News and notes: Spring Training week 2
It is March 2. Spring Training is in full swing. We’re officially in the thick of it as meaningful Major League Baseball is played this month. It’s crazy to think that we are just two weeks out from the Cubs and Dodgers opening the season in Tokyo on March 18th. Although it’s still early in March, we’ve begun to see the ramp up as big league pitchers and hitters are logging more innings and at bats. It’s truly an exciting time of the year as a baseball fan and I hope you’re having as much fun as I am turning on the TV everyday to watch a random mid-week Spring Training game. A lot happened this week and it’s time to break down my top story lines from week two of Spring Training.
Plenty of notable starting pitchers made their spring debuts
Monday’s slate saw a long list of starting pitchers making their respective spring debuts, however, multiple games across the Grapefruit League in Florida were rained out - most notably the game between the Phillies and Pirates in Clearwater which was supposed to feature National League Rookie of the Year and 2025 NL Cy Young favorite, Paul Skenes. His first start would have to wait until Saturday where he would throw against the Orioles in Sarasota. Skenes delivered three innings of one-run ball while striking out four and walking just one. Unfortunately there was no Statcast data available in the ballpark to check in on how his stuff is sizing up thus far, but there is video below that suggests Skenes might be even nastier than he was last year. In fact, he flashed a new cutter that makes his already deep enough arsenal that much better.
American League Cy Young and Triple Crown winner, Tarik Skubal also made his first appearance on the mound this week. Skubal threw two innings against the Twins in Lakeland on Wednesday afternoon, logging a strikeout and allowing just one baserunner. He managed to find room for his full pitch mix and ran his fastball up to 98 mph. As far as I’m concerned, Skubal is lined up to repeat as Cy Young in 2025 and it’s his award to lose.
Another debut hit close to home for me as Shane McClanahan made his return to the mound for the first time since 2023 after hitting the injured list to undergo Tommy John surgery. McClanahan was the ace for my Rays prior to the injury and was in conversation for AL Cy Young at the time. He seemingly returned to form as he threw two scoreless innings against the Mets on Saturday and touched 99 mph on the radar gun with his fastball. The addition of McClanahan to Tampa Bay’s starting rotation makes it one of the deepest in the league. McClanahan has already been named the Opening Day starter for the Rays.
Former teammates get on the board
Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch in Glendale is seemingly the place to be this time of the year as every video I’ve seen of their camp is flooded with fans, and for good reason of course. Shohei Ohtani stole the show on Friday night, making his spring debut, and proceeded to go yard in his first plate appearance. As a matter of fact, he did it in quite the same manner he did last year - taking a pitch to the opposite field just beyond the left field bullpen in his first spring at bat. Despite the high end additions the Dodgers made to their roster during the offseason, Ohtani continues to take center stage.
Mentioning Ohtani is simply out of obligation. We know he’s the best player in the game so this is business as usual. What’s more important is that his former teammate and former best player in the game, Mike Trout, is healthy and hit his first home run of the spring on Wednesday afternoon against the Reds. Prior to Spring Training, the Angels announced that Trout would be moving from center field to right field full time to help keep his legs fresh. I would imagine that would include a chunk of time as DH as well. Trout has appeared in 100 or more games in a season just once since 2021 and has widely been written off as one of the top players in the league by plenty of fans including myself. However, I would do anything to be proven wrong so we can get a full healthy season from Trout.
Top prospects continue to perform at a high level
Many top prospects are in camp right now, arguably more than we’ve ever seen at big league camps in recent memory. It has been really good for the game as fans are becoming more familiar with what the futures of their franchises might look like. A lot of these players are still getting a lot of run right now while the big league regulars are starting to ramp up the playing time.
Cam Smith, who the Astros acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs this winter, headlined prospect performances this week with a two home run game on Tuesday. Smith was the Cubs first round draft pick in 2024 and advanced as high as Double-A, posting a .609 SLG across three different levels.
Konnor Griffin, the Pirates first round draft pick in 2024 and highest ranked high school draft prospect, made his professional debut in Spring Training last Sunday. Griffin didn’t play at all in the minors following the draft last year, but received a non-roster invite to big league Spring Training anyway. I included Griffin in last week’s recap as he recorded a base hit in his first game, but he deserves another mention as he went yard for the first time in his professional career on Saturday. It also happened to be a go-ahead opposite field shot in the top of the ninth inning against the Orioles. The more I watch Griffin, the more I realize how lucky the Pirates were able to land him at ninth overall. He’s truly a freak athlete, standing in at 6’4” 225 pounds with elite speed and glove work at both shortstop and center field. He’s the next man up on my top 50 prospect list as soon as a current member graduates.
The White Sox left handed pitching duo of Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith threw in back to back innings on Wednesday against the Padres. I am particularly bullish on this duo, specifically Smith who was my personal top pitching prospect in last year’s draft. His first and only inning of Spring Training work thus far resulted in Smith striking out the side, all of which came on his elite slider. Two of those strikeouts included top Padres prospects, Leodalis De Vries and Ethan Salas. Schultz, who is currently my sixth ranked prospect overall and my second highest ranked pitching prospect, threw a scoreless inning of his own. If White Sox fans should be excited about anything baseball-related, it should be this disgusting duo that isn’t too far off from arriving on the Southside.
My top prospect performer overall so far is Marcelo Mayer of the Red Sox. Mayer has seemingly taken a back seat to Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell as they have risen to the top of Boston’s farm system, however it’s Mayer that has looked the most MLB-ready this spring. Through six games and 16 plate appearances, Mayer has posted a .357/.438/.714 slash line, good for a 1.152 OPS. That line includes a multi-XBH performance on Thursday where he hit a triple off of Detroit’s Jack Flaherty and a home run off of Kenta Maeda.
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