It has been a little while since I have talked about the Nats farm system, so I wanted to give it some love. There are plenty of breakout candidates in the system, but I settled on three picks to click. One rule I had was that none of these players could be in the top 10 of the most recent MLB Pipeline top 30.

That means Gavin Fien, Landon Harmon and Luke Dickerson are not eligible for this list. Instead, I am going for some deeper cuts. The three names I chose were Devin Fitz-Gerald, Yoel Tejada Jr., and Sam Petersen. All of these guys showed flashes in 2025, but the best is still yet to come.

Devin Fitz-Gerald is the highest ranked of these prospects. He is the 12th ranked prospect in the Nats system according to Pipeline and is 9th for Baseball America. Fitz-Gerald was a key part of the MacKenzie Gore return. He was picked in the 5th round of the 2024 draft by the Rangers, and had an outstanding first season as a pro.

Fitz-Gerald dominated the competition in Rookie Ball before a promotion to Low-A. He only got to play 10 games in Low-A before a shoulder injury ended his season in early July. However, he held his own in A ball, walking more than he struck out. Polish is a key part of Fitz-Gerald’s game. The switch hitting infielder is a very advanced hitter for his age and has a high baseball IQ.

That high baseball IQ should come as no surprise. His dad is the coach at Stoneman Douglas High School, which has produced many MLB players including Anthony Rizzo, Jesus Luzardo and Roman Anthony. Fitz-Gerald played for his dad in high school and was an excellent player.

However, his pro debut went even better than expected. The switch hitter showed more power than expected, which elevated his stock. Everyone knew he was a polished hitter, but the extra power makes him a very complete hitter. Fitz-Gerald is not an elite athlete, so he is likely to move to second or third base. However, he has a good enough bat to do that. Out of the trio of prospects we will cover, Fitz-Gerald is easily the most likely to emerge as a top 100 guy.

He should start the season in a crowded Low-A infield. There is a chance we see Fitz-Gerald, Eli Willits, Angel Feliz, Gavin Fien and Luke Dickerson all start the year at Low-A. That could potentially move Dickerson to the outfield, but that is a conversation for another day. Devin Fitz-Gerald is a prospect whose trajectory is pointed upwards.

For my pitcher, I am going to choose a real deep cut. Yoel Tejada Jr. is the 27th ranked prospect according to Pipeline and the 29th ranked prospect according to Baseball America. However, he has some unique attributes that excite me.

Tejada was taken in the 14th round of the 2024 draft by the Nats. He was not good at all in college, with a career ERA of 5.74. Tejada also had more walks than strikeouts in his college career that only lasted 42.1 innings over three seasons. However, the Nats still drafted him because he is 6’8 and threw in the mid-90’s.

That gamble looks like a smart one. After some mechanical tweaks, he looked like a different pitcher as a pro. Tejada was more in the 91-94 MPH range, but was throwing way more strikes and showed a good feel for spin. His fastball plays up due to his massive extension down the mound as well. There is also a chance he can gain some more velocity.

In Low-A, Tejada posted a 3.43 ERA in 78.2 innings. He struck out nearly a batter per inning and walked just 2.4 hitters per nine. His two starts in High-A did not go as well, but that was a small sample size. The improvement in his command is what makes me very intrigued.

At 6’8, he is going to be a weird look for hitters. If he continues to pound the zone like he did last year, Tejada’s stock is only going to rise. I wonder if he can show the velocity he did in college while still pounding the zone. If he can do that, his stock could really take off. Tejada should start the season at High-A, but if he does well there, he could get to Double-A at some point this season. 

He could be the next Brad Lord or Riley Cornelio type of arm, who seemingly comes out of nowhere. Both of those guys had velocity spikes as they rose through the minors, so that makes me confident that Tejada could sit in the 94-95 range before too long. 

Another pitcher who is in a similar position to Tejada that I want to shout out as an honorable mention is Davian Garcia. He was also part of that 2024 class, and had a similar season to Tejada. Garcia was excellent in Low-A, but struggled in High-A. He got into a Spring Training game a few days ago, where his stuff looked excellent. Look for Garcia to rise into the Nats top 30 list soon.

The last player I want to talk about is Sam Petersen. In a way, he has already broken out,  as he had an excellent year mostly in High-A. However, he only played in 57 minor league games due to a couple injuries. If he can stay healthy, Petersen could be yet another candidate to play in the Nats outfield by the end of the season.

While MLB Pipeline has Petersen as their 28th ranked prospect in the system, Baseball America is much higher on him. They have him ranked 14th, sandwiched between Landon Harmon and Ethan Petry. Baseball America put a 55 grade on his hitting, his power and his speed. That is a very impressive combination.

With the numbers he put up, that makes sense. Wilmington is a notoriously difficult place to hit, but Petersen made it look easy. He hit .297 with an .888 OPS in 44 games at High-A. Those are numbers you do not often see in Wilmington.

Petersen had a good career at Iowa, but fell to the 8th round due to an injury. When he was on the field last year, Petersen’s power and hitting ability looked improved. His max exit velocity improved from college despite switching from metal to wood bats. BA noted that he has an all-field approach, but has become more comfortable pulling the ball in the air.

If Petersen can stay healthy, he has an outside chance of making the big leagues this year. At this time last year, Daylen Lile was on the outside looking in, but he forced his way into the lineup. Petersen has the chance to do something similar if he performs and stays healthy.

It is clear the new regime likes what they are seeing because he has gotten a lot of run early in Spring Training. He has looked good when he has played as well, going 3/6 to start the spring. Despite only playing 44 games at High-A, the 23 year old Petersen should start the year in Double-A.

With a new regime coming in, there are plenty of prospects who could break out. There are obvious names like Eli Willits and Gavin Fien, but there are also some more under the radar picks. Even beyond these three players, there are other sleepers like Marconi German, Angel Feliz and Jackson Kent that I like. The Nats system is deeper than it has been in a long time, and it will be very exciting to follow this season.

Series Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-3) at #7 Auburn Tigers (7-1)

Location: Samford Stadium – Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park, Auburn, AL

Dates: Friday, February 27th-Sunday, March 1st

Times (all CST): Feb. 27th @ 6pm, Feb 28th @ 2pm, Mar 1st @ 1pm

Head Coaches: Will Bolt (7th season, 174-129-1) & Butch Thompson (11th season, 331-233-1)

TV/Stream: ESPN+/SEC Network+

Radio: All Nebraska games on Huskers Radio Network, Huskers.com, Huskers App

Coach Butch Thompson took over an Auburn team that despite having a ton of recent NCAA tournament success had failed to make the field for 3 straight postseasons. After missing the field again his first season, he has only done it once since. Coach Thompson has also led the team to two of its six College World Series appearances. The one thing that has eluded the Tigers in his 11 years is a conference title. Their last SEC title was in 1998. This team could be their best chance since.

This years version of the Tigers were in the same College Baseball series as Nebraska last week in Globe Life Field. Unlike Nebraska they were rarely challenged on their way to winning the weekend. They took out Kansas State 5-1, Florida State 8-5, and Louisville 10-6. Other than FSU putting up a 4 run first inning before going dormant until the 9th, Auburn was in control of every game.

While they were expected to be a good team, being ranked preseason #9 in D1Baseball.com’s top 25, the offense in particular got off to a really slow start prior to arriving in Arlington. A pair of 2-1 wins (with 1 bing in 10 innings) against Youngstown State is how the season began for the Tigers. They did finish the sweep with a 17-2 run rule victory in only 7 innings, but then came out and lost 8-0 to a “meh” Cincinnati team in the midweek. They also were losing with 2 outs in the 9th inning, needed a walk-off to beat West Georgia 4-3 in the midweek. Will they continue to be sleepy at home? Or did their trip to Globe Life wake their offense up?

Pitching Probables

Game 1: RHP Ty Horn (0-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Marciano (1-0, 0.82 ERA)

Game 2: RHP Carson Jasa (1-0, 5.06 ERA) vs. LHP Jackson Sanders (1-0, 3.27 ERA)

Game 3: RHP Gavin Blachowicz (1-0, 1.86 ERA) vs. RHP Alex Petrovic (2-0, 2.70 ERA)

Through 2 starts, Ty Horn has done just about everything you could ask for in an ace, other than getting a bit deeper into games. He still seems to get a little too deep into counts trying to go for the strikeout each batter, and that has cost him an inning+ in each game probably. He nearly kept an extremely potent Louisville offense off the board, allowing a leadoff double in the 6th who would eventually score on the bullpen. Other than that, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks and 5 hits in 5+ innings of work against that team is something to build on. He left with the lead, which is all you can ask in a big game like that.

Carson Jasa continues to fill up the stat sheet. Through 2 games and 10.2 innings, he has struck out 17, walked 5 and allowed 6 earned runs. Coach Bolt admits he may keep him in a bit too long in his games because his “stuff” at that point in time is still better than what will come out of the pen fresh. He gets a little more wild the further he goes into games. Getting the walks and just overall balls out of the zone in check in the 5th and 6th innings will go a long way to improving his outings and the teams chances of winning his starts.

When asked about the Gavin Blachowicz and Cooper Katskee situation, Bolt quickly said, “Blachowicz isn’t going anywhere.” Katskee for the time being looks to be potentially a weekend bullpen guy and a mid week starter. Bolt points out it’s a long season, and thats where he started last season at before becoming a Friday starter and conference pitcher of the year. Blachowicz has done nothing but impress in his first 2 starts. Since adding a cutter/change and slurve to his fastball and curveball over the offseason, opponents have had major issues getting the barrel on his balls, with 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. His only hit given up against #16 Florida State was a solo shot from one of the top power hitters at the College Baseball Series.

Auburn went out in the transfer portal for some big time pitching prospects. Former Virginia Tech starter Jake Marciano is their Friday ace. He is a smooth lefty that doesn’t have a ton of power, staying mostly around 89-91 mph with his fastball, but still piles up the strikeouts. In 5 innings against Youngstown St, he struck out 12. Then against a potent Kansas State offense, he still struck out 8 in 6 innings of work, allowing zero runs on 2 hits. An easy way to think of him is peak Will Walsh pitching at the Big Ten Tournament. Thats the pounding of the strike zone, efficiency and pace he will pitch with. He has 18 walks in 71+ career innings.

A lot of how Auburn will do this season depends on their starters after Marciano. Saturday starter Jackson Saunders was one of the top pitching recruits in the country, but had an up and down year last season as a reliever. He had a 5.29 ERA and was upside down, giving up 13 walks with only 10 strikeouts in 17 innings. He has lived up to his billing to start this year however, striking out 17 and only walking 2 in his 11 innings. Alex Petrovic was a long shot to get a weekend rotation slot, but an injury to Griffin Graves jumbled up the staff at the last minute. Petrovic has been a reliever that piled up strikeouts, albeit in limited opportunities, pitching less than 30 innings combined over the pervious 2 seasons. He has yet to give up a walk this season, in his 10 innings. So the NU bats will have to be ready to swing.

Scouting Report

There are a number of guys to look at with regard to the Tigers’ offense. Maybe the best place to start is the player that just won Most Outstanding Player down in Arlington. Bristol Carter has really taken hold of the centerfield and leadoff spot for Auburn. The junior had a bit of a down year last year at Auburn, after being a Freshman All American the previous year at ECU. No such issue this year. He gets on base by any means necessary, as his .513 on-base percentage shows. He led the team with 14 stolen bases last season, and has been given the green light even more this season, already 6 for 6 on the season. He also hit a home run in the cavernous Globe Life Field, so he does have the ability to show some power.

The top returner everyone expects to put up some big numbers this season is Catcher/INF Chase Fralich. He was a Freshman All American as a catcher last season, batting .335 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs and 41 RBIs. He has been red hot to start the season, mainly at catcher, but also appearing at first base, a position the team is trying to find a consistent starter for. He is batting .500 on the year, with a 1.343 OPS and has a double, triple, and 2 home runs to go with 8 RBIs in just 8 games thus far.

The Tigers don’t have a lot of freshman, like most top teams in the portal era, but they do have a couple really talented ones trying to break into their lineup. Ethin Bingaman is the most talented of the bunch. He is rated as the 31st best player in his class, and the 6th best freshman to make it to school in the SEC. He has broken into the lineup at the previously mentioned first base and right field. He’s hitting .400 with 2 home runs, and is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. Oh, and he was also rated as the #4 right handed pitcher in his class, though he has yet to set foot on the mound for Auburn yet.

The bullpen has a good mix of experience within the program and new arrivals. In fact they have both competing for saves as a closer. Last season’s primary closer is RHP Ryan Hetzler. He had 8 saves last year with a 3.86 ERA. They added former Michigan State LHP Garrett Brewer. He already has 2 saves on the year, and has yet to allow a run in 3 appearances over 2.1 innings.

One arm out of the bullpen close to returning from injury that the Huskers are familiar with is former Creighton closer, Mason Koch. He only appeared in 3 games in 2025 before being sidelined with a wrist injury. They thought best case scenario was he was 5-6 weeks away when spring practice began 6 weeks ago. They want to be extra careful with him though, needing him to be full strength for the stretch run of the SEC schedule. So if I had to guess, he will remain shelved.

The defense is serviceable, but not the team’s overall strength, ranked 80th in the NCAA in fielding percentage at .979. Coach Thompson admits, his catchers need work at controlling the running game. If Nebraska gets things rolling offensively, they like to use their running game to bury people.

Series History

This is the first time these programs have met on the diamond.

On Deck

• Nebraska is 7-3 in their last 10 games against ranked teams, following the split with Louisville and FSU this past weekend.

• Dylan Carey is up to 50 career doubles after his offensive showcase in Arlington. He is fifth all time at Nebraska, 3 away from Alex Gordon for 4th, and 6 behind his skipper and NU record holder, Will Bolt.

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We have some rare Spring Training night games on the Friday slate, with the Nationals hosting the Astros, and the Mariners taking on the Diamondbacks.

But first up in my Spring Training predictions for February 27 is the Guardians-Cubs tilt.

Read on for my free MLB picks.

Spring Training predictions for February 27

Pick	Odds
CLE moneyline	+125
WAS moneyline	+100
SEA moneyline	-165

Pick #1: Guardians moneyline (+125)

The Chicago Cubs are 2-5 with a -16 run differential so far in Spring Training. Edward Cabrera makes his first appearance in a Chicago uni today, and he had a disastrous 24.55 ERA in exhibition play with Miami last year.

The Cleveland Guardians counter with Logan Allen, and he pitched a solid two shutout innings on Saturday, scattering a hit and a walk with two strikeouts.

This is nothing unusual for Allen, who owned a 1.88 ERA over 14 1/3 innings (six starts) in the Cactus League last year.

Pick #2: Nationals moneyline (+100)

I don't entirely trust Miles Mikolas in his new home with the Washington Nationals, but I absolutely do not trust the oft-injured Lance McCullers Jr. for the Houston Astros.

McCullers looked over the hill for Houston with a 6.51 ERA last season. He'll take on a Nationals team that's a decent 4-2 with a +7 run differential.

The Astros, meanwhile, are off to a terrible 1-4 start with a -9 run differential. They should not be favored on the road.

Pick #3: Mariners moneyline (-165)

The Seattle Mariners moneyline is a little steep, but not without good reason. Ryne Nelson authored a 9.26 ERA in Spring Training with the Arizona Diamondbacks last year, while Luis Castillo had a 3.31 ERA.

Castillo recorded three or more innings in four of five exhibition starts last year, so don't expect the token one-inning outing we're accustomed to seeing from so many top-notch starters as they prep for the regular season.

Castillo should get plenty of run support, with Seattle sporting a .928 OPS so far in Spring Training.

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Brewers boast one of the best farm systems in baseball, though most of their top prospects are still a year or two away from the big leagues. That hasn’t stopped Jesús Made, Luis Peña, Josh Adamczewski, and others from offering glimpses of what’s to come. Let’s take a look at the Brewers prospects who have made an impact over the first week of spring training.

Jesus Made:

Made is 2-for-8 this spring, a stat line that belies the fact how encouraging the early returns have been. In his last appearance, against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon, the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect went 2-for-2 with a triple, an RBI, and a run scored. On the triple, Made got caught out in front of a José Buttó changeup and still managed to register an exit velocity of 98 mph. The pitch before, a foul ball that looked for a second as if it might stay fair, came off the bat at 110.9 mph.

Made’s still only 18 years old, and he’s not doing this against Double-A guys either. Buttó has appeared in 95 major league games and is coming off a season where he posted a 3.90 ERA. He’s not a scrub.

The single in the eighth came off of Nick Margevicius, who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2021 but still has 32 more games of major league experience than Made does. After Wednesday’s game, Made now has a .900 OPS this spring. Nobody’s expecting him to make the Brewers out of camp, but he’ll be one to watch at Double-A and Triple-A this season.

Luis Peña

Made is further along the development track than Peña, but Peña’s performance this spring has been equally impressive. He’s 2-f0r-5 so far with a double and this single, a 108-mph rocket off of Guardians prospect Zane Morehouse. Like Made, he’s not expected to contribute this year (or even next). The Brewers just want to see development from their No. 2 prospect, and he’s developing before our eyes.

Josh Adamczewski

Adamczewski, one of the biggest risers in the farm system last year, split the season between Low-A and High-A, slashing .320/.420/.490 over 71 games. He’s been making hard contact, and his stat line so far (2-for-6 with a double) is about as good as you could realistically expect to see from a guy who hasn’t even played a game in Double-A.

Last season, Adamczewski was listed as a second baseman, but he’s been playing left field this spring — indicating that the Brewers want to find a way to get his bat in the lineup despite the presence of highly-regarded middle infield prospects like Made, Peña, Jett Williams, and Cooper Pratt.

Tyler Black

Black isn’t really a prospect anymore, but he’s only appeared in 22 games with Milwaukee and is still 25. Given the spring he’s putting together, he’s worth including. After yesterday’s three-hit game, Black is now hitting .667 with a 1.942 OPS through 12 at-bats.

I’ve seen a couple Vinny Capra comparisons, but unlike Capra, Black was at one point a top 50 prospect in baseball. As recently as last year, Baseball America ranked him a top five prospect in the Brewers organization. Maybe he’s finally figuring things out at the major league level.

The problem is that it’s hard to see where he fits into the Brewers’ plans. He could theoretically see time at third base, but for an organization that highly values defense that feels unlikely. First base is manned by Andrew Vaughn. Maybe he’ll see some time in left field to start the season? Either way, if Black keeps hitting this well he’ll be hard to keep off the roster. If he’s no longer in the Brewers’ long-term plans, a strong spring might bring back a worthwhile return via trade.

Tate Kuehner

Kuehner, a left-handed pitcher who ended last year with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, has put up impressive numbers since the Brewers drafted him in the seventh round of the 2023 Draft. Kuehner posted a 3.17 ERA in 2024 and pitched even better (2.77 ERA) in 2025. He went two scoreless innings yesterday, picking up four strikeouts and the save in Milwaukee’s win over the Texas Rangers.

I’ve been banging the drum for Kuehner since I joined BCB, and I still think he’s somewhat underrated as a prospect. He has great shape on his fastball, a sharp slider with swing-and-miss potential, and a changeup that Fangraphs gave a 55 grade. If Kuehner gets a chance in the big leagues this year, don’t be surprised if he sticks.

If there’s one thing we can safely predict about the 2026 Dodgers, it’s that they will use many different arms to get through the 186 days of the regular season. In 2023 they set a franchise record by using 39 different pitchers, then topped that by using 40 pitchers in each of the last two seasons.

The Dodgers are not alone in this regard among major league teams. Their 39 pitchers used in 2023 were tied for fourth in MLB, then in 2024 they were tied for second, and were sixth last year. There have been 23 teams in major league history to use at least 40 pitchers in a season, with 20 of those seasons coming since 2021.

We’ve gone over how the Dodgers have plenty of starting pitching depth in addition to their Big Four in the rotation. So let’s look at the bullpen options today.

On the sideline (3)

Evan Phillips is already on the 60-day injured list and isn’t expected back until midseason after Tommy John surgery last June. Brock Stewart is coming off shoulder surgery in October, and will likely open the season on the injured list.

Same for Brusdar Graterol, who is coming off November 2024 shoulder surgery and did not pitch at all last season. He’s being slow-played this spring.

Roster locks (5)

Edwin Díaz and Tanner Scott each signed big contracts. Veteran Blake Treinen is in the second and final year of his deal. Alex Vesia has been a bullpen staple the last four years and with over five years of service time can’t be sent to the minors without his consent.

Jack Dreyer was a rookie last year and could be optioned. But he also lasted on the roster all of last season and the postseason, joining Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the only Dodgers pitchers to remain active from last March through November. So we’ll include him here among the locks.

Swing men (2)

Ben Casparius and Justin Wrobleski were both starters in the minors but have pitched more in relief during their parts of two seasons in the majors. If there isn’t room in the rotation, having either one in the bullpen would be a welcome addition, with both having such experience in the postseason. Both can be optioned.

Other relievers with options (6)

From the right side, this includes Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Paul Gervase, and Bobby Miller, plus left-hander Ronan Kopp, who was added to the 40-man roster in November.

Another right-hander, Will Klein, has been called a “World Series hero” every time he has been mentioned in the Dodgers game notes this spring, after his four scoreless innings in the marathon Game 3 last October.

That’s 16 potential relievers on the 40-man roster, but as we’ve seen in recent years the Dodgers’ pool to choose from extends far beyond that. Twenty-two of the 42 non-roster pitchers in Dodgers camp from 2023-25 ended up pitching for them in the majors in that season, for instance.

Last year the Dodgers had 13 different pitchers appear at least 10 games in relief:

• Anthony Banda 70 games relieved
• Alex Vesia 68
• Jack Dreyer 62
• Tanner Scott 61
• Kirby Yates 50
• Ben Casparius 43
• Blake Treinen 32
• Luis García 28
• Lou Trivino 24
• Edgardo Henriquez 22
• Justin Wrobleski 22
• Will Klein 14
• Michael Kopech 14

Garcia was a non-roster invitee last spring, while Klein and Trivino started 2025 in other organizations. The two Dodgers pitchers last year with nine games in relief were in the same boat, as Alexis Díaz was acquired in May and Matt Sauer was a non-roster invitee.

In other words, we’ll see quite a few different pitchers this season, many of whom aren’t currently on the 40-man roster. That brings us to today’s question: How many Dodgers will pitch at least 10 games in relief in 2026?

Welcome back to our preview of 2026 Red Sox starting pitching. If you missed the bulk of the preview last week, check it out below.

Today, we turn our attention to the back of the back of the rotation: the depth starters.

Now that we’ve been through the nine pitchers who are fighting for spots in the opening day rotation, we can turn our attention to the depth. In theory, those nine arms I already went through will make the bulk of the starts for the Red Sox this season. This is major league baseball we’re talking about, though, and pitching injuries are bound to happen. Last season, 15 different pitchers started games for the Red Sox, and Brennan Bernardino was the only true “opener” they used. Come August, when the rotation has been through the wringer and is run down, look for one of these names to provide five innings or so.

Tyler Uberstine

Of the options on this list, Tyler Uberstine is probably first in line to make a spot start, although there are several pitchers ahead of him (covered here and here).

Uberstine, who reached Triple-A last season, was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Like many Red Sox pitchers, he has a low release point that creates a flat approach angle for his mid-90s fastball. Over about 90 innings at Worcester, he struck out a very respectable 26% of hitters, but struggled with walks, handing out free passes at a 9.4% clip. He uses multiple breaking balls, with his slider and changeup showing the most potential. His ceiling is likely a back-of-the-rotation arm, but there’s nothing wrong with eating innings to help carry the load through a very long season.

Jake Bennett

Jake Bennett is 6’6”, 235 pounds and throws with his left hand. He has seven feet of extension. In his first Spring Training outing, his fastball averaged 95 mph and reached 98 mph. According to SoxProspects, he has “advanced command and control” of said fastball.

My scouting report is based on the numbers and other people’s scouting reports, but I’m buying all the Jake Bennett stock I can get. His best secondary pitch is a changeup, which will neutralize righties, while he also has a slider and a curveball. He’ll mix in sinkers and cutters to fill up the zone, and has a slider and a curveball as well. That’s six pitches from a huge lefty who gets down the mound well. He’s at least a back-of-the-rotation arm with a chance to be much more.

While there’s a long list of pitchers ahead of him for turns in the rotation, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Bennett knocking on the door of the majors for some leverage relief appearances late in the season. He’s the pitching prospect I’m most excited about.

Kyson Witherspoon

After the ascent of Payton Tolle and Trey Yesavage, flying through the minor leagues is all the rage. As such, many have tabbed 2025 first-round pick Kyson Witherspoon to debut a year after being drafted, despite not pitching in the minor leagues in 2025.

He has a huge fastball that’s already up to 97 mph in camp, along with a cutter and slider that he executes consistently. Fangraphs labeled his curveball and changeup as his nastiest pitches, but said they need polish to be viable weapons. His high 70s curveball was described as “hitter-pantsing” when thrown in the dirt. Because there are so many names ahead of him on the depth chart, I’m going to guess Witherspoon debuts in mid-2027, but crazier things have happened, and he’s a fun name to monitor going forward.

Tanner Houck

Houck is the only guy on this list that we’ve seen in action before, but he’s last because we won’t see him until September, if at all. He had Tommy John Surgery last season after an ugly start to his campaign. He threw a baseball for the first time this spring, but is still a long way from returning to game action.

While he might fill some innings down the stretch, don’t expect Houck to become a key contributor. At his best, Houck is in the zone with everything he throws, keeping hitters on the back foot. His splitter is particularly important against left-handed hitters, and while it’s somewhat of an anecdote, finding a feel for offspeed and breaking pitches seems to lag behind fastballs when returning from TJS. I can’t support that evidence, but I feel like James Paxton said it once, and I’ve taken it as gospel. If Houck returns in 2026, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a relief role with a focus on returning to the rotation in 2027.

The NL East could have several strong teams this year. The Phillies appear to be in win-now mode. The Mets have made major changes. The Braves should recover from a down year in 2025. Even the Marlins could make some noise. The Nationals? Well, they are here.

Atlanta Braves

Key departures: Jarred Kelenic, Marcell Ozuna, Pierce Johnson, Nick Allen

Key arrivals: Mauricio Dubon, Mike Yastrzemski, James Karinchak, Martin Perez, Jonah Heim

The Braves had their first losing season since 2017 last year, largely because of massive injuries to their starting rotation. Bryce Elder was the only Braves starter to make more than 23 starts and he had a 5.30 ERA and… well, I think you can see the problem.

Otherwise Atlanta returns pretty much everyone, including re-signing closer Raisel Iglesias. They’ll have a full year of Ronald Acuña Jr., which should help.

At Wrigley Field: Sept. 14-15-16

At Atlanta: May 12-13-14

SB Nation team site: Battery Power

Miami Marlins

Key departures: Valente Bellozo, Joey Wiemer, Eric Wagaman, Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, George Soriano

Key arrivals: Zach Brzycky, Pete Fairbanks, Esteury Ruiz, Owen Caissie, Chris Paddack

The Marlins won 79 games last year. That might not sound too great, but it put them just four games out of the last wild-card spot and they seem improved this year, despite trading Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for Owen Caissie and prospects. Caissie gets a chance to play every day. This, hopefully, is a trade that helps both teams.

The key to Marlins success this year will likely be Sandy Alcántara and whether his first full year back from Tommy John surgery is successful. Overall his numbers don’t look great but over his last 12 starts he posted a 3.13 ERA and 0.991 WHIP, with 18 walks and 69 strikeouts in 77.2 innings. Keep that up and the Marlins could be a wild-card contender.

And they could look very different by the time the Cubs face them, which won’t be until September.

At Wrigley Field: Sept. 22-23-24

At Miami: Sept. 4-5-6

New York Mets

Key departures: Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil, Ryan Helsley, Cedric Mullins, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, Ryne Stanek, Richard Lovelady, Drew Smith, Frankie Montas

Key arrivals: Marcus Semien, Luis Robert Jr., Devin Williams, Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette, Luke Weaver, Jose Rojas, Carl Edwards Jr., Vidal Bruján, Austin Barnes, Craig Kimbrel, Ben Rortvedt

The story of the 2026 Mets is those two lists. The Mets finally admitted that what they had been doing the last couple of years wasn’t working and blew it up. You’ll definitely need a scorecard to ID most of these new Mets.

The thing is, they traded for and signed a lot of guys but… some of them are going to be playing out of position. They expect Jorge Polanco to be their first baseman and he has played exactly zero MLB games there. Bo Bichette’s going to third and… well, same, zero MLB games at third.

Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. It will sure be interesting to watch.

At Wrigley Field: April 17-18-19

At New York: June 22-23-24-25

SB Nation team site: Amazin’ Avenue

Philadelphia Phillies

Key departures: Max Kepler, David Robertson, Jordan Romano, Ranger Suárez, Harrison Bader, Matt Strahm, Nick Castellanos

Key arrivals: Adolis Garcia, Brad Keller, Genesis Cabrera, Chase Shugart, Tim Mayza

The Phillies are running back much the same crew that won 96 games last year and 95 the year before. They’ve made the postseason four straight years, but haven’t gotten back to the World Series since they lost to the Astros there in 2022.

So maybe it’ll work again, but these guys are all getting older and there’s some controversy surrounding some comments ownership made about Bryce Harper.

Kyle Schwarber seems like he can still keep hitting homers for some time, though, and the Phillies rewarded the free agent DH with a five-year deal, so he’ll likely finish his career in Philadelphia. That’s a monument to Jed Hoyer’s worst decision as Cubs POBO.

As you can see here, the Cubs will face the Phillies seven times in an 11-day span in April and then not again until… well, maybe the postseason. That’d be fun.

At Wrigley Field: April 20-21-22-23

At Philadelphia: April 13-14-15

SB Nation team site: The Good Phight

Washington Nationals

Key departures: Zach Brzykcy, Jose A. Ferrer, MacKenzie Gore,

Key arrivals: Harry Ford, Warming Bernabel, Matt Mervis, Joey Wiemer, Gus Varland, Sergio Alcántara, Richard Lovelady, Andre Granillo, Miles Mikolas

I am not sure what the Nats are doing here, but yikes, look at that “arrivals” list. It looks like a random August waiver-wire list. They haven’t had a winning season since their World Series win in 2019.

And they have replaced MacKenzie Gore in their rotation essentially with Miles Mikolas, who I thought was going to retire at the end of 2025. Instead we could see Mikolas at Wrigley Field in the season-opening series.

The only really interesting thing the Nats did was trade for Harry Ford, a former No. 1 pick of the Mariners who was blocked by Cal Raleigh in Seattle. Ford hit .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs in just 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma last year. He turned 23 last week and will be installed as Washington’s No. 1 catcher. He’s a Rookie of the Year candidate. So the Nats have that, if nothing else, as they are a candidate to lose 100 games this year.

At Wrigley Field: March 26-28-29

At Washington: Aug. 11-12-13

SB Nation team site: Federal Baseball

This series will resume on Monday.

After revealing the Purple Row community’s Colorado Rockies top prospect list over the last several weeks, it’s time to show the whole list at once with some voting stats. I’ll also have some thoughts on the state of the system as a whole soon to conclude the series.

Without further ado, here is the full pre-season 2026 Top 30 PuRPs list, including some voting stats:

Charlie Condon, first baseman/outfielder and Colorado’s first round pick in 2024, received 12 of the 19 first place votes to top the list. That bested Colorado’s 2025 first rounder, shortstop Ethan Holliday, who got six first place votes. Pitcher Brody Brecht, outfielder Cole Carrigg, and outfielder Jared Thomas rounded out the top five, with number 12 Gabriel Hughes receiving the other first place vote.

As a reminder, 30 points were granted for a first place vote, 29 for second, etc. Until a player was named on seven ballots, his vote totals were modified on a sliding scale to avoid an individual ballot having too much say over the community forecast — though that wasn’t a factor this time around in the top 30. There were two ties on the top 30, one of which was broken by number of ballots and the other by the mode ballot tiebreaker. Other ties were broken for non top-30 players according to voting rules. Polling concluded in early January right around the time of the Josh Grosz trade (for Jake McCarthy), so his votes were allocated elsewhere.

For more info on voting numbers for players that didn’t quite make the top 30, please check out the intro post to this edition of the PuRPs list, two articles’ worth of multi-ballot players (Part I and Part II) as well as the write-ups of the honorable mention PuRPs.

Some more notes:

• The top 18 players were listed on at least 18 of the 19 ballots — 15 were named on each ballot. Beyond that, the entire top 22 was listed on at least 15 of the 19 ballots.
• 55 players received at least one vote for this PuRPs list (down from 65 last time), 46 got mentioned on multiple ballots (down from 50), while 31 were named on at least seven ballots (and therefore were unmodified). Here is a link to the polling thread.
• In this edition of the PuRPs list, there were eight new names compared to the mid-season 2025 list, all of which ranking 22 or lower.
• Among those who were on the mid-season list, the biggest risers were Roldy Brito (up 18 slots) and McCade Brown (up 8 slots), while there were no big fallers with a large amount of new slots available.
• Breaking the list down by position, there are 16 pitchers (two of whom are definitely relievers; ten are righties, six are southpaws, only one is in the top five, and just five are in the top half of the list), two corner infielders, seven outfielders, four middle infielders, and one catcher — there’s some positional flexibility in there of course.

I’ll have more on the overall system in my concluding post soon!

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

Morning A’s fans and happy Friday! Ready for a relaxing weekend with some A’s baseball?

The front office has been busy in recent months working out long-term extensions with key members of this core. First beginning with Brent Rooker’s 5-year, $60 million contract in January 2025, the team then turned to outfielder Lawrence Butler and came to a deal with him just a couple months after Rooker’s deal, inking Butler to a 7-year, $65.5 million contract. Things went quiet during the season but extensions continued this winter, first with left fielder Tyler Soderstrom signing a 7-year, $86 million extension and then with shortstop Jacob Wilson getting his own deal just a few weeks ago, a well-deserved 7-year, $70 million payout. This has been the largest and most expensive investment the front office has ever done for a core. While it’s a fantastic development and a great achievement to be locking down these guys, there was one name that A’s fans have been hoping to see sign his own extension sooner rather than later.

Getting first baseman Nick Kurtz locked down would be the cherry on top of all of these recent extensions, and the front office has reportedly been working on a deal all offseason long. There’s been some skepticism regarding Kurtz and an extension with the A’s, mainly because of agent Scott Boras. Boras isn’t known to advise his clients to sign early-career extensions, though that hasn’t been a hard-and-fast rule and he has seen some of his clients ink long-term deals before hitting the free agent market.

Kurtz could be the newest member of that small group. The lefty slugger is reportedly “definitely open and interested” in a deal to remain with the A’s and be a building block when the team opens the new Vegas stadium. Seeing all of his teammates get their money and getting comfortable seems to have made Kurtz a little jealous/anxious to get his own money coming his way soon. That is music to A’s fans ears because there’s little doubt that Kurtz prices himself out of the A’s budget in five seasons if they go year-to-year with him.

The front office recognizes that, which is why it’s no surprise that they’ve reportedly already made the first baseman a contract offer:

While none of the details have leaked out, it’s fair to assume it’s into the $100 million range. The record for a player with less than a full year of service time is Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez, who bagged himself a 12-year, $210 million in guaranteed money (with the potential to increase to 17/470 with bonuses and options). That comes out to $17.5 million average a season, which is looking like a steal of a deal at this point. Rodriguez was coming off his own Rookie of the Year campaign and also placed 7th in MVP voting. Kurtz’s rookie slash line was better in every category and he finished 12th in the MVP race in just over half a season, but he’s also a first baseman compared to a premium position like center field. Rodriguez’s deal might be a good idea of what it might take to lock Kurtz in for the long haul.

It’s important to remember that the A’s aren’t technically in any sort of time crunch to get a deal done. While he’s set to be earning the league minimum for the next couple of seasons, thanks to winning the American League Rookie of the Year award he was awarded a full year of service. That takes away some bargaining power but still means the Athletics have five seasons of control over their prized hitter and have time to work out a deal. The longer they wait though the more expensive any contract will likely become.

The 22-year-old later added near the end of his comments, “It’s just about timing.” If he’s one of those players that doesn’t like negotiations taking place during the season then any contract extension would be coming in the next few weeks. Signing Kurtz to a long contract would be a franchise-altering move. Fingers crossed we can see him put pen to paper before March 26th, which is just under a month away.

Have a good day everyone!

A’s Coverage:

• Spring Training Interviews Ahead, But With Whom?
• Butler ramps up recovery efforts, eyes mid-Spring Training return
• Athletics Drop Fourth Straight Spring Contest, Fall To Brewers 10-0
• Prospect Wei-En Lin Making an Impression at A’s Spring Training
• 1st results for Ginn’s new windup? 3 K’s over 2 perfect frames
• Athletics Community Prospect List: 18th Spot Goes To Junior Perez
• A’s Make First Cut of Camp
• A’s Top Pitching Prospect Jamie Arnold Set to Debut Later This Week
• Circa Las Vegas bringing in A’s legend for baseball opening day festitivies
• A’s spending on $2B Vegas stadium passes $300m mark, is Fisher’s folly really happening?
• Bob Melvin opens up: A Giants firing, an A’s hiring, and what comes next
• See you later, soda: A’s Perkins ditches sugar for science
• Can The A’s Young Core Turn Defense Into a Strength?
• Pesky Drawback Of “Closer By Committee” (It Never Really Works)
• “Relievers Are Volatile”… But Why?
• Are The Final Two Rotation Spots Really Up For Grabs?
• Story Lines To Watch As Spring Training Unfolds

MLB News and Interest:

• Way-too-early predications for 2026 All-Star Game starters
• Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo exits game with abdominal discomfort
• Injuries: Lindor, Yanks, Twins, Kelly, Woodruff, Basallo
• U.S. denies visas for 8 in Cuba’s WBC delegation
• Padres reliever Yuki Matsui out of WBC for Japan, uncertain for Padres’ opener
• What does Scherzer’s return mean for Jays’ packed rotation?
• Comparing the industry’s 2026 Top 100 prospects lists
• CC Sabathia to have number retired by Yankees
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Need Lopez healthy for the season, so hopefully the A’s take their time with the lefty. Hoglund news is…. unsurprising:

Some performances from yesterday’s spring exhibition game:

Sneak peak of the next big thing coming:

Probably the guy who hit 36 as a 22-year-old rookie in just 114 games played:

Not enough!