DiamondCentric

The season opened with the Twins on the road in Baltimore, and while the results were mixed, the early days of a new year often reveal more about process than outcome. There is a different voice in the dugout now, and with Derek Shelton taking over for Rocco Baldelli, every lineup card and late-inning decision is being examined through a new lens. Shelton’s arrival brings a natural curiosity. Baldelli’s tenure was defined by structure, matchup optimization, and an often deliberate deployment of players based on handedness and rest. Shelton, at least early on, appears more willing to lean into everyday roles, even if it means living with some of the trade-offs that come with them. That shift may not define every aspect of the 2026 Twins, but it's already surfacing in one of the more interesting roster decisions: how the team plans to use Trevor Larnach. A Spring Plan That Never Materialized For much of the spring, it seemed that the Twins would have a platoon in left field, with Austin Martin starting against left-handed pitchers and either James Outman or Alan Roden playing against right-handed pitchers. Outman beat out Roden for the backup outfielder job, but that might have been because Outman was out of options and Roden still had an option year remaining. One apparent consequence of that choice would be to put stronger defensive options in left and allow Larnach to DH more regularly. Instead, though, it looks like Larnach will get a good bit of time there more than Outman. “He’s going to have to play the outfield,” Shelton said of Larnach. “I know he DH’d 81 games last year and played the outfield early. The way the function of our roster is, he’s going to have to play the field. Because we do have [Josh Bell], we do have [Victor Caratini]. … And if you ask Trevor, he would prefer to play the outfield. So it’s just going to be trying to manage the volume and how long it actually happens in the game.” That quote does more than explain a single decision. It outlines a philosophical shift. The Twins aren't simply optimizing for defense late in games or protecting Larnach from exposure in the field. They're prioritizing getting as many bats into the lineup as possible, even if it creates defensive compromises along the way. A Roster Built Around Bats The reality of this roster is that Josh Bell and Victor Caratini are going to be in the lineup regularly, just like Ryan Jeffers and Kody Clemens. There are simply too many hitters the Twins want to play on a given night, and not enough defensive utility among them to make it all fit cleanly. As a result, the designated hitter spot becomes a rotation, rather than a fixed role. When that spot is occupied, it leaves Larnach without an easy landing place, forcing him back into left field more often than originally anticipated. That, in turn, shifts Outman into a more limited role that leans on late-game defense, pinch-hitting and pinch-running opportunities, and occasional work in center field. It's a domino effect that starts with roster construction. Under Baldelli, that may have resulted in more rigid platoons or defensive substitutions earlier in games. Under Shelton, at least for now, it looks like they're willing to stretch the defensive alignment to keep the offense intact. Larnach’s Defensive Issues During the 2025 season, Larnach didn’t play enough in the outfield to qualify for leaderboards, but his totals were poor even in limited action. He cost the team 7 runs, according to Statcast. His expected catch percentage was 91%; his actual catch percentage was 87%. Those gaps matter. They point to both range limitations and inefficiency in converting balls that should be outs. Over a full season, that kind of defensive profile can quietly cost a team many runs and potentially games. His arm strength has also become more of an issue in recent seasons. In 2021 and 2022, he was above the league average, including an 87.0 MPH mark in 2022. He's dropped to 84.0 MPH or less over the last three seasons, which ranks below average among outfielders. Put simply, Larnach isn't an average defender in left field. He's a bat-first player being asked to take on a role that exposes one of his weaknesses. Also, his bat hasn’t been strong enough in recent years to make up for his defensive flaws. The Trade-Off the Twins Are Willing to Make This is where Shelton’s approach becomes clear. The Twins are betting that Larnach’s offensive contributions outweigh the defensive cost. There's logic to that. Run prevention is critical, but so is run creation, and Minnesota’s roster leans heavily toward offense. If Larnach produces at the plate, the defensive shortcomings can be managed through positioning, late-game substitutions, and selective rest. The real question is not whether Larnach can survive in left field on a given night. It's whether the cumulative impact over a full season is something the Twins can absorb while still competing. So far, the plan seems to be to start Larnach against right-handed pitchers, but aggressively deploy Martin and Outman defensively. If Shelton continues down this path, it will mark one of the clearest differences from the Baldelli era. Less rigidity. More emphasis on everyday roles. And a greater willingness to live with imperfection in one area to maximize strength in another. Whether that balance holds could go a long way in defining the Twins’ 2026 season. Can the Twins continue to play Larnach regularly in left? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

Growing up, my brother and I got called out of school each year for the Royals’ first home game. It was the coolest feeling to leave class and head to the K with our dad. Even as a little Royals fan, I always appreciated the pomp and circumstance associated with Opening Day: the bunting hanging from the upper deck, the Royals alumni lining the field before first pitch, and noticing the small updates made to the K each offseason. With that in mind, here are five notable Royals home openers since 2000, in chronological order: April 5, 2004 - Beltran Walks it Off Coming off a surprising 83-79 finish in 2003, dare I say expectations were raised for this mid-2000s Royals squad? A full house packed the K to see the Royals face the division rival White Sox. Five-year-old me was there! Can you name the Opening Day starter for the 2004 Royals? Lefty Brian Anderson took the mound for the Royals against Mark Buehrle, another southpaw who ended up with a 3.54 career ERA against the Royals over 366 innings. The White Sox raced out to a 4-1 lead thanks to a Paul Konerko double and Sandy Alomar's homer. Their lead ballooned to 7-2 by the bottom of the 7th, but the Royals weren’t finished. New acquisition Benito Santiago cracked an RBI double, and soon pinch-hitter Mendy Lopez stepped up to the plate. In fact, Lopez was a pinch-hitter for a pinch-hitter, as Matt Stairs was introduced but didn’t face lefty reliever, Damaso Marte. Lopez only played 18 games in 2004, the last of his career. However, his shining moment came when he slammed a game-tying three-run homer to left-center field. After Angel Berroa singled, Carlos Beltran stepped up and belted a walk-off homer to left field. Amidst all the fireworks, I’m pretty sure we left this game early. April 10, 2009 - Renovated Kauffman Stadium’s Debut A couple of years ago, I found this print at an antique mall. I didn’t have a George Brett shirsey, but this is the Kauffman Stadium I grew up with. However, the K didn’t look that way come 2009, because of a $250 million renovation that was fully unveiled against the mighty Yankees. This was the first game where Royals fans could experience the K’s iconic fountains from up close, thanks to the new Outfield Experience. Newly anchoring the outfield corners, Rivals sports bar and the Royals Hall of Fame building also made their debuts in 2009. The actual game itself was pretty ho-hum. Andy Pettitte dominated the Royals' lineup, going seven strong innings while allowing one run and striking out six. Sidney Ponson got the nod for the Royals and allowed four runs over six innings. Six months later, the Yankees would win the World Series, while Zack Greinke took home the American League Cy Young for the Royals. April 3, 2016 - Champs Debut New Threads This game felt big. How could it not? Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, under the lights at the K. The Royals don’t often debut at night, but coming off their 2015 World Series victory over the New York Mets, they faced off against those same Mets to kick off the MLB slate in 2016. Adding to the shine of this game was the new uniforms sported by the new World Champions. The team sought permission from MLB, Majestic, and New Era to incorporate and then continue wearing their gold-trimmed home jerseys and hats for select games throughout the 2016 season, with this game as their debut. Just like Game 5 in 2015, the Royals got to Matt Harvey, chasing him in the sixth inning after scoring four runs on eight hits. Edinson Volquez continued his streak of clutch performances from the season prior and didn’t allow a run over six innings, and the bullpen survived a disastrous Joakim Soria outing to hang on for the 4-3 win. While the 2016 season was a letdown in general, this game was a fantastic start. July 31, 2020 - Pandemic Season at Empty K I had to include this game, even if very few people were there. In particular, BECAUSE very few people were there. The Royals started the COVID-abbreviated 2020 campaign on the road before returning to the K and an official attendance of “Not Given.” This highlight of Salvy’s RBI single shows the striking lack of fans, except for the goofy cardboard cutouts behind home plate. We’ll always know a 2020 season highlight upon first glance. Making his MLB debut on this night was Kris Bubic, part of the notable 2018 draft class that featured a bevy of college pitchers. Only Bubic and Daniel Lynch IV remain on the 2026 Royals, which is a little hard to believe given all the hype and promise of those arms. Bubic pitched fine for a rookie debuting under incredibly odd circumstances, going four innings before turning it over to relievers Tyler Zuber, Scott Barlow, Josh Staumont, Trevor Rosenthal, and Greg Holland. However, Dallas Keuchel scattered seven hits over 5.1 innings and held off the Royals for the 3-2 win. April 7, 2022 - Bobby Debuts in the Cold This was probably the coldest Royals game I’ve ever attended. My dad, brother, and I sat in the upper deck, with the wind swirling around and the temperature around 40 degrees. Perhaps that’s why the listed attendance was only 28,459. At least I got to wear my dad’s Royals coat from the 90s! Before the game, my brother was one of many in the Team Store at the K to buy a Bobby Witt Jr. jersey. I’d say that was a good investment! Bobby made his debut at third base and came up to the plate with the go-ahead run on second base in the eighth inning. “Bob-by, Bob-by, Bob-by” came out of our chilled lungs, hoping to see our 2019 first-round pick deliver in his debut. And he certainly did, knocking an RBI double down the left field line to score Michael A. Taylor. The starting pitcher for the Royals in this game? None other than Zack Greinke, who only allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings. His second stint with the Royals was a far cry from the peak of his powers in 2009, but it’s a sweet, fun fact that he was teammates with Bobby Witt Jr., the vanguard of this next Royals generation. View the full article

Before the Minnesota Twins take on the Tampa Bay Rays at Target Field on April 3, we’re heading to Smorgie's for a pregame party packed with giveaways, Twins spirit, and plenty of baseball talk. If you’re looking for a go-to game day spot, Smorgie’s checks every box. First, it's just a block from Target Field. Also, their menu is built for fans – easy to share, full of flavor, and perfect with a drink in hand. Start with snacks like crispy pickle fries, cheese curds, loaded “totchos,” or classic wings tossed in buffalo, sweet chili, or dry rub. From there, step up to hearty handhelds like the Smorgie’s Smash burger, fried chicken sandwiches, or even a walking taco served right in a bag of Doritos. It’s comfort food done right, fast, satisfying, and exactly what you want before heading into nine innings. The drink menu brings just as much energy. Expect a mix of fun cocktails like a hibiscus spritz, Minnesota mule, or a house old-fashioned, alongside buckets, pitchers, and a full lineup of beers, seltzers, and wines. And the real MVP for game day? Their daily happy hour features 2-for-1 deals on rail drinks, house wine, and all tap beers. That combination – great food, strong drinks, and unbeatable specials – makes Smorgie’s an ideal spot whether you’re rallying before first pitch or celebrating after the final out. Add in the Twins Daily crowd, Opening Day buzz, and the return of baseball to Minneapolis, and you’ve got the perfect start to the season. So grab your crew, throw on your Twins gear, and join us on April 3. Smorgie’s isn’t just a stop along the way; it’s where the Home Opener really begins. EVENT DETAILS What: Home Opener Pre-Game Party Cost: Free When: 12:30 - 2 pm, April 3, 2026 Where: Smorgie’s, 508 N 1st Ave, Mpls View the full article

Kyle Harrison learned in unexciting fashion that he would start the Brewers' fourth game of the regular season. "Nothing, really," the left-hander said with a laugh last week, when asked if he received a personal heads-up before the club announced its rotation. "Just saw that I'm pitching Monday." The question was not whether Harrison had earned a spot in the Opening Day rotation, but whether he'd be ready to pitch after developing a blister on his left index finger, which stemmed from the new kick-changeup grip he brought into spring training. When his fingernail started cutting his thumb as he made a circle along the inside of the baseball, Harrison trimmed the nail, but it caused the finger to blister. "That started to build a little blister on the finger just because I cut the nail too short," he said. "So now I know I need to have a longer nail, drink my collagen, get the nail stronger, and let it grow. Just kind of an annoying thing to deal with, but I'm glad that I got to stop it early." Harrison is a full go for his official Brewers debut on Monday night, after extensive work with pitching coaches Chris Hook, Jim Henderson, and Juan Sandoval in spring training. Much of that work was geared toward maximizing his strengths, which is the club's framework for developing all of its pitchers. "That's what I really love about it here," Harrison said. "It's been like you're running the show, basically. What you want to do, you go out and do it. They're going to be supportive, and they're going to give their input, and we're going to settle on something that's just going to be best for me." For Harrison, that means working off his signature four-seam fastball. While his new changeup's outlier depth captured headlines during camp, his heater remains his best pitch. He's thrown it roughly 60% of the time in each of his three big-league seasons so far. "I love my fastball," he said. "I've always loved my fastball. That's something I want to throw, but throw it in the right counts and throw it in the right locations." The Brewers like Harrison's fastball, too, and for good reason. With a -0.6 StuffPro (meaning that it decreases expected run production by 0.6 runs for every 100 he throws), it graded out as one of the better four-seamers among starting pitchers based on its velocity, movement, and where he releases it from his low arm slot. It induced whiffs on 26.2% of swings last season, while holding opponents to a .281 xwOBA. "There's an instance I remember from San Francisco when he was pitching against us, I thought to myself, 'Oh, fastball must play up a little bit,' because he got swing and miss with the fastball," manager Pat Murphy said. Harrison's hand stays behind the baseball exceptionally well at release, which gives it true backspin from his 27-degree arm angle. According to Statcast, 98% of the spin on his four-seamer contributed to its movement last year. With an average of 12.4 inches of induced vertical break and 14.3 inches of arm-side break, it has a ride-run shape that is less common than the typical movement of the modern four-seamer. "It's unique," Hook said, before comparing Harrison's heater to one of the most effective fastballs in franchise history. "Josh [Hader's] obviously had a little bit more vert, but similar slot things. Obviously, it's just a touch different, but I think he can get the same kind of angle at times." Plenty of pitchers throw with true spin on their fastballs, but most who do so have much higher arm slots, which carries other implications for their secondary pitches. Compare Harrison's active spin profile (the percentage of the spin on each of his pitch types that contributes to movement) to those of Hader and Jacob Misiorowski, and the differences jump out. Misiorowski, who throws from a similar angle to both Harrison and Hader, is more typical of pitchers in that slot, with lower-than-average spin efficiency on his fastball but higher-than-average efficiency on his breaking balls. Harrison and Hader are the opposite, which makes their fastballs more natural cousins to high-slot guys like Jeff Hoffman, Casey Mize, or Jack Dreyer. The expectation is that Harrison will get plenty of mileage out of that fastball, but part of his remaining development will be finding the best way to supplement it. After a midseason trade to the Boston Red Sox last year, their pitching coaches encouraged him to add a two-seamer and cutter and replace his existing changeup with the kick-change. The Brewers felt that trying to refine all of those pitches at once was hurting his development. Moreover, with limited time in spring training to improve Harrison's breaking ball, clean up his delivery, and tweak his routine between starts, they wouldn't be able to perfect every pitch by Opening Day. "I think it's very difficult when you're working on four ******* pitches and trying to be on time and trying to stay through it, and you're like, 'Okay, this is new, and this is new,'" Hook said. "When I get into crunch time, all of this is new to me. It's too much." To simplify things, they scrapped the cutter, which graded out as his worst pitch in 2025. Harrison's low slot and natural tendency to stay behind the ball—the same traits that make his fastball so effective—make it challenging to throw a true cutter. He was either releasing it too early (causing it to back up), or releasing it too late, causing it to spin like a slider instead of a cut fastball. In both cases, it led to poor location of what was supposed to be an in-zone pitch that bridged his fastball and slider. "The struggle that I had with it was maintaining the vertical break," Harrison said. "I'd throw one good one at eight [inches of] vert, kind of trying to get similar [carry] to your heater, and I had some where I'd stay on it a little too long. I'm a low-slot guy, so I stay on the heater, and then it just ends up getting like 2 vert. So that's something I wouldn't really want to throw at the top of the zone." The Brewers frequently target pitchers who throw cutters and often encourage those who don't to add one to their arsenal. They rank third in cutter usage since 2024. Harrison, though, is different than many of their recent starters, who throw from a more traditional slot and slightly cut their normal fastballs. The plan is to reintroduce a cutter in the future, but only after he makes the improvements necessary for throwing an effective one from his unique release point and angle. "If you're not effectively rotating, if you're not getting through the baseball the correct way, the cutter could be a detriment," Hook said. "It's going to be big. It's going to be early. So I want to make sure he's getting through the ball properly first, before it's potentially added here in a little bit." For now, Harrison and the Brewers are riding with his four best pitches: fastball, slider, changeup, and the occasional two-seamer to use inside to left-handed batters. In their eyes, he's far from a finished product, but they're optimistic about his ceiling. He already has uncommon stuff from the left side, and their internal testing shows that he's gotten stronger since joining the club, which they believe will lead to a velocity bump. "There's a lot of upside there," Hook said. "Left-handers with that unique slot and that velo and that makeup don't come around that often. To me, the combination of all those things makes a pitching coach super excited." "I've liked him a lot," Murphy said. "He seems like really the right guy. He'll figure it out at some point." View the full article

When the Cubs signed Alex Bregman in January, much was made about the way he typically gets to his power. The former Red Sox third baseman was famous for pulling fly balls barely over the left-field wall, where the fence—especially at his two former home parks, in Houston and Boston—is quite close. Wrigley Field, with the left-field fence sitting 355 feet away from home plate, has the deepest left-field corner in the majors. After the signing was announced, our own Randy Holt examined Bregman’s tendencies. Randy compared Bregman’s spray chart to that of Isaac Paredes, another third baseman whom the Cubs brought in who had a tendency to pull a lot of fly balls over the left field wall. He ultimately concluded that Bregman would fare just fine at the Friendly Confines. Paredes only hits the ball down the line, while Bregman can, and has, sprayed the ball from gap-to-gap. On Sunday, Alex Bregman hit his first home run in a Cubs uniform, and it basically proved Randy right: He hit a home run to (left-)center field! But I thought he never hit home runs there? Well, you’re not entirely wrong. Here's a spray chart of every home run that Bregman has hit since 2020: That grouping of five home runs that I circled, just to the left of the 400 marker, is where Bregman hit this homer. So, yes, he doesn’t hit many home runs to that area. Typically. Usually. The thing is, Bregman also didn’t typically play baseball games at Wrigley Field. While Wrigley has a very deep left-field corner, the distance to the left-center field wall is incredibly short. Here's every out that Bregman made last year, overlaid onto Wrigley Field’s dimensions: There’s a lot of dots there, but I count about eight fly balls that would have sailed into the bleachers. This doesn’t even take the wind into account. According to Statcast, it gave his home run on Sunday an extra 25 feet of distance. It’ll cost him some home runs, but it will also give a fly-ball hitter like him some cheapies. In his last plate appearance of the game, Bregman stepped to the plate and did it again, this time homering to right-center: This one just feels like an anomaly, but I will leave you with this: Before this season, 17 of Bregman’s 209 career homers were to the opposite field. From 2020-2024, he only hit three. He hit three last season alone, and now in 2026, he already has one. It might be an anomaly. Or maybe he's continuing to adapt. Regardless, I can say one thing with a little bit more confidence after Sunday’s game: Alex Bregman is going to be just fine hitting in Wrigley Field. View the full article

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Blue Jays Clutch Plays, a recurring post that highlights the six most pivotal plays (three pitching, three hitting) from the past week of Blue Jays baseball, according to MLB's win probability model. Last year's Blue Jays taught us that a slow start to the season isn't the end of the world. Then again, it doesn't hurt to get ahead. Headlined by consecutive nail-biter walk-off wins and punctuated with a record-setting day for the pitching staff on Sunday, the Jays completed a sweep of the Athletics to begin the year 3-0 for the first time since 1996. Their pitchers struck out 50 batters over the course of the series, a modern-era record to start a season. Not a bad way to kick off their 50th anniversary! Pitching 3. Louis Varland: Jacob Wilson GIDP, Top 7, 3/27 (+17.5% wPA) Varland picked up right where he left off in 2025 by pitching in a high-leverage spot. With the tying and go-ahead runs on and nobody out, he struck out Brent Rooker before inducing a perfectly-timed groundball from Jacob Wilson, hit right at second baseman Ernie Clement. The rest was academic. 2. Braydon Fisher: Jacob Wilson GIDP, Top 6, 3/28 (+17.7% wPA) It was a tough weekend for Wilson. Known for his contact skills, he struck out five times in 13 plate appearances, and even when he did put bat on ball, it didn't always end well. After a hard-luck start to the inning that saw the A's finally score on Dylan Cease after his masterful debut, Braydon Fisher came on and got another grounder from the not-Oakland shortstop. It wasn't the easiest double play in the world, but Toronto's dazzling middle infield combination of Giménez and Clement made it happen. 1. Louis Varland: Soderstrom GIDP Top 10 3/28 (+24.1% wPA) It's unfortunate for Varland that Brent Rooker drove in a run immediately after this because as it happened, it looked like the table would be set for the Jays to win it in the 10th. Ultimately, they only had to wait one more inning. After walking the white-hot Shea Langeliers to take away the open base with the ghost runner on in extra innings, Varland got a tailor-made groundball from Soderstrom for an easy 4-6-3. Hitting 3. Ernie Clement: Walk-off single, Bot 11, 3/28 (+29.0% wPA) The final act of Saturday afternoon's thrilling comeback victory came courtesy of Clement, who worked the count full against Luis Medina before turning on a 99-mph fastball and drilling it into the left-center gap. Pinch-runner Nathan Lukes scored the winning run from second with ease to cap off an eventful game that once saw the Jays trailing 6-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh before flipping the script to win 8-7 in extras. 2. Andrés Giménez: Walk-off single, Bot 9, 3/27 (+36.6% wPA) Andrés Giménez was one of many unlikely heroes in last year's playoff run after a lost season at the plate. To say he started off on the right foot in 2026 would be an understatement, as the opening night theatrics would not have come close to happening without him; he drove in all three runs during the 3-2 win. What began as a bases-empty, two-out scenario turned into a masterclass by the bottom of the order: Kazuma Okamoto singled to right, Ernie Clement chopped a double over third baseman Max Muncy's head, and then Giménez finished the job with a hard grounder back up the middle. Maybe being a world champion does make you feel different! 1. Alejandro Kirk: Solo HR, Bot 9, 3/28 (+46.7% wPA) The Blue Jays' first home run of the season could not have come at a better time. Mere seconds after Okamoto let an arguably challengeable pitch go by for strike three, Kirk shocked the Rogers Centre with a no-doubter to left field off A's reliever Michael Kelly to tie it at six with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Toronto's catcher, known for his flat swing, normally likes the ball high in the zone, but it was a sweeper middle-down that he deposited into the seats above the home bullpen. Fun fact: For how often the Jays found a way to win in 2025, this would've been their sixth-most clutch play of the last regular season. It was the most dramatic of swings in a game that saw a whopping six plays that caused at least a 20% swing in win probability. Up next for the Blue Jays: A home series against the Rockies to start the week before three games in Chicago for the White Sox home opener on the weekend. View the full article

Garrett Crochet left all spring-training-related concerns by the wayside on Opening Day, striking out eight while allowing three hits and two walks. Despite a swinging strike rate of only 12.5%, Crochet limited hard-contact throughout the outing with an opponent barrel rate of 7.1% and xAVG of .215. Crochet was reported to have developed a splitter over the offseason that he liked so much, he offered the guy who suggested the change a job in Major League Baseball. While it did catch some attention (as well as some headlines), the pitch never ended up making many waves in the spring. It did not grade out poorly by any stretch, generating a tjStuff+ of 101, but its results on the field did not do enough to garner interest from the Red Sox or Crochet to bring it to regular season action. During spring training, Crochet threw the splitter 11 times. It sat around 88 mph and generated zero whiffs with a below-average zone percentage of 27.3%. Crochet's spring results likely reinforced the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra. The splitter never generated enough to justify shelving what already works, and what works, as Opening Day reminded us, is plenty. Jen McCaffery of The Athletic asked Crochet about the absence of the splitter in his opening outing, as Crochet had this to say: “Just a lot more strikes, a lot more usage of the three fastballs,” Crochet said. “In spring, toying with the splitter, today it was like, ‘Hey, I’m banging the splitter for the year.’ I’ll just go back to the changeup I was throwing last year, and was able to flash that a couple times but didn’t overuse that or the sweeper, and I just felt like I was attacking with strengths and weaknesses when needed to be.” Crochet only displayed the changeup twice on Thursday, and in 2025, threw it 4.3 percent of the time. Against righties, though, 5.3 percent. Despite its minimal usage, it is a fantastic offering for him, if only to keep opposing hitters guessing. The pitch allowed a .091 SLG and .167 xwOBA along with a ridiculous 71 percent groundball rate. Among all changeups thrown 100 or more times in 2025, Crochet's groundball rate on the pitch was the fifth-highest in baseball. The primary issue with his changeup is that he rarely throws it for a strike. The Ball% (56%) on his changeup is the sixth-highest among changeups thrown at least 100 times. We can never know for sure, but it is likely that Crochet missed off the plate intentionally. Considering he throws the pitch only 5% of the time, it can be a pitch he tunnels with his fastball, forcing opposing hitters to beat it into the ground by swinging over it. Below is his change-up heat map to right-handed hitters: We see a clear, obvious desire to work low and away with his changeup, and his red zone is out of the strike zone, which plausibly explains the high Ball% combined with the high groundball rate. His changeup was plenty effective last season, as was he. While the desire to improve continuously is admirable, recognition of what works and what does not is an equally valuable skill. The splitter experiment is a footnote. What matters now is that Crochet looks every bit like a pitcher in command of his craft — and the rest of the AL is going to feel that all season long. View the full article

The New York Mets showed off their retooled roster this past weekend at Citi Field. Nine offseason acquisitions made the 26-man Opening Day squad. They represented the front office's emphatic response to last season's second-half collapse and reported clubhouse drama. Fans and media got to form their initial judgments on the key newcomers as all of them appeared in the club's series win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. What did we learn from their play? Here's a quick rundown: Bo Bichette's transition to third base won't be seamless Bichette had a bumpy first series at the hot corner. He showed good hands, but his throwing was poor, a carryover from his days at shortstop. Three times he pulled first baseman Jorge Polanco off the bag with throws. All of them sailed to the arm side, an indication his release point was too low. On top of that, fans booed him for a slow start at the plate. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Saturday that Bichette will put in the work to improve, but until that work pays off, he will be the weak link on the infield. Devin Williams will make the ninth inning interesting Edwin Diaz's replacement got the ninth in a 0-0 game Saturday. The results were good, but the process was messy. Williams allowed a double and a walk but then fanned Reynolds to end the threat. His pitch mix was his typical 50-50 split of changeups and four-seamers, but the heater averaged just 93.0 mph, more than 3 mph off his peak of 2019 and 2020. He was unavailable Sunday after throwing 19 pitches the previous day. If only Luis Robert Jr. can stay healthy... That has been the mantra around Robert the past few years. His injury history makes him a wild card. He's healthy right now, and he came up aces this weekend. He delivered a three-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning Saturday, a pair of RBI singles on Opening Day and two more hits Sunday. He showed why the Mets took on all of his $20 million salary for 2026. Freddy Peralta looks as advertised Peralta's Mets debut on Opening Day looked like most of his Brewers tenure: lots of Ks, lots of pitches, lots of battling, not a lot of innings. The right-hander got through five on 80 pitches (53 strikes), striking out seven and allowing a pair of home runs to Brandon Lowe. Zero bases on balls was a positive sign, given that Peralta has a career 9.3 percent walk rate. Marcus Semien's bat may not bounce back Semien had hits in his first two times up on Opening Day (thanks, Oneil Cruz), and then none the rest of the weekend. He extended the drought to 11 plate appearances by going 0-for-3 with a sac fly Sunday. Maybe his 89 wRC+ and .134 ISO last season were signs rather than outliers. The second-base defense still looks solid as he starts his age-35 season, so there's that. Jorge Polanco had his own adventures at first base Between lunging for Bichette's throws and knocking down grounders behind the bag, the guy who's replacing Pete Alonso had a busy weekend at his new position. The good news is he got through it without incident. His weekend at the plate was just slightly better; five walks inflated his OBP to .500. The jury remains out on Luke Weaver Weaver did not resemble the 2024 version of himself. He turned in two scoreless outings, but he was inefficient. He stranded one runner in a tie game Saturday and two runners in a tie game Sunday. Control was an issue -- 20 strikes and 18 balls combined. He got the ninth inning Sunday with Williams down, but it's fair to wonder how long he'll remain the fill-in closer. View the full article

Recent history tells us that the Miami Marlins are difficult to predict, but that won't stop us from trying. Welcome to a new season of Prediction Time. Once again in 2026, I will be monitoring the prognostications from our valued SuperSubs, Fish On First staffers and livestream guests. Individual article pages like this one will be created prior to every Marlins series and featured prominently on the FOF site. Consistent participation is key if you want to win this annual contest. Submissions only take a few seconds. Scoring system A "perfect" series is worth three points: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) Here is a reminder of what the 2025 season leaderboard looked like. There is currently a 12-way tie atop the 2026 leaderboard, which will be updated between every Marlins series. If you are a SuperSub, leave a comment with your Prediction Time picks on this page, or join the Marlins Discord Server and submit there. We'll feature them on the upcoming Fish On First LIVE episode and track your points throughout the season! Any picks submitted prior to the first pitch of the series opener will be counted. If you are not a SuperSub, please consider signing up here to support the FOF staff. Series preview notes Probable starting pitchers: RHP Chris Paddack and RHP Davis Martin on Monday RHP Janson Junk and RHP Erick Fedde on Tuesday RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Shane Smith on Wednesday The Marlins rank eighth in MLB with a 123 wRC+ and third in MLB with a 2.55 FIP. They are 3-0 at home this season. The following Marlins players are on the injured list: Maximo Acosta (10-day IL), Ronny Henriquez (60-day IL), Adam Mazur (60-day IL), Christopher Morel (10-day IL), Esteury Ruiz (10-day IL) and Kyle Stowers (10-day IL). The White Sox rank tied for 12th in MLB with a 108 wRC+ and 28th in MLB with a 6.06 FIP. They are 0-3 on the road this season. The following White Sox players are on the injured list: Brooks Baldwin (10-day IL), Prelander Berroa (15-day IL), Ky Bush (60-day IL), Kyle Teel (10-day IL), Drew Thorpe (15-day IL) and Mike Vasil (15-day IL). View the full article

Prior to the start of each new Miami Marlins series, we invite the Fish On First staff, FOF LIVE guests and SuperSubs to participate in Prediction Time. Results for the 2026 season will be tracked here. This is how the scoring system works: Earn one point for predicting which team will win the upcoming series Earn one point for predicting the precise number of victories for each team Earn one point for predicting the “Series MVP” who accumulated the highest win probability added (WPA) during the series as calculated by FanGraphs (could pick a player from either team) That's a maximum of three points per series. Rank Name Total Prediction Points Series Winner Points Series MVP Points 1 rings 2 2 0 2 Richard 2 2 0 3 Gabriel Revilla 2 1 1 4 Kevin Barral 2 2 0 5 Jose Herrera 2 2 0 6 1993 fan from start 2 2 0 7 Loud Miami Fan 2 1 1 8 JustMyFandom 2 2 0 9 TenofSpades BK 2 2 0 10 2qbn 2 2 0 11 Saul Goodman 2 2 0 12 Thomas Joseph 2 2 0 13 Hans Herrera 1 1 0 14 MRDHU75 1 1 0 15 Hector Rodriguez 1 1 0 16 Nate Karzmer 1 1 0 17 Chad Turner 1 1 0 18 Alex Carver 1 1 0 19 Alex Krutchik 1 1 0 20 Casey Marika 1 1 0 21 Robert Hanson 1 1 0 22 Jeremiah Geiger 1 1 0 23 Baby Seal 1 1 0 24 Daniel Rodriguez 1 1 0 25 Sean Millerick 1 1 0 26 Ryan Schlesinger 1 1 0 27 MarlinszDude86 1 1 0 28 Michael Cronin 1 1 0 29 Sportsman38 1 1 0 30 Stevo 1 1 0 31 ducat2 1 1 0 32 Slacker Mills 0 0 0 33 Ely Sussman 0 0 0 Last series View the full article

The Weekly Nutshell: After wrapping up spring training, the Twins headed to Baltimore to officially kick off their 2026 regular season against the Orioles. Entering this campaign with their lowest expectations in years, the Twins came out of the gates with a fairly solid series against the O’s but dropped two of three while derailed by some familiar foils: lack of timely hitting, sloppy defense and questionable decision-making. Still, it was an altogether fairly impressive showing with a number of strong individual performances and positive takeaways. Let’s dig in. Weekly Snapshot: Thurs, 3/26 through Sun, 3/29 *** Record Last Week: 1-2 (Overall: 1-2) Run Differential Last Week: +0 (Overall: +0) Standing: T-3rd Place in AL Central (1.0 GB) Latest Game Results Game 1 | BAL 2, MIN 1: Ryan Deals But Timely Hits Elude Lineup Twins hitters: 1-12 RISP, 3 GIDP Game 2 | MIN 4, BAL 1: Lewis Home Run Helps Lift Twins to First Win Bradley: 4.1 IP, 1 ER, 9 K Game 3 | BAL 8, MIN 6: Ober and Abel Knocked Around in Piggyback Effort Abel: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 BB NEWS & NOTES Ahead of the season opener, the Twins placed David Festa and Travis Adams on the 15-day injured list. Both right-handers are dealing with arm issues and facing opaque return timelines. Of course, Pablo López was already on the 60-day IL and will miss the season after undergoing elbow surgery. HIGHLIGHTS Joe Ryan had a bit of an odd spring. A minor injury scare affected his ramp-up and robbed him of a chance to compete at the World Baseball Classic. He threw only 12 innings in Grapefruit League play. But on Opening Day, he showed no signs of ill effect. The righty was in top form on Thursday at Camden, peppering the zone with his signature fastball while also mixing in a slow bending curve that kept opponents in shambles. Ryan held Baltimore off the board for 5 ⅓ innings, striking out seven with one hit allowed, and probably would’ve gone deeper if not for the Twins opting to play it safe on pitch count (85) following his disrupted spring. The stellar season debut from Ryan was good to see, but hardly surprising. This is what we saw from him for most of last season, and what we’ve come to expect. The same goes for Byron Buxton, who was an electrifying force in the opening series, repeatedly making things happen with his legs. In the opener, Buxton tripled before scoring Minnesota’s only run of the game on a Luke Keaschall sac fly. On Saturday, he again scored their lone run by: Beating out an infield single (originally called out, and reversed on challenge) Tagging up and taking second on a fly ball to center Taking third on a pickoff error by Adley Rutschman Scoring on a sacrifice fly by Josh Bell That is the definition of manufacturing a run, and it epitomizes the unique advantages Buxton brings to the table. When he's healthy and playing, this team can entertain. And if he gets a some help, they can win. We all expected Ryan and Buxton to be the leaders of this pitching staff and offense, respectively. They looked up to the task in B-More. But if the Twins as a team want to B More than also-rans (eh??) they’ll need some others to step up. As such, Royce Lewis’ opening series delivered a major jolt of energy. He struggled on Thursday but bounced back with a big home run on Saturday and launched another on Sunday. It’s clear that Lewis needs to earn the full confidence of new manager Derek Shelton, who’s been batting him eighth in the lineup and pulled him for a pinch-hitter in a key spot late in the first game. But Lewis is starting to rebuild his own confidence and that’s the crucial first step. Taj Bradley is another player looking to put previous struggles behind him and harness his natural talent — with major implications for the team’s outlook. And while his first start of the season on Saturday was far from perfect, Bradley’s overpowering arsenal was on full display as he racked up nine strikeouts with one run allowed in 4 ⅓ innings. The fastball was nearly touching 100 and the diving splitter was giving the Orioles fits. A promising start to a very important season. A couple other strong performances from the opening series worth highlighting: Tristan Gray made his first start at shortstop on Sunday and made an excellent first impression, delivering a three-run double in his first AB as a Twin and following with an RBI single later in the game. It was a bit of a surprise to see Gray make the team out of spring as backup infielder over Ryan Kreidler and Orlando Arcia, who both went to St. Paul. Gray's intriguing bat is a major reason, and we got a glimpse in this game. The much maligned bullpen had a very solid showing in the opening series, allowing two runs in eight total innings (if we don’t count Mick Abel’s piggybacking appearance on Sunday). When Bradley had to come out in the fifth inning on Saturday, the relief corps stepped up in a big way, with five pitchers combining for 4 ⅔ shutout innings to protect a lead. Probably Shelton deserves some credit for his maneuvering there as well. LOWLIGHTS One of the biggest concerns for the Twins entering this season was Bailey Ober’s sub-par spring velocity coming off his worst season in the big leagues. He barely cracked 90 MPH in camp, and that will make it awfully hard to succeed against MLB hitters, even when you’re 6-foot-9 with an outstanding changeup and good control. We were all wondering: once the games started mattering and the adrenaline truly kicked in, would Ober be able to find another level of juice? The answer, it turns out, is basically no. Ober found a little more velo against the Orioles compared to most of his Grapefruit starts, but his four-seamer still averaged under 90 MPH and he couldn’t generate whiffs. He struck out just one Baltimore hitter, dancing through three scoreless innings before Tyler O'Neill took him deep on an 89 MPH fastball in the wheelhouse for a three-run homer. I’ve pretty much given up hope on Ober tapping into the 92-93 range where he sat when at his best, so it’s really a question of whether he can dial in the craftiness and command to be at least somewhat effective in this new reality. On Sunday, that was the case until it wasn’t. Abel, who came out of the bullpen in the fifth to cover the back half, had the opposite problem. The velocity and stuff were there but he was all over the place and had nonstop traffic on the bases, yielding five runs on eight hits and four walks in 3 ⅓ innings. It was a shame to witness in the aftermath of such a fantastic spring showing that saw Abel seize a rotation spot in large part because his control was so crisp. On Sunday, he was missing his spots by a mile. Was he thrown off by the piggybacking usage? It’s possible, but we saw plenty of this from Abel last year when he posted a 6.23 ERA. Whereas Bradley was able to survive a lack of polish and precision in his first 2026 outing, Abel was not. Brooks Lee is another important player whose challenges from last year spilled over into the start of the new season. Starting at shortstop on Thursday and Saturday, Lee went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts and frankly looked horrible at the plate and in the field. His strike zone control remained non-existent and his limited range was evident as grounders bled through the infield. The redemption tour is off to a rough start, but hey, it’s only two games. Despite some disappointing individual performances, Twins players generally did enough to win this series. The team was undone in large part by repeated lapses in defense, decision-making and fundamentals: Austin Martin throwing to third instead of second, multiple players running into outs on the base paths, Matt Wallner wasting the team’s last challenge. The hope was that a new managerial voice might help shore up some of these short circuits that plagued the 2025 club, but so far we haven’t seen much to indicate Shelton’s oversight will produce much cleaner baseball than Rocco Baldelli’s did. To me, that’s not a surprise, since the players have hardly changed. We’ll see if they can iron some things out going forward. TRENDING STORYLINE While the Twins were kicking off their season in Baltimore, the St. Paul Saints got started in Indianapolis with a lineup full of high-profile names and key prospects. The Saints lineup features Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper, Gabriel Gonzalez and Alan Roden among others. Hghlights from opening weekend include: Culpepper had three-hits in his Triple-A debut, Roden has already drawn six walks, and pretty much every pitcher threw well (save for Zebby Matthews, who is increasingly becoming a concern). Top pitching prospect Connor Prielipp got the nod for the opener and locked in following a slow start. Future relief reinforcements Marco Raya and John Klein looked dominant in their first appearances of the season. This is going to be a fun team that demands the attention of Twins fans. I’ll be tracking Culpepper extra closely. I’m not sure Lee has a ton of leash if his underwhelming play persists. If Culpepper continues to impress like he did in spring training and in his first action with the Saints, he could be on a fast track to getting a shot. LOOKING AHEAD Lots of lefties are on deck for the Twins, who are scheduled to face southpaws in all three contests against the Royals in Kansas City, along with another lefty starter on Saturday against the Rays. At present, Ober is slated to pitch the home opener against Tampa. MONDAY, MARCH 30: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. LHP Kris Bubic WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Joe Ryan v. LHP Noah Cameron THURSDAY, APRIL 2: TWINS @ ROYALS — RHP Taj Bradley v. LHP Cole Ragans FRIDAY, APRIL 3: RAYS @ TWINS — RHP Joe Boyle v. RHP Bailey Ober SATURDAY, APRIL 4: RAYS @ TWINS — LHP Steven Matz v. RHP Mick Abel SUNDAY, APRIL 5: RAYS @ TWINS — RHP Nick Martinez v. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson View the full article

After the Royals' 4-1 victory over the Braves in the series finale, the Royals made an announcement on social media regarding the future of outfielder Drew Waters, who was designated for assignment last Wednesday. Waters has struggled at the Major League level with the Royals, who acquired him in a 2022 MLB trade with the Atlanta Braves, who initially drafted him. Last year, as a 26-year-old, he produced a .243 batting average, .604 OPS, and .268 wOBA in 219 plate appearances with the Royals. Over his career, he has an 84 wRC+ and accumulated 0.7 fWAR in 684 plate appearances. As a result of his mediocre campaign in 2025, Waters had to earn his spot on the Royals roster this spring, especially with him being out of Minor League options. However, he didn't impress in Cactus League play. In 36 plate appearances, he hit .188 with a .531 OPS and struck out 22.3% of the time. His Statcast percentiles weren't impressive either, especially in the batted-ball and plate-discipline categories. Waters likely will have a regular role as an outfielder in Omaha. He will compete for at-bats with John Rave, Kameron Misner, and Gavin Cross. Rave and Misner are on the 40-man roster, while Cross is not, but is trying to make his MLB debut at some point in 2026. The Storm Chasers struggled in their Opening Series of 2026, getting swept by the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds' Triple-A affiliate. View the full article

Series Nutshell Hopes were high for the Royals as they began the 2026 season in Atlanta, eager to improve upon their 82-80 record this offseason. While 2025 was just their second winning season since their 2015 World Series, offensive inconsistency cost them the postseason after they went to the ALDS in 2024. With some shrewd acquisitions this offseason and some faith being put in their young, established, and budding stars, the Royals were hoping to get off to a strong start in 2026 by taking the series against the Braves. Unfortunately, it just wasn't the series that the Royals hoped for. They lost two out of three games in Atlanta, including the home opener, in which they were shut out. That said, they salvaged things with a victory on Sunday to avoid the sweep, and they found some life offensively on Sunday after only scoring two combined runs in games 1 and 2. There are some questions about the bullpen, especially in the wake of Carlos Estevez's disastrous outing in game two, which saw him blow a two-run lead in the ninth. However, those questions may have been answered in game three, and there's more hope on the horizon, both on the pitching and hitting end, especially with a much easier (hopefully) opponent lined up for the Royals' home opener at Kauffman Stadium. Record this Series: 1-2 Run Differential: -7 Standing: 4th place in AL Central (1.0 GB) Game 1: ATL 6, KC 0 The Royals are shut out and stymied by Chris Sale on Opening Day, as he holds them to three hits in six innings of work. Kansas City only gets five total hits, all singles. Cole Ragans struggles, giving up four runs on six hits in four innings of work. Game 2: ATL 6, KC 2 The Royals hold a 2-0 lead for eight innings, thanks to a strong performance by Michael Wacha and relievers Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm. However, Kansas City blew the lead in the ninth, with Estevez giving up a game-winning grand slam to Dominic Smith. Game 3: KC 4, ATL 1 Kansas City secures its first victory of 2026. Seth Lugo pitches 6.1 innings of shutout ball, and Erceg shuts the door in the ninth on Atlanta for his first save of the season. Carter Jensen hit his first home run of the season, and Bobby Witt Jr. collected his first RBI with an opposite-field single. News and Notes After his game two loss, Estevez had X-rays done after he got hit in the ankle by a Michael Harris II line drive. The X-rays turned out negative, but the Royals' closer was wearing a walking boot on Sunday, as reported by MLB.com Royals beat writer Anne Rogers. No word has been made if Estevez will land on the IL. However, it's a situation to monitor, especially since his velocity still isn't where it needs to be by his standards (more on that later). Michael Massey, Stephen Kolek, and James McArthur were three players put on the IL before Kansas City's Opening Day game on Friday. All are making progress back in Arizona, according to Rogers. McArthur, who missed all of last season due to injury, is progressing slowly, though that seemed to always be the plan for him this spring, according to Rogers. However, Rogers did point out that he's pitching in Arizona (Minor League games) and could be due for a rehab stint sooner rather than later. McArthur saved 18 games for the Royals in 2025 in 56.2 IP. While he had a 4.92 ERA, his 4.17 FIP was much better, and he could thrive in lower-leverage situations in the bullpen. Highlights After a Game 1 loss in which Ragans struggled on the mound, Kansas City got excellent starting pitching performances from veterans Wacha and Lugo. Though he had an uneven Spring Training (6.89 ERA in 15.2 IP), he stepped up and had an excellent performance, dominating an Atlanta lineup that teed off for four runs and three home runs against Ragans. In six innings of work, Wacha struck out seven and allowed no runs on three hits and only one walk. He also posted excellent whiff and chase rates against a pretty vaunted Braves team. Wacha posted a 50% chase rate, a 38.6% whiff rate, and allowed a .245 xwOBACON on 80 pitches. His four-seamer and cutter were both up in velocity from 2025, and his changeup was producing 4.3 more inches of iVB than a season ago as well. His four-seamer and changeup were his best pitches whiff-wise, as evidenced by his 42.9% and 44.4% whiff rates, respectively. If Wacha continues to produce metrics and outings like this, he could be a mainstay in the No. 2 spot in the rotation, making the extension he signed last year even more of a bargain. As for Lugo, he is coming off a subpar 2025 after finishing second in the AL Cy Young race in 2024. He posted a 4.15 ERA in 145.1 IP, but his FIP was much higher at 5.05, and his 1.29 WHIP was 20 points higher than his mark in 2024. Even though he earned a contract extension from the Royals at the end of the 2025 season, there was concern that Lugo would continue trending downward in 2026. So far, the 36-year-old seemed more like his 2024 self on Sunday against the Braves. In 6.1 IP, he allowed no runs, five hits, and didn't walk a single batter. He also struck out three and maintained some strong chase and zone rates in his 2026 debut, illustrating a control and command that wasn't as consistent this spring or a year ago. Here's a look at his TJ Stats summary from his winning effort against Atlanta. Sunday was a vintage Lugo effort: a lot of different pitches (nine types thrown), a "raid the zone" approach (55.8% zone rate), and generating the kind of chase (35.3%) that led to ineffective contact. Though he did benefit from the weather conditions on Sunday, he didn't let up in attacking Braves hitters all game long. That aggressiveness wasn't always present in 2025, so it's nice to see him get back to that approach, which made him so successful in his first season in Kansas City. In addition to Lugo and Wacha, the Royals got solid contributions from many arms in the bullpen. Bailey Falter and Alex Lange looked solid in their Royals regular-season debuts. Falter gave up a couple of runs on five hits, but he struck out four, didn't walk any, and generated a good amount of whiff and weak contact in three innings of work. The TJ Stuff+ profiled well at 102 on Friday, a sign that he may be a nice fit in the long relief role. In addition to Falter and Lange (who had a scoreless inning of work in game 1), Matt Strahm and Lucas Erceg locked things down in the late innings. Both produced scoreless outings not just on Saturday, but on Sunday as well in the Royals' lone win, with Erceg notching the save. Manager Matt Quatraro mentioned before Sunday's game that they may give Estevez more time to ramp up his velocity, which may mean pitching in lower-leverage situations. If that's the case, then Strahm and Erceg may be splitting duties in high-leverage situations in the ninth for the time being. The offense didn't really stand out much, even in their victory on Sunday. The Royals' offense was primarily led by Salvador Perez on Saturday, as he launched his first home run of the year against Reynaldo Lopez, who was dealing for six innings prior to Salvy's bomb, the Royals' first run of 2026 (after 15 innings, unfortunately). In addition to Salvy's home run, Jac Caglianone had a solid day at the plate in his 2026 debut (he did not play on Friday due to the matchup against the lefty Sale). He went 2-for-3 with a double, a nice start considering his issues at the plate a year ago. On Sunday, the main star was Carter Jensen, the Royals' top prospect. In his first start behind the plate, not only did he help Lugo have a stellar outing, but he also went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and had an RBI sacrifice fly. His home run was not an easy one, especially considering the windy conditions of Truist Park on Sunday. Jensen is only hitting .125 with four strikeouts in 10 plate appearances this season. That said, he's shown good power with a .500 slugging and .700 OPS. Jensen has been known to start slow and turn it up once he adjusts to the pitching at a particular level. While the average isn't high now, he seems to be looking comfortable and not overwhelmed at the plate, even against a good pitching staff like Atlanta's. Lowlights The main "concerning" story from this series is Estevez, whose velocity issues this spring continued into his first outing of 2026. It was a complete disaster for Estevez, who only recorded a single out on 27 pitches. In that outing, he allowed six runs on four hits and two walks. The cherry on top of his putrid outing was allowing a grand slam on a 3-2 count that Smith absolutely mashed. The stuff was just not good for Estevez in his 2026 debut. He averaged only 91.2 MPH on the four-seamer, and his overall TJ Stuff+ was 96. Furthermore, not only were his chase, whiff, and xwOBACON marks poor, but his zone rate was as well, leading to his two walks. It's likely that without his usual velocity, Estevez was trying to be too fine with his control, which led to him missing more spots than usual. He only generated an 11.8% chase and 11.1% whiff, so it was obvious that Braves hitters were locked on him on Saturday. That was further confirmed by his .599 xwOBACON allowed, with his four-seamer and changeup allowing xwOBACON marks of .720 and .836, respectively. Estevez was in a walking boot on Sunday, which makes one wonder if he will be seeing some time on the IL when they return to Kansas City. However, Quatraro didn't comment on Estevez's outlook, though he did mention to Rogers before Sunday's game that they would pursue other closing options even if Estevez was available. Thankfully, the Royals have enough bullpen depth to absorb Estevez's removal from the ninth for the time being. They also have a few good options in Omaha, with Luinder Avila, Steven Cruz, Eli Morgan, and Mason Black all being possible options to replace Estevez if the Dominican closer lands on the IL. Speaking of pitching concerns, Ragans had a forgettable performance on Opening Day against Atlanta. It was the kind of outing that was far too typical for him in 2025, which explains his 4.97 ERA. He generated a lot of strikeouts and whiffs, but he struggled with command and gave up way too many barrels. His lackluster zone rate and high xwOBACON overshadowed his strong TJ Stuff+ and whiff rate. I talked about Ragans more thoroughly in a recent post on Royals Keep written after his outing on Friday. It's too early to panic with Ragans, and he has shown some command issues and pitch inefficiency in previous Opening Day starts. However, his zone rate and xwOABCON trends will be important to follow in his next starts. A disappointing development in the Atlanta series was the struggles of the lineup, especially with hitters expected to be key secondary performers at the bottom of the order in 2026. Jonathan India is 0-for-8 with three strikeouts. Isaac Collins is 0-for-7 with two strikeouts and a caught stealing. Starling Marte went 0-for-3 on Opening Day with a strikeout. Lane Thomas is 1-for-9 with four strikeouts. The Royals were hoping that at least 1 or 2 of these hitters would have an impact on the Kansas City lineup and raise the floor of this group. After three games, the early results have been good with this group. Thankfully, Quatraro has been quick to adjust the lineup this year. Collins, Marte, and India were not in Sunday's lineup. It wouldn't be surprising that Thomas isn't in Monday's lineup after his 0-for-4 performance in the series finale. Looking Ahead In their Opening home series, the Royals play a Twins team that is 1-2, but has scored 11 runs and has a run differential of zero. Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Trevor Larnach have gotten off to good starts this year, with Lewis hitting his first home run of the season on Sunday in their 8-6 loss to the Orioles. Also, Tristan Gray played at shortstop instead of Brooks Lee on Sunday, and the move paid off. Gray went 2-for-4 with three RBI. The pitching seems to be a source of inconsistency. They held the Orioles to two runs in game 1 and one run in game 2, thanks to strong performances from starting pitchers Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley. However, Bailey Ober and the Twins bullpen struggled on Sunday, giving up eight runs in the series finale. The Twins' 3.96 staff ERA is better than the Royals' 4.62. However, six of those 13 total Royals runs were tagged to Estevez in his meltdown in the ninth inning on Saturday (his ERA is 162.00, which doesn't feel real). Take that Estevez outing away, and this Royals pitching staff only has seven runs allowed. Minnesota and Kansas City both know this series will be a big one, especially if they want to re-establish themselves after disappointing Opening weekend performances. The Royals will face Simeon Woods Richardson, who is susceptible to the long ball, as evidenced by his 1.37 HR/9 and 10.8% HR/FB rate. It would be nice for the Royals to get off to a hot start against Woods-Richardson on Monday, especially with the long ball at Kauffman with the new dimensions. A strong performance on Opening Day could make things easier for the Royals in this series, especially with Ryan and Bradley slated to go in games 2 and 3, according to Roster Resource. View the full article

Weekly Snapshot Record Last Week: 3-0 (Overall: 3-0) Run Scored Last Week: 29 Runs Surrendered Last Week: 10 Standing: 1st in NL Central (1.0 GA STL & CIN) *** Game 1 (3/26) | MIL 14, CHW 2 Game 2 (3/28) | MIL 6, CHW 1 Game 3 (3/29) | MIL 9, CHW 7 *** Game 1 | Brewers 14, White Sox 2 MIL Starter: Jacob Misiorowski (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 K) Top Performers: Jake Bauers (2 H, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI) Joey Ortiz (2 H, 2 R, 2 RBI) Sal Frelick (H, HR, 2 BB) The Brewers opened their 2026 campaign on Thursday by handing the ball to Jacob Misiorowski, who, despite surrendering a leadoff homerun to Chase Meidroth, rewarded the club’s decision by breaking franchise records. His 11 punchouts of White Sox hitters set a new franchise watermark for strikeouts on Opening Day, while the team behind him lit up the scoresheet by tallying 12 hits and drawing 10 walks in a 14-run outburst. William Contreras’ bases-clearing double (+23 WP%) Game 2 | Brewers 6, White Sox 1 MIL Starter: Chad Patrick (4.1 IP, 5H, 1 ER, 4 K) Top Performers: Brice Turang (3 H, 2 R, 2 2B) Christian Yelich (3 H, R, RBI) Garrett Mitchell (2 H, R, 2 RBI) Chad Patrick took the ball on Saturday, and despite not putting up the numbers Misiorowski did in the game previous, his 4.1 innings of one-run ball were more than enough to propel the Brewers to their second straight victory. On the offensive side, the Brewers played small ball, tallying up 12 more hits, with only two going for extra bases, and stealing 7 bases. Garrett Mitchell’s 2-run single (+8.7 WP%) Game 3 | Brewers 9, White Sox 7 MIL Starter: Brandon Sproat (3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 7 ER, 3 K) Top Performers: Christian Yelich (H, HR, 3 RBI) Gary Sánchez (2 H, HR, 2 RBI) Brewers Bullpen (Combined: 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 9 K) Sunday's series finale against the South Siders didn't have the start the Brewers might've imagined, with White Sox SS Colson Montgomery rudely greeting Milwaukee starter Brandon Sproat with a first-inning grand slam. Sproat never recovered, allowing three more runs and finishing his day with just three innings of work, exiting with the Sox up 7-2. The Brewers bullpen held the game there, though, and finally, in the eighth, the Brewers broke through. An RBI single from Brice Turang brought the game within three, and shortly after, Luis Rengifo's first Brewers hit brought the game within one. Sensing the moment, skipper Pat Murphy summoned Christian Yelich to pinch hit, who responded with a go-ahead three-run homer to cap the six-run 8th, and put Milwaukee up for good. Trevor Megill then capped the excellent day for the bullpen with a save in the 9th, and with that, the Brewers wrapped up their opening weekend with a sweep of the White Sox. Christian Yelich's go-ahead pinch-hit home run (+62 WP%) Transactions: 03/28/26 - Placed 1B Andrew Vaughn on the 10-day injured list with a left hamate fracture. (Retroactive to March 27, 2026) 03/28/26 - Recalled C Jeferson Quero from AAA Nashville. 03/26/26 - Placed CF Jackson Chourio on the 10-day injured list with a left hand fracture. (Retroactive to March 25, 2026) 03/26/26 - Recalled CF Blake Perkins from AAA Nashville. Notes: Jackson Chourio’s injury stems from an exhibition game while playing for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. The team's estimate is that Chourio will miss 2-4 weeks. Blake Perkins took the place of Chourio on the roster. Andrew Vaughn’s hand fracture occurred on Opening Day. Milwaukee expects Vaughn to miss 4-6 weeks while he recovers. Jefferson Quero’s recall was the corresponding move to Vaughn’s injury, with Gary Sánchez and Jake Bauers being expected to fill time at 1B while Vaughn recovers. Looking Ahead: Monday, 3/30 - Rays @ Brewers - 6:40 pm CDT Tuesday, 3/31 - Rays @ Brewers - 6:40 pm CDT Wednesday, 4/1 - Rays @ Brewers - 12:40 pm CDT Friday, 4/2 - Brewers @ Royals - 6:45 pm CDT Saturday, 4/3 - Brewers @ Royals - 3:10 pm CDT Sunday, 4/4 - Brewers @ Royals - 1:10 pm CDT View the full article

After almost nine years in Toronto's organization, Leo Jiménez is heading to Miami. Jiménez made a valiant effort to break camp with the Blue Jays, but ultimately, he failed to make the Opening Day roster. As he was out of options, the team had no choice but to designate him for assignment. On Sunday, the Marlins decided to take a chance on the 24-year-old infielder, sending a 23-year-old infielder (and $250,000 of international bonus pool money) to the Blue Jays in return. Miami selected Dub Gleed in the ninth round of the 2024 draft, and he made his affiliated debut in 2025. He rose through the Marlins' system quickly, finishing his season with one game at Triple-A Jacksonville. The corner infielder walked almost as often as he struck out, helping him post a 124 wRC+ across four levels. View the full article

Hours after the Miami Marlins completed a series sweep of the Colorado Rockies, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix went right to work adding to his roster. The club announced on Sunday night that they've acquired infielder Leo Jiménez from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infield prospect Dub Gleed and $250k in international bonus pool money. Francys Romero was first to report the full transaction. Jiménez, 24, played a total of 26 games during the 2025 minor league season where across three levels, he slashed .296/.404/.370/.774 with seven RBI and a 122 wRC+. He also saw 18 games at the big league level, but struggled, posting a -19 wRC+. Jiménez had a longer run in the majors in 2024, where in 63 games he slashed .229/.329/.358/.686 with four home runs, 19 RBI and a 101 wRC+. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter is a glove-first player. He spent most of his minor league career at shortstop, but also has played second base. The Blue Jays designated Jiménez for assignment prior to Opening Day because he is out of minor league options. As for Gleed, the Marlins selected him in the ninth round of the 2024 MLB Draft. In his first full professional season, he slashed .252/.391/.347/.737 with two home runs, 26 RBI and a 124 wRC+ with nearly as many walks (43) as strikeouts (48). Recently highlighted on an episode of Fish Unfiltered, he was set to begin this season with Double-A Pensacola. To clear a 40-man roster spot for Jiménez, the Marlins DFA'd right-handed reliever Garrett Acton. He made his organizational debut on Friday, working a scoreless inning for Triple-A Jacksonville. The Marlins will still need to make a corresponding 26-man move prior to Monday's game. View the full article

MIAMI — The last time the Marlins started a season 3-0 in 2009, they were still the Florida Marlins. Fast-forward 17 years, and after a name change, a new stadium, and two improbable playoff appearances, the Miami Marlins have joined them along with the 1997 World Series-winning team with three consecutive season-opening victories. The third such win, Sunday's 4-3 defeat over the Colorado Rockies, proved the most meaningful. Entering the bottom of the ninth trailing 3-2, Miami started off the inning with an Xavier Edwards single. Liam Hicks, a late-game replacement and one of the protagonists in Saturday's win, lined out to former Marlin, first baseman Troy Johnston, who turned an unassisted double play. Now down to their last out, Javier Sanoja would keep the dream alive with a two-out double that split the gap in left-center, bringing Owen Caissie, already 4-for-9 with a pair of doubles in this series, to the plate. After taking a first-pitch changeup from Colorado's Victor Vodnik, the Rockies reliever doubled down. Caissie made him pay for it, sending the pitch over the right field wall for a walk-off, two-run homer. "I mean, I kind of blacked out...I don't know if kids imagine that, but it was awesome," said Caissie. "Safe to say Owen Caissie will be in the lineup tomorrow," noted smiling Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. I think it goes without saying that 2026 is a make-or-break year for Max Meyer. The club's first-round pick in 2020, Meyer entered his fourth big league season the owner of a 5.29 ERA in his 25 starts. So, when his first inning of the season yielded three runs, it felt like more of the same. "I was just way too nonchalant out there for the first, and my arm just wasn't on time," said Meyer. "I looked at some video in the third...and I just kind of never got my arm through, and then I was able to pick up the pace a bit, so I felt better in the last couple of innings, for sure." Following that three-run top of the first, Meyer would hold the Rockies scoreless for the next four innings, allowing just a pair of hits. In his five innings of work, Meyer, who threw 81 pitches, walked two and struck out four. Relying primarily on his secondary pitches, Meyer only threw 28 percent fastballs in his season debut, failing to generate a single whiff on his heaters. His slider, though, proved greatly effective, generating whiffs on nine of the 13 swings, averaging just 71.7 miles per hour when put in play. A narrative defining the Marlins' early-season triumphs has been the resilience their players have shown following moments of adversity. Take shortstop Otto Lopez, whose throwing error in the top of the first allowed TJ Rumfield to score Colorado's third run. Batting in the bottom of the inning, Lopez hit an RBI double that saw Miami begin its clawing back. While it may be early, there appear to be signs of something potentially special beginning to blossom here in Miami. "This group is kind of creating their own identity a little bit. This is a new year, but the same type of mentality—just the resiliency," noted McCullough. The Fish would plate another run in the following inning on a sacrifice fly from the newly minted Austin Slater. Advancing to third on that play and making his major league debut, Deyvison De Los Santos made an impact early, doubling in his first career at-bat. Acquired from Arizona in the trade that shipped out A.J. Puk, De Los Santos' calling card is his 70-grade power, something the Marlins should rely on in the absence of Christopher Morel and Kyle Stowers. The comeback, Miami's third one-run win in a row to begin the season, could not have been possible without the help of the bullpen, which fired four scoreless frames in relief of Meyer. In the season's opening series, Marlin relievers combined to throw eight scoreless innings and strike out 15. Looking Ahead The Marlins will continue their opening homestand on Monday, hosting the Chicago White Sox. Chris Paddack will make his Marlins debut in the series opener. Miami and Paddack agreed to a one-year, $4M deal before the staqqrt of spring training. Davis Martin will oppose him for Chicago. The first pitch at loanDepot park is slated for 6:40 EST. View the full article

Fish On First staffers react to the latest Miami Marlins series and prepare you for what lies ahead. Sunday's show was hosted by Jeremiah Geiger and featured panelists Ely Sussman, Kevin Barral and Louis Addeo-Weiss. The following topics were covered: Owen Caissie's walk-off home run and outstanding all-around series Length provided by the Marlins starting rotation and scoreless work by the bullpen The first game in the Marlins' teal Sunday alternate uniforms The major league debut of Deyvison De Los Santos Chicago White Sox series preview and predictions You can find Fish Unfiltered and Fish On First LIVE on the Fish On First YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your pods. Our next FOF LIVE episode will be Wednesday at approximately 5:00 p.m. ET following the Marlins-White Sox series finale. View the full article

TRANSACTIONS Wrote about the Twins signing Drew Smith to a minor-league deal. Sunday he was added to the Saints roster. Catcher David Banuelos was placed on the development list to make roster room. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 1 Box Score Saints Complete 3-Game Sweep Jenkins Returns The plan for Walker Jenkins’ playing time has been laid out through next weekend. He played seven innings on Friday night. He didn’t play on Saturday. On Sunday, he played seven innings. In the top of the eighth frame, his spot in the lineup came up with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. Kyler Fedko pinch hit for him and took over in center field. Jenkins led off the game with a double off of the wall just to the left of dead center field. A couple of batters later, his hamstring was tested. Kaelen Culpepper lined a single to left. Jenkins rounded third and sprinted home. He dove in but was easily out. More importantly, Jenkins was just fine. He walked in his next plate appearance and lined an RBI single. He flew out to right field in his final at-bat. Morris Makes 2026 Saints Debut The goal when the game started was for Morris to go about four innings, and then John Klein would come in and hopefully go three innings. Well, Morris went 3 2/3 innings and gave up one run on three hits. He had one walk and one strikeout. He was at 57 pitches, likely within a handful of his Start #1 limit. Certainly Morris was not in mid-season form. No one would expect him to be. But he only had three whiffs over those 57 pitches. Per StatCast, Morris threw 23 four-seam fastball (40%). He averaged 95.7 mph with the pitch and got nine called strikes. He maxed out at 97.3 mph. So velocity-wise, he’s where he needs to be and has been. He also threw 10 curveballs (18%), eight sinkers (14%), six changeups (11%) and five cutters and five sweepers (9%). Saints Score First Again, Take Early Lead Noah Cardenas led off the top of the second by being hit by a pitch. Tanner Schobel walked. With one out, Jenkins walked to load the bases. Gabriel Gonzelz grounded toward second. Jenkins was out at second, but Gonzalez beat the throw to first and the Saints had their first run. With one out in the third inning, Ryan Kreidler doubled to left. With two outs, Schobel walked again. Aaron Sabato followed with a single to left to drive in the second run. Jenkins followed with an RBI single to make it 3-0. Klein Time Indications and some quotes indicate that Minnesotan John Klein will be used in the three-to-four inning, twice per week role for the Saints this year. The goal for this game, his first outing of the season, was to go about three innings. He went 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two, and had four strikeouts. He threw 48 pitches and 31 of them were strikes (64.6%). Half of his 48 pitches were four-seam fastballs. He averaged 95.6 mph with a max of 96.9 mph. He threw 14 curveballs (29%). That pitch averaged just under 81 mph, a really nice velocity drop. Same thing with his seven changeups (15%). It averaged 86.8 mph, about nine mph less than his fastball. Finally, he added three cutters. However, he was only able to record four whiffs. I Can Hit Too, Really! We’ve all seen Ryan Kreidler’s career number in MLB. Simply, he hasn’t hit. He has a .138 batting average and .208 on-base percentage over his 188 big-league at-bats. However, it doesn’t take watching him play all over the diamond that you appreciate just how terrific he is defensively. And (Alert: Small Sample Size Warning), Kreidler hit his first double and first home run of the season. Through the first three games, Kreidler is 5-for-10, hitting .500/583/.900 (1.483). The 28-year-old from UCLA has good size. He’s 6-4 and about 210 pounds. New Vets Get Their First Chance When the Twins bring in a new veteran on a minor-league contract, they get them in the game right away! John Brebbia came in for the sixth inning. He got two outs relatively quickly. Then came Dominic Fletcher. 15 pitches later, Brebbia won that mini-battle and ultimately tossed a 1-2-3 inning. He threw eight four-seam fastballs and eight sliders. StatCast said that he threw two cutters and one sinker, one changeup, and one sweeper. Drew Smith came in and pitched the eighth inning. He faced just three batters, but he definitely used his defense. Konnor Griffin led off the inning with a double to the gap in right-center field, but with a perfect relay from Fedko to Culpepper to Kreidler to nail Griffin at third base. A huge play in a three-run game. Smith followed it up by walking a batter, but he followed by getting a double play to end the inning. Grant Hartwig got a strikeout to end the eighth inning on Friday. He came and despite two walks tossed a scoreless inning to record the save. Defensive Alignment It’s only been three games, and the lineup may look different starting Tuesday at CHS Field when the Saints take on the Woo Sox for six games. Here’s a quick look (again, just three games): Saints Players 3/27 3/28 3/29 Walker Jenkins CF DNP CF Kaelen Culpepper SS 3B SS Gabriel Gonzalez DH LF RF Emmanuel Rodriguez RF CF DH Alan Roden LF RF LF Orlando Arcia 2B SS DNP Eric Wagaman 1B 1B DNP Ryan Kreidler 3B 2B 3B Alex Jackson C DNP DNP Kyler Fedko DNS (CF) DH DNS (CF) Noah Cardenas DNP C C Tanner Schobel DNP DNP 2B David Banuelos DNP DNP Dev List Aaron Sabato DNP DNP 1B WIND SURGE WISDOM The Wind Surge season begins on Friday, April 3rd, when they play host to the NW Arkansas Travelers for three games. KERNELS CHRONICLE The Kernels also begin their 2026 season on Friday. They will host Peoria for three games. MIGHTY MATTERS Fort Myers will also begin their season with a three-game home series. They will host the Clearwater Threshers. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day Ryan Kreidler (St. Paul): 2-for-4, 2B(1), HR(1), 2 R, RBI, 2 K. Pitcher of the Day John Klein (St. Paul): 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 48 pitches, 31 strikes (65.6%%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (St. Paul) - 2-for-3, BB, 2B(1), RBI (played CF, batted 1st) #2 - IF Kaelen Culpepper (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, K (played SS, batted 4th) #3 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, BB, 2 K (DHd, batted 5th) #4 - C Eduardo Tait (TBD) - DNP #5 - LHP Connor Prielipp (St.Paul) - DNP #6 - LHP Dasan Hill (TBD) - DNP #7 - OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, RBI (played RF, batted 2nd) #8 - LHP Kendry Rojas (St. Paul) - Injured List (hamstring) #9 - SS Marek Houston (TBD) - DNP #10 - RHP Charlee Soto (TBD) - Injured List #11 - RHP Riley Quick (TBD) - DNP #12 - RHP Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 57 pitches, 36 strikes (63.2%) #13 - 3B/CF Brandon Winokur (TBD) - DNP #14 - 3B/SS Quentin Young (TBD) - DNP #15 - RHP Marco Raya (St. Paul) - DNP #16 - OF Hendry Mendez (TBD) - DNP #17 - 2B/OF Kyle DeBarge (TBD) - DNP #18 - RHP C.J. Culpepper (TBD) - DNP #19 - C/OF Khadim Diaw (TBD) - DNP #20 - RHP James Ellwanger (TBD) - DNP UPCOMING PROBABLES Tuesday: Worcester @ St. Paul (6:37 pm CT) - LHP Christian MacLeod CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 1-2 St. Paul Saints: 3-0 Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View the full article

Matt Shaw will never be the Chicago Cubs' starting second baseman, shortstop or third baseman. When the team signed Alex Bregman to a five-year deal this winter, Shaw was asked to start learning the outfield, and when they struck a deal with Nico Hoerner that will keep him in the fold at second base through 2032, that became the only imaginable way in which Shaw will find consistent playing time for the team, barring injuries. Of course, Pete Crow-Armstrong is also locked in as the team's center fielder for the foreseeable future, so Shaw essentially has to become a competent corner outfielder to be more than a utility man for the Cubs. That could, of course, mean that the Cubs will soon look to trade Shaw, who remains under team control through 2031. For the moment, though, let's focus on the implications of the team's recent moves should he stay in town, and let's further assume that Bregman, Hoerner and Dansby Swanson are healthy enough to force him to be an outfielder. That leaves two questions to answer: Can Shaw become sufficiently adept in the outfield itself to avoid causing major damage to the defense? Can he hit enough to justify giving him regular playing time in positions where the team will need significant offensive production? The first answer is likely to be 'yes'. Shaw is a good athlete, and though he's small and has a weak arm, he's shown decent aptitude in limited opportunities there this spring. With speed and skills, he should be able to offset his deficiencies and play average or better defense in (especially) left field. He played a couple of balls quite well in right field on Opening Day, despite gusting wind. Offensively, though, the standard in either corner is quite high, and Shaw hasn't yet shown the ability to meet it. He batted .226/.295/.394 last year. There was a prolonged period in the second half in which he tapped into much more power and it was possible to envision him being a valuable bat in a corner spot, but even then, his plate discipline was shaky and he was too whiff-prone. The big leg kick he brought with him to the majors had to be adapted, but even after he did so, he seemed to be overstriding. He wasn't well-balanced, and he wasn't keeping his head still enough to see the ball well. To be a useful right or left fielder, Shaw has to be better and more consistent at the plate this year. The league figured him out after his July/August power binge, and countered his adjustments; he'll have to adjust again. This spring, he hit .320/.417/.500 in the Cactus League, but all that matters is what happens once the games count—and that, in turn, will be determined by whether Shaw can make adjustments that yield better pitch selection, more contact, and/or more power. In that regard, there's good news and bad news, so far. Shaw has made a major adjustment this spring to shorten his stride and (thereby) improve his stability in the box. That should mean better pitch recognition and a better contact rate, over time. Here's a comparison of his stance and stride for 2025 with the one he's shown (in an extremely limited sample, of course, but the difference is real and intentional) in 2026. As you can see, he's dramatically reduced the length of his stride, and he's also a bit closer to the plate and a bit deeper in the batter's box. All of these things are good, in the long run, for his odds of making good swing decisions and making contact on swings. The sample is too small for the results to say anything meaningful about the efficacy of the changes yet, but for this, we don't really need stats. We just need proof that he's changing the math—the physics, the geometry, and the algebra—of his duel with opposing pitchers. We have it. For what it's worth, Shaw is also swinging a bit more steeply this season. That's a noisier thing, over a sample of a game or two, and it might not remain true, but it's noteworthy because his swing appeared to have that extra tilt even in the spring. A steeper swing would yield a greater amount of damage at the same bat speed. That, alas, brings us to the bad news: Shaw's bat speed so far is dreadful. On 14 competitive swings, Shaw's average bat speed is 65.8 miles per hour. Last year, his monthly bat speeds ranged from 68.4 MPH to 70.5. Again, it's too early to treat this as something lasting and real, but directionally, it makes a sad sort of sense. Shaw's highest bat speeds last year were when he was striding most aggressively; he got a lot of bat speed from the sheer momentum of his attack. Shortening the stride increases control but lowers momentum. Increasing tilt improves the chances of squaring the ball up but decreases sheer torque. Shaw will, surely, swing faster than this as he settles in and gets going this year. Still, if he doesn't get back up to at least that 69 MPH range, he has little hope of having average power. That applies extra pressure to control the strike zone well, minimizing strikeouts and increasing walks. He might well prove able to do that; those are the things his tweaks this spring should augment. It's just a troublesome signal, for a player whose value will have to come in large part from his bat for the foreseeable future. View the full article

Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (56 Pitches, 37 Strikes, 66 %) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Mick Abel (-0.59), Matt Wallner (-0.17) Byron Buxton (-0.15) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): The Twins entered the third game of the new season with a chance to take two of three games from the Orioles in Baltimore. The bats have been predictably inept thus far, but the pitching had been decent, and the team managed to manufacture four runs despite just four hits in Saturday's 4-1 win. On Sunday, Bailey Ober took the mound looking to fight back against allegations that he is "cooked," working with lower velocity, struggling to reach 90 MPH in spring training, and coming off a brutal 2025 season. He shied away from the fastball early, throwing a barrage of changeups and sweepers to keep the Orioles hitters off balance, inducing numerous grounders and pop-ups. The fastball didn't return to his 2023-2024 peak by any means, but the exit velocities were low, and he was efficient early. The Twins hitters were up against Shane Baz, who has been a hot prospect for approximately 15 years, first sent to the Rays in the Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows-for-Chris Archer trade of 2017. He was dealt to Baltimore this winter and signed a five-year, $68-million contract extension this week, a big bet on his potential despite just one healthy season in his five years in the big leagues. He throws hard and has a wicked breaking ball. He showed his upside in a 1-2-3 first inning, including two weak fly outs from Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall and a challenged strike three call to Byron Buxton that was upheld. The Twins got to work in the second inning, however. Matt Wallner roped a single to center, Josh Bell was hit by a pitch, and Victor Carratini checked in with his second hit as a Twin. The much-maligned Trevor Larnach bounced a ball to the hole between first and second, reaching an infield single to score the game's first run. Royce Lewis then got ahead in the count before striking out looking for Baz's 99-MPH fastball; it was a well-located 92-MPH cutter instead. No matter, Tristan Gray was up next and clobbered a 107-MPH double to right, clearing the bases and giving the Twins a surprising 4-0 lead. Gray, 30, is a journeyman who has shown some power in the minors but hasn't gotten much run in the big leagues. If the Twins are planning to outperform logic and reason this year and actually compete, it will take a couple of Willi Castro-style success stories to provide the necessary variance. Maybe Gray can be that. Who knows? Ober took that four-run lead into the fourth inning, but the Orioles were ready for him the second time through the lineup. Pete Alonso singled, as did Samuel Basallo. The hulking Tyler O'Neill then worked the count to 3-1 before unloading on an 88.8-MPH fastball at the top of the zone from Ober. His 391-foot blast cut the Twins' lead to one run. Baz struggled with his command in his tragic second inning, but otherwise was sharp with his knuckle-curve, tying Twins hitters into knots. The most the Twins could muster were bloop doubles from Bell, Larnach and Buxton in the fourth and fifth innings, but Bell was cut down unnecessarily trying to advance on a grounder to short in the fourth, and Buxton overran second base and was caught trying to scamper back in the fifth. Mick Abel made his 2026 debut in the bottom of the fifth, a major yin to Ober's yang. He began by striking out Jeremiah Jackson on a challenge fastball and dotting another 97-MPH fastball on the corner to catch Taylor Ward looking (after a nice ABS challenge by Caratini). The sixth was more of a struggle, as Abel was unable to put away numerous Orioles hitters with two strikes, letting O'Neill come back from 0-2 to draw a walk; getting ahead of Coby Mayo before allowing a bloop double; and seeing Dylan Beavers rope a 3-2 changeup into right field for a two-run double to flip the game. That lead would not last long, as Royce Lewis jumped all over a breaking ball from Yaramil Hiraldo, launching a 377-foot home run to tie the game. He'd also given the Twins the lead in Saturday's tilt with a two-run blast. That WPA is looking pretty good early on. Perhaps a bit shaken by that, Hiraldo proceeded to walk the bases loaded for Wallner, who showed there is something worse than a typical strikeout in 2026: a strikeout where you challenge the call on an obvious strike, costing your team the ability to challenge the rest of the game. That proved costly right away, as Abel walked Gunnar Henderson in the bottom half of the inning on a clear strike to put two men on with no outs following a Ward single. Alonso then poked a single just over Keaschall's outstretched glove to reclaim the lead. Adley Rutschman delivered a pinch-hit double off the wall in dead center field to further the unraveling. The Twins didn't quit, at least. Bell walked and Caratini singled against righty Tyler Wells to bring the tying run to the plate, but that tying run was James Outman. He walked somehow, which brought up Lewis—who struck out on a high change. Gray then singled up the middle to keep the line moving and add to his legend. Clemens struck out, bringing up Buxton with two down to face old friend Yennier Cano. It was a lengthy battle, but Buxton ended up swinging over the top of that patented sinker Cano throws to end the inning. Running on fumes, Abel was brought back for the eighth and allowed a single and a walk, bailed out by Blaze Alexander getting caught stealing by Caratini. Anthony Banda was finally brought in to face Henderson with one on and one out. He was able to retire Henderson on a fielder's choice, then caught him taking off early from first to end the frame. Keaschall led off the ninth against All-Star closer Ryan Helsley with a single, but the rally fizzled from there, despite a Henderson fielding error. Things to Watch: -Brooks Lee sat in favor of Gray after starting the year 0-6 with three strikeouts. -Trevor Larnach made his second straight start in left field, as Twins manager Derek Shelton has shown his preference early on is to have Josh Bell DH against righties with Clemens at first base. I question the defensive upgrade of DH-ing Larnach over Bell, since Clemens could conceivably play a better left field than Larnach, but what do I know? -Abel began warming up in the top of the fourth, with Ober having not had much trouble to that point. That invited the question of how much the Twins trust Ober even when he is "cruising." Was the intention to get Abel some work with all the early-season off days, or is Ober getting the Simeon Woods RIchardson treatment, i.e., not being trusted to go through a lineup more than twice? On that note, Abel was allowed to stay in the game and take a beating, throwing 71 pitches over his three innings, allowing multiple runs in two of those. With the game hanging in the balance, it was a little surprising a fresh reliever was not brought in for the seventh, and again when Abel got into trouble that inning. But wait, there was more! Abel came out to start the eighth for some reason, his velocity dropping down to 94 MPH with the fastball. He didn't get anyone out outside the caught stealing, and ended up with twelve baserunners allowed in 3 1/3 innings. -Josh Bell reached four times with two doubles. He runs hot and cold, so it's nice to see him coming out of the gates getting results. -Austin Martin pinch-hit for Larnach in the sixth, and was pinch-hit for by Outman in the eighth. This could be Shelton getting cute with the logic of playing the platoons and improving his left field defense more as the game went on. The problem is that Outman can't hit, and are we even sure Outman is an upgrade defensively at this point? What’s Next: The Twins head to Kansas City for the first time in 2026 with Simeon Woods RIchardson (7-4, 4.04 ERA in 2025) opposing Kris Bubic (8-7, 2.55 ERA). SWR finished 2025 on a high note, perfecting his new splitter and showing the ability to put away hitters for the first time in his career on a consistent basis. Bubic was dominant for Kansas City, with nasty stuff from the left side, his only weakness being health, never surpassing 130 IP in his six years in the majors. Postgame Interviews: (Coming soon) Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 0 81 81 Topa 0 18 0 12 0 30 Funderburk 0 17 0 13 0 30 Orze 0 0 0 21 0 21 Banda 0 0 0 15 3 18 Sands 0 0 0 16 0 16 Rogers 0 10 0 0 0 10 Laweryson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 View the full article

The 2025 season was a downer for Minnesota Twins fans. The losses piled up, the roster was stripped down at the trade deadline, and the club limped to the finish line as one of baseball’s worst teams over the final two months. Somewhere in that mess, Byron Buxton put together one of the most impressive seasons of his career. As the 2026 season begins, it is worth revisiting his 2025 campaign and highlighting a few things that may have flown under the radar. 1. His Speed Was All the Way Back (No, Really) It's easy to assume that Buxton’s elite speed had faded. Injuries have a way of chipping away at explosiveness, and for a player whose game is built on athleticism, that decline can come quickly. That was not the case. Buxton posted a 30.2 mph sprint speed, virtually the best in baseball. He was tied for the second fastest mark in the sport alongside Bobby Witt Jr. and Victor Scott II. Only Trea Turner came in higher, at 30.3. For a player who has battled leg and lower body injuries throughout his career, that number matters. It's not just about stolen bases or highlight plays in center field; it's also about getting to a few more balls without diving or going first-to-home on a double. That part of Buxton's game remains intact. 2. September Surge By September, the Twins were playing out the string. The games had little meaning in the standings, and the focus had already shifted to the future. Buxton never let up. Over his final four games, he collected five hits—four of them home runs—to finish the year on a tear. His final stat line told the story of a complete and dominant season: 126 games, 542 plate appearances, 97 runs, 35 home runs, 83 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, a .264 average, an .878 OPS, and 4.9 WAR. That combination of power and speed placed him in rare company in franchise history. The only other player in Twins history to post a 30 home run and 20 stolen base season is Kirby Puckett. Even in games that no longer mattered, Buxton played like they did. 3. Rare Air Among the Game’s Best The American League MVP conversation was dominated by Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, and rightfully so. Both delivered massive offensive seasons that carried their teams. Buxton didn't receive the same level of recognition. He finished outside the top 10 in MVP voting and missed out on a $3 million bonus tied to his placement. Still, his production stacked up with the very best hitters in the league. Buxton ranked fifth in the American League in OPS+, trailing Judge, Raleigh, George Springer, and José Ramírez. That's elite company, and it becomes even more impressive when considering defensive value. Among that group, Buxton and Raleigh are the only players who regularly man premium up-the-middle positions. Buxton wasn't just hitting like a superstar. He was doing it while playing a demanding defensive role. Other Moments That Defined the Season Beyond the numbers, Buxton delivered a collection of highlight reel moments that reminded everyone just how unique his skill set is. He recorded the first cycle in Target Field history, a milestone that felt almost inevitable for a player capable of impacting the game in every possible way. From stretching hits into extra bases to launching balls into the seats, it was a single-game snapshot of his full offensive arsenal. He also provided one of the most jaw-dropping defensive plays of the season against the Chicago White Sox, making a walk-off catch in the gap to secure a victory. It was vintage Buxton, gliding into position before timing his leap perfectly. Few players in baseball can end a game with their glove in that fashion, and it served as another reminder of the value he brings beyond the batter’s box. Buxton’s performance earned him a spot on the national stage as well. He represented the Twins in the MLB All-Star Game and participated in the Home Run Derby in his home state of Georgia, showcasing his power and athleticism to a broader audience. For a player whose career has often been interrupted by injuries, it was a well-deserved opportunity to display his talents among the game’s brightest stars. Buxton’s career has always lived in the space between what is and what could have been. Since debuting in 2015, he has shown flashes of being one of the most electrifying players in baseball, only for injuries to interrupt the momentum. The 2025 season offered a glimpse of what a more complete version of Buxton looks like. The speed was there. The power was undeniable. The production placed him among the league’s elite. If he can carry that version of himself into 2026, the Twins may finally have the consistent superstar they have been waiting for. And after everything the organization endured last season, that might be the most important development of all. What are your expectations for Buxton in 2026? What will you remember about 2025? Leave a comment and start the discussion. View the full article

There is no doubt that 2025 was disappointing for the Arizona Diamondbacks. They seemed to be hit by a lot of injuries, including to their prized free-agent signing that offseason in ace right-hander Corbin Burnes. They offloaded a few pieces at the trade deadline, but even in September still had a chance to make the postseason, finishing 80-82, three games out of the final spot. Diamondbacks' Notable Offseason Moves While there wasn't much in terms of volume to accomplish this offseason, there were a couple of big holes that the D'backs needed to fill. And they did it with familiar faces. Zac Gallen remained with the team even after receiving and rejecting the $22.025 million qualifying offer, and fellow right-handed starter Merrill Kelly, who was dealt to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline, returned on a two-year, $40 million contract. As a bonus, they also signed right-hander Michael Soroka to a one-year, $7.5 million contract just before they added Kelly. First baseman Carlos Santana inked a one-year, $2 million contract. In the most surprising acquisition, the D'backs were the landing spot for third baseman Nolan Arenado, who was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals. It only cost them right-hander Jack Martinez, last year's eighth-round draft pick. Finally, right-handed reliever Paul Sewald stuck around on a one-year, $1.5 million deal. Projected Diamondbacks Lineup Geraldo Perdomo, SS Ketel Marte, 2B Corbin Carroll, RF Gabriel Moreno, C Pavin Smith, DH Nolan Arenado, 3B Carlos Santana, 1B Jordan Lawlar, CF Alek Thomas, LF The D'backs had the fifth-best OPS in MLB last year, but that was a lineup that included third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who hit 36 homers and drove in 87 runs before being dealt to the Seattle Mariners, as well as first baseman Josh Naylor, who had a .292/.360/.447 before separately being traded to the Mariners. Will being on a contender after wallowing with the St. Louis Cardinals rejuvenate Arenado? Soon to turn 35 years old, he has a .261/.312/.413 slash line with 54 homers and a combined 6 fWAR over the last three seasons, which is basically MLB average, after putting up a .293/.358/.533 mark with 30 homers for a 7.9 bWAR in 2022. While he still has a pretty good eye, Arenado likes to chase a lot (16th percentile) and his exit velocity is down to 86.8 mph (10th percentile). Santana, meanwhile, is about to turn 40 and has played for seven teams over the last four seasons, putting up a .226/.318/.392 slash line, including 76 homers. But the lineup still does have Carroll, Marte and Perdomo at the top of the lineup. The middle of the lineup looks a little soft with Moreno, Smith, Arenado and Santana, while the D'backs are hoping a move from the infield to center field helps to unlock Lawlar's offensive potential. Projected Diamondbacks Rotation RH Zac Gallen RH Ryne Nelson LH Eduardo Rodriguez RH Brandon Pfaadt RH Michael Soroka Kelly is starting the season on the 15-day injured list due to an intercostal nerve irritation. It is expected to be a short stay. That paves the way for Soroka to begin the season in the rotation. This figures to be the strength of the team this season, but that depends on Gallen, Rodriguez and Pfaadt improving upon their 2025 numbers. Nelson had the best 2025 of this bunch; he posted a 3.73 FIP in 33 appearances, 10 of which came in relief. If the D'backs can stay in the thick of things, 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes could be back sometime around the All-Star break. The Verdict There are definitely some questions that will need to be answered before this team can contend. If Arenado visits the Fountain of Youth and becomes even a solid offensive force, that will boost the offense, which feels a little suspect with Moreno and Smith hitting fourth and fifth. Gallen was once a staff ace but has lost that luster in recent years. Perhaps healthy returns from Burnes and Kelly will key a run for this team. The D'backs stayed in contention after selling at the deadline, so there is some magic fairy dust floating around the desert. View the full article

Every season, there is something new about the Miami Marlins organization, and that's an understatement. There have been turbulent times where barely anything stays the same from year to year. Witness the turnover and enjoy a broad overview of the franchise's history by browsing this collection of annual media guides. Fish On First has compiled digital copies of more than half of all the media guides ever published by the Marlins, from 2009 to the present. Following most of those seasons, they also published a season summary/season in review/postseason guide. Guides from the last five seasons are free for all. Everything pre-2022 is exclusive for SuperSubs at the bottom of this page. Download the 2026 Media Guide Download the 2025 Media Guide Download the 2025 Season in Review Download the 2024 Media Guide Download the 2024 Season In Review Download the 2023 Media Guide Download the 2023 Postseason Guide Download the 2022 Media Guide SuperSubs, continue scrolling for links to download all of the available pre-2022 Marlins media guides and season summaries... View the full article

Marlins catcher Liam Hicks speaks with the media following Saturday's game about catching Eury Pérez's quality start and mashing his first home run of the season. View the full article