jean (No. 46 PuRP) has received an aggressive assignment for his first affiliated professional ball. Everett Catlett is a repeat assignment, but he was solid in Spokane last year and he’ll no doubt be in Hartford at some point this season.

The rotation in Spokane will be one to watch.

The position players to watch are Max Belyeu (No. 15 PuRP) and Ethan Hedges (No. 29 PuRP), both on repeat after short assignments after the draft last year. The Rockies have also promoted Robert Calaz (No. 6 PuRP), who probably should have been in Spokane at some point last season.

Other than that, lots of familiar faces from Fresno getting the bump up to High-A.

The most notable omission? Ethan Holliday, who will start the season in Fresno.

Low-A Fresno

We’ll update the roster when it becomes available.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers welcome a postseason team from last season, the Cleveland Guardians, to Chavez Ravine for a three-game set.

Game 1 sees Roki Sasaki make his first start since last May, while Cleveland counters with prospect Parker Messick. 

That’s part of why my Guardians vs. Dodgers predictions and MLB picks expect the Over to hit in this interleague matchup, with first pitch at Dodger Stadium scheduled for 10:10 pm ET on Monday, March 30.

Guardians vs Dodgers predictions

Guardians vs Dodgers best bet: Over 8.5 (-120)

The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup is even more ridiculous with Kyle Tucker in the middle of it, as they scored 16 runs over the weekend. 

They face Parker Messick, a lefty making just his seventh career start. Messick isn't a hard thrower, and if he misses his spots against this Dodgers lineup, he could be in trouble.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Guardians look like they finally might have another bat to support Jose Ramirez in Chase DeLauter, who’s already hit four dingers.

It’s hard to know what L.A. will get out of Roki Sasaki as a starter, so expect some runs.

COVERS INTEL: The Dodgers ranked third in OPS and fourth in wRC+ when facing left-handed pitching last season.

Guardians vs Dodgers same-game parlay (SGP)

Tucker is off to a solid if unspectacular start with his new team. He's 2-for-11 with two RBI and three runs scored.

I like this matchup for him tonight. He’s a lefty who always hits southpaws as well as he does right-handers, so we’re almost always getting value when he’s got a lefty-lefty matchup.

On the other side, no one’s had a hotter start to the season than Chase DeLauter. The rookie phenom has already slugged four home runs with a 1.412 OPS.

Guardians vs Dodgers SGP

• Over 8.5
• Kyle Tucker Over 0.5 RBI
• Chase DeLauter Over 0.5 RBI

Guardians vs Dodgers home run pick: Mookie Betts (+440)

Mookie Betts is my favorite value to go yard at Chavez Ravine tonight at this price. Betts had a terrible, slow start to last season and ended up with just 20 home runs. Still, seven of those came against left-handers in nearly 300 fewer at-bats.

Betts had a .750 OPS vs. lefties last season and has a career .897 OPS against them. He’s also gone deep once already this season, so I’m betting another early-season slump is unlikely.

Guardians vs Dodgers odds

• Moneyline: Cleveland +154 | Los Angeles -184
• Run line: Cleveland +1.5 (-132) | Los Angeles -1.5 (+110)
• Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5

Guardians vs Dodgers trend

The Dodgers have hit the team total Over in 22 of their last 35 games, good for +8.80 Units and a 22% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Guardians vs. Dodgers.

How to watch Guardians vs Dodgers and game info

Guardians vs Dodgers latest injuries

Guardians vs Dodgers weather

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