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The final of the World Baseball Classic is stacked with star power. And speaking of power, don’t be shocked if we see a few home runs when Venezuela takes on the United States.

Aaron Judge, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Kyle Schwarber are the big bomber names, but who are the best bets to hit some dingers in what should be an epic WBC final? Check out my home run picks below.

And for even more World Baseball Classic picks, check out my Venezuela vs. USA predictions.

Venezuela home run pick

Ronald Acuna Jr. (+550 at DraftKings)

There are some great power hitters on Team Venezuela — Eugenio Suárez and Sal Perez just to name a few — but the best pure power swing on this team still belongs to Ronald Acuna Jr.

What makes the Venezuelan’s star center fielder so dangerous is he’s got easy power to all parts of the field. He’s already gone deep twice in the WBC, and I love this value for him to go yard once again.

Acuna Jr. faces American starter Nolan McLean. The Mets' top pitching prospect began his MLB career with an impressive eight-game stretch at the end of last summer, but one guy who burned him was Acuna — who took him deep in an August 22 meeting. 

USA home run pick

Alex Bregman (+425 at DraftKings)

It's been some of the young guns like Gunnar Henderson, Roman Anthony, and PCA that have powered the Americans to the final, but I’m betting on an old guard to go deep tonight.

One, the final seems like a spot for a veteran to step up. Two, the other thing those guys have in common is they’re lefty bats.

With that in mind, I expect Alex Bregman to get the start against Venezuela starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who, you guessed it, is a lefty.

Bregman also has solid career numbers vs. Rodriguez, going 9-for-27 with three home runs and a 1.160 OPS.

How to watch Venezuela vs USA and game info

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Today, the Colorado Rockies (11-11) welcome the Seattle Mariners (6-16) to Salt River Fields for a spring training game.

Starting for the Mariners is Cooper Chriswell.

The righty has a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 IP. He’s struck out 10 and has a 0.87 WHIP. 

Taking the mound for the Rockies will be RHP Ryan Feltner.

This will be his fourth start. Currently, he has an ERA of 10.80 in 8.1 IP. He’s struck out 12 and has a 2.04 WHIP.

And now to the details.

First Pitch: 2:10 pm MDT

TV: Rockies TV

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)

Lineups:

For the visiting Mariners:

And the home Rockies:

Correction: This story was updated to reflect the correct lineup.

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The Good Phight will be previewing the 2026 season by going over each position on the field. We’ll talk about the players that will occupy them, the players behind them, their strengths and weaknesses and give a few takes about how we think the season will shake out.

Can Bryson Stott maintain his second half surge and hot spring over a full season?

Bryson Stott has never had an above average season in the major leagues. Not exactly a bold statement, but one that still makes the brow furrow. Making that statement requires context and for that context, we can look at one of the better, more all encompassing stats we have publicly available, wRC+. A stat that takes all offensive production a player has and puts it into one handy, dandy number where 100 is average and anything above is good, anything below is bad. Nothing Hogwartsian about it, it’s basically just a big math equation.

Bryson Stott has never been above 100.

He’s hit 100 twice, including 2025. Yet his other two seasons in the major leagues, he’s been below average at the plate. His play in the field has helped him maintain decent WAR numbers, but vacillating between bad and meh at the plate casts doubt on the future of the player. I am of the opinion that an extension would be more appropriate than casting him aside once he has completed his required six years of time with the team, but many are probably already counting down the days until he is elsewhere.

However…

His 2025 overall season stat line doesn’t tell the whole story of how his season went. Closer inspection reveals the team may have stumbled onto something with Stott that has turned him around for the better, if one wants to be that cock-eyed optimist like Billy Mumphrey.

2025 1st half: .234/.303/.333, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 59:31 K:BB
2025 2nd half: .294/.368/.487, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 32:23 K:BB

We know that Stott worked with hitting coach Kevin Long all season and made some kind of in-season adjustment at the plate. Based on the results we see from splitting his 2025 season in half, that adjustment worked splendidly.

So, the adjustments have been made. And there seems to be a clearer plan for what Stott is trying to accomplish at the plate: trying to pull as much as he can, getting on the plate more to turn middle-away pitches into middle pitches, taking the same swing each time.

Stott has managed to stick to his plan during Grapefruit League play, with good moments interspersed: a pair of homers and five walks through his first four games.

When players that have previously not done well in seasons past do well in spring, there has to be at least a shred of skepticism. Who are they having that success against? What kinds of under the hood data are they showing? These are the questions that need to be asked with a critical eye. Yet we see that Stott is carrying over the adjustments that he made last year to this year so far and the results are there. He’s had a good spring.

The real test comes next week when he finally see major league pitching with regularity. Will he continue to find success with the adjustments that he has implemented into his game? It would be helpful to the entirety of the offense if more players upped their game in 2026. There is a real possibility that steps back are coming through natural regression. Too many players taking a step back requires others to take a step forward if the offense is function at a high level. Stott is one of those players. It’s past time he started to show improvement at the plate, lest he become another middling offensive player.

So far, it looks like maybe it is happening.

Monday, Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote about several experimental rule changes that will be used in some of the minor leagues this year.

The key here is “experimental.” Don’t expect all of these to be instituted in MLB, and even for some that might be, I would think testing will go on for several seasons.

So let’s take a look at them.

The first, which I won’t quote extensively here, is going to be used only in rookie-level and lower leagues — the Arizona Complex League, Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. This rule change will allow the starting pitcher to re-enter the game after being removed, subject to the following restrictions:

• Only the starting pitcher may reenter the game after being removed.
• The removed starting pitcher may only reenter the game at the beginning of the inning following removal and may only reenter the game once.
• To be eligible for re-entry, the starting pitcher must throw at least 25 pitches in the inning during which he is removed.

COMMENT: A process like this has existed in Spring Training over the last few years, when a team wants a pitcher to throw a certain total number of pitches but not too many in one inning. It’s used when a pitcher has given up a lot of hits or walks or runs in an inning and the manager just wants to get the inning over with, then have the starter come back and finish his allotted pitch count. Longenhagen concludes:

This is the first rule change listed in the memo, but it’s also the only one that seems like it’s being implemented solely with player health and development in mind and isn’t being piloted for eventual big league use.

So just make a note of this, you won’t be seeing this in MLB. Now, on to some you might see in MLB someday.

Games played in the Pacific Coast League will use the ABS Challenge system and follow the same rules that have been adopted at the Major League level for the 2026 season (i.e., each team will start the game with two challenges, successful challenges will be retained, teams will receive an extra challenge if they have no challenges remaining in extra innings, etc.). Consistent with past seasons, MLB will monitor gameplay to determine if there is a desire to test changes at a later point in the season. Beginning on May 5, 2026, the batter, pitcher, or catcher may also appeal the umpire’s decision regarding whether the batter swung at a pitch (“Check-Swing Challenge”). A swing will be considered to have occurred if the maximum angle between the bat head and the bat handle exceeds 45 degrees. This rule was tested in the Florida State League and Arizona Fall League in 2025. In the FSL, the strikeout rate was over 3% lower when Check-Swing Challenge was used, having a positive impact on balls in play and encouraging more extensive testing at higher levels. Under this format, each team will continue to start the game with 2 challenges. Challenges may be used on either ball/strike calls or swing/no-swing calls, but not both on the same pitch.

This will also be used in the other Triple-A league, the International League, as well as in the Florida State League.

COMMENT: The check-swing review was used on a limited basis in the Arizona Fall League last year, as noted. It seemed well-received, because it did make a specific note as to exactly what is considered a check swing, something that’s not now in the rule book and so is up to the umpire’s judgment. It will be interesting to see the results of this experimental rule. I’d think that after testing this might come to MLB, but it will take a few years. There are a couple of videos in the Fangraphs article where you can see this in action.

PitchCom Safe Harbor. In Triple-A, teams will be assessed a mound visit if play is stopped for the purpose of addressing an issue with PitchCom (at which point the team will have the opportunity to address the issue while the Pitch Clock is turned off). If the team does not have a mound visit remaining, a Pitch Clock Violation will be assessed (i.e., automatic ball), at which point the team will have an opportunity to address the issue while the Pitch Clock is turned off.

COMMENT: This seems kind of extreme for something that is a technical issue, not something teams are using to delay games. Or does MLB think the latter is actually what some teams are doing?

Defensive Signals. At all levels, the clock will no longer stop and reset when the catcher leaves his position to give defensive signals. If the catcher is unable to return to the catcher’s box with at least 9 seconds remaining on the clock, a Pitch Clock Violation will be assessed (i.e., automatic ball).

COMMENT: I’m not sure how often you see a catcher do this. It will be interesting to see how this works in practice.

Mound Visits. At all levels, mound conferences must end and all coaches and players, other than the pitcher, must be off the dirt of the mound and moving toward their positions or the dugout before the mound visit clock reaches zero. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in a Pitch Clock Violation (i.e., automatic ball).

COMMENT: This is something you see all the time in MLB games. The mound visit clock starts at 30 seconds. The umpire usually starts heading to the mound to break up the conference with a couple of seconds left on the clock, and often the manager/coach and players dilly-dally a bit. This is a way to attempt to speed up games after mound visits. I could get behind this.

There are several experimental rules for batter timeouts, depending on the minor league level.

Double-A & Triple-A. When a batter requests time, the home plate umpire will grant time, point at the batter, then immediately reset the Pitch Clock. Batters must return to the batter’s box and become alert to the pitcher before the clock reaches 8 seconds remaining.

High-A. Batters will only be permitted to request time with runners on base (i.e., batters will not be permitted to request time with the bases empty). Umpires may continue to grant time if a special circumstance applies (e.g., hitter is brushed back, there is bona fide equipment issue, or injury concern).

Single-A. Batters will not be permitted to request time. As in High-A, umpires may continue to grant time if a special circumstance applies (e.g., hitter is brushed back, there is a bona fide equipment issue, or injury concern).

COMMENT: In MLB games now, you almost always see hitters request a timeout with two strikes on them, to be able to reset a bit. Occasionally, they’ll do so with fewer than two strikes. To eliminate them completely seems excessive. The Double-A and Triple-A rule above might work. I don’t think batter timeouts under the current system delay games too much.

Disengagement Limit. In Double-A, the Disengagement Limit will be reduced from 2 to 1. When there are runners on base, pitchers may pickoff or step off once during a plate appearance without penalty. If they disengage a second time and all runners return safely, time will be called and all runners will be advanced one base. Consistent with the Disengagement Limit used at other levels of play, if a runner advances a base during a plate appearance (e.g., stolen base), the Disengagement Limit will reset.

COMMENT: This will basically super-charge stolen bases in the Double-A level. If that’s what MLB wants, then… we’ll see if the results of this test are such that they’d want to use it at higher levels.

To encourage more action on the bases, in the International League second base will be placed entirely within the perimeter of the infield diamond during the second half. This change will decrease the distance between first base and second base, and the distance between second base and third base, by approximately 9”, i.e., double the change achieved by increasing the size of the bases from 15” inches to 18.” MLB will work with the groundskeepers in the International League to move second base prior to the start of the second half of the 2026 season.

COMMENT: This will have the effect of allowing slower runners to go from first to third on a single, or perhaps score from first on a double, bu decreasing the actual amount of distance they have to run to do that. Again, it will be fascinating to see the results of these tests.

Remember, all of these are being deemed “experimental,” so it’s entirely possible they toss all of these after the experiments. In any case, since they’ve been tweaking the rule book over the last few years, it generally takes several years and lots of testing before any such changes are made at the MLB level. It’ll definitely be worth watching the minor leagues indicated to see how these rule change ideas work in practice.

Kyle Freeland will be on the mound when the Rockies start the 2026 season on March 27 in Miami against the Marlins.

The Opening Day start will be the fifth of Freeland’s career, which breaks his own record of most in Rockies history.

Freeland, 32, also made the Opening Day start for Colorado in 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Last season, Freeland had a great debut, throwing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rockies went on to lose 3-2 after Kameron Misner hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the night.

It was the 14th quality start in franchise history, but the rest of the season didn’t go as well for Freeland, who also didn’t get much run support, as he went 5-17 in 31 starts with a 4.98 ERA.

This spring has been another story, despite Freeland seeing action late with back spasms in February that delayed his spring training debut. Since then, in five innings over two starts, Freeland has a 1.80 ERA. He has given up four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

The Rockies also made two roster announcements on Tuesday, optioning infielder Adael Amador and RHP Tanner Gordon to the Triple-A Isotopes.

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Cito Gaston turns 82 today.

Cito, the player, came up through the Atlanta Braves system and was a September call-up in 1967. He shared the outfield with Hank Aaron.

In 1968, the Padres picked him in the expansion draft. He had one standout season, hitting .318 with 29 homers and 93 RBI, and overall played 11 years as a strong defensive center fielder.

As a Black player coming up through the Atlanta Braves system in the ‘60s, Cito faced challenges shaped by that era. His experiences—both as a player and as the manager who won two World Series with the Jays—suggest his life story would make a compelling book.

He has an 894-837 record as a manager, all with the Blue Jays. He led us to 5 first-place finishes and 2 World Series wins. Interestingly, he only had 26 ejections in his managerial career, often to protect his players. He believed he was more valuable on the bench than watching from the clubhouse.

Cito managed by trusting his players. He didn’t emphasize strategic tricks or the bunt, and reportedly didn’t call hit-and-runs in his second Jays stint. He picked players he liked and let them play.

This management approach has its merits.

Early as a manager, Cito favoured veterans. In his second stint, he relied more on younger players, especially when veterans no longer performed.

Cito liked aggressive, pull-hitting styles. He even convinced John McDonald to commit fully to an all-pull approach. Initially, it led to more home runs, but pitchers soon adapted, resulting in more ground balls.

Cito is number 75 on the all-time win list for MLB managers. And, of course, number one among Jays’ managers.

Turning to another birthday, Scott Downs turns 50 today. He was one of my favourites.

The Cubs drafted Downs in the 3rd round of the 1997 draft. He made it to the majors with the Cubs in 2000, though he was traded to the Twins and back before reaching the majors. Finally, in May of 2000, the Cubs traded him to the Expos for Rondell White. Most of Scott’s time with the Expos was spent recovering from 2 Tommy John surgeries.

He signed with the Jays before the 2005 season.

In 2005, he had a 4-3 record and a 4.31 ERA in 26 games, making both starts and relief appearances. In 2006, he primarily relieved, going 6-2 with a 4.09 ERA in 59 games.

In 2007, Downs contributed as a reliable reliever, pitching in 81 games primarily as a one-out lefty. He compiled a 4-2 record and a 2.17 ERA. Heavy use did not seem to negatively affect his performance that season.

In 2008, he worked his way into the setup role. Cito used him in every game, whether ahead or behind. He pitched multiple innings several times and had one of the best seasons we’ve seen from a setup man, until he twisted an ankle late in the year. He probably should have rested longer, but Cito kept using him, given his previous reliability.

In 2009, he shared closing duties with Frasor, posting a 3.09 ERA. In 2010, as a setup man again, he recorded a 2.64 ERA in 67 appearances.

After the 2010 season, he signed with the Angels. From there, he bounced around to the Braves, White Sox, Royals, and Cleveland.

He played 13 seasons, appearing in 619 games (50 starts) with a 3.56 ERA and 27 saves. With the Jays, he had a 3.14 ERA over six seasons and 347 games.

Downs was known as Snakeface. Some listeners on Jays’ Talk noted that he did not appear intimidating on the mound, prompting broadcaster Mike Wilner to jokingly suggest Downs had a snake tattoo to boost his presence.

Next, former Blue Jay great Danny Ainge turns 67 today. He wasn’t great on the baseball diamond, but he cleaned up in team pickup basketball games. After three seasons and a .220/.264/.269 batting line, he left baseball to play for the Boston Celtics, a good move. He was a far better basketball player than a baseball player. He won two NBA Championships as a Celtics player and another as the Executive Director of Basketball Operations.

Happy Birthday to all three. I hope they each have a great day.

Also, having birthdays:

Raul Chavez turns 53 today. The backup catcher played his last MLB season with the 2009 Blue Jays, hitting .258 with 2 homers.

Scott Brow turns 57. A 1990 7th-round pick, he earned a 1993 World Series ring, made 42 Jays appearances, and had a 5.78 ERA with 2 saves.

Cesar Valdez turns 41 today. He made 7 appearances with a 6.75 ERA for the 2017 Jays, also playing 68 MLB games over four years.

It feels like just one week ago that I was writing up the previous Spring Training matchup against the A’s because it was! This afternoon, the White Sox are coming off a tough 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers and will look to wake the bats up and bounce back vs the Athletics. Lefty Anthony Kay takes the mound for his fifth start of the spring and has been steady since arriving, carrying a 2.31 ERA across 11 2/3 innings.

Before we get to today’s action, the White Sox have announced the devastating news that righthander Mike Vasil will need to undergo Tommy John surgery and will, unfortunately, miss the entire 2026 season. Vasil joined the South Siders as a Rule 5 draft pick last year, and ended up being one of the top arms out of the bullpen, posting a 2.50 ERA over 47 appearances, racking up four saves with 82 Ks in 101 innings and a 1.25 WHIP.

Kay has allowed just three runs on nine hits in Cactus League play, though one thing that would be ideal for him is to cut down on walks. Despite ringing up 10 batters, he’s also walked six and hit one, but to be fair, he’s easing back into MLB life and has consistently reduced his whip each game, down from 1.71 at the beginning of the month to 1.29. Kay pitched his longest game in his last outing (four innings), and allowed just one run on a homer, but looked good overall with his command — four strikeouts with zero walks.

Looking at the offense behind Kay, Korey Lee has stepped up now that Kyle Teel is injured, and he’s ranked 14th in MLB over the last week in OPS (1.452), flashing his power with a .923 SLG with three extra-base hits — a double and two home runs. Another South Sider that has settled in a bit is Luisangel Acuña, who ranks second in MLB in batting average over the last seven days while slashing .571/.625/.643. However, the headline today for the offense is that Munetaka Murakami is back with the Good Guys after the Japanese World Baseball Classic team lost in the quarterfinals, and will start today’s game to get a few more Spring Training reps in before Opening Day. Mune will be playing first and batting in the cleanup spot, and slashed .385/.385/.538 in 13 at-bats with the South Siders prior to joining Team Japan, though he wasn’t as dominant in the WBC, posting just a .654 OPS with one homer and two RBIs.

Here’s how the White Sox are lining ‘em up today:

On the mound for the A’s is righthander Luis Morales, making his fourth start of Spring Training in his fifth game appearance. Morales has tossed 12 innings so far, but hasn’t had the same success as Kay, posting a 6.00 ERA with 10 strikeouts, while his 1.92 WHIP highlights some of his struggles. Morales has allowed nine runs (eight earned) on 16 hits and has also walked seven batters. Given that the South Side bats were quiet yesterday, hopefully they can rebound and be more selective at the plate this afternoon.

The good news for Morales is that his offense has been excellent throughout pre-season, as the Athletics have the top Spring Training OPS (.875) and the second-highest slugging percentage (.510) against left-hand pitching. On the bright side, Shea Langaliers will not be playing today as he has been ripping the ball, and holds the top 2.317 OPS in MLB with an insane 1.692 SLG in his last five games (13 at-bats), blasting FIVE home runs in that time along with five RBIs.

Nick Kurtz has been an excellent addition to the A’s and posted a 1.002 OPS in his rookie season last year. He will be leading off today, though his stats haven’t been as powerful during Spring Training. Despite his .171 batting average, he holds a .748 OPS in 41 at-bats and leads the team in walks (nine), showing that he will find ways to get on even if his bat isn’t at 100%.

Today’s game can be listened to via the Athletics radio broadcast, but unfortunately, there is no video broadcast for this one. First pitch is at 3:05 p.m. CT — let’s get a White Sox W!