MLB Player News

The Mets and Yankees are among the clubs sending scouts. Arruebarruena, a 23-year-old shortstop, played six years in Cuba’s Serie Nacional before defecting to the Dominican Republic in November. He’s known mostly for his defense and will likely need some time in the minor leagues, but bids should pour in for him.

Stanton’s two homers traveled a combined 826 feet, according to Statcast. The 36-year-old veteran slugger’s fantasy appeal is strictly limited to deeper mixed leagues given his well-documented injury history and power plus counting stats profile. He’s still capable of unleashing the occasional gargantuan homer but he hasn’t topped 115 games in a half-decade, which limits his realistic full-season projection to somewhere in the 25-30 range.

Schlittler struck out the side in an electric opening frame and lived consistently in the mid-to-upper-90’s with his fastball, cutter and sinker in this one. It’s encouraging to see him out there hitting the upper-90’s consistently after dealing with a back issue early on in camp. The 25-year-old righty should be a top-30 range starter in fantasy drafts this spring and offers some significant strikeout upside based on what he showed in the upper minors and with the Yankees in his big-league debut last year.

Johnston is a name to know for fantasy managers in extremely deep mixed leagues and NL-only formats since he projects to open the year as Colorado’s starting first baseman with Blaine Crim potentially hitting the injured list with an oblique injury. The 28-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Marlins last November after finally getting his opportunity at the highest level last year. He’s one of the few cold corner options with some decent stolen base potential and should benefit from hitting at Coors Field’s high-octane environment.

It’s not quite time to panic but Robles has gotten off to an ice-cold start at the plate this spring, hitting .083 (2-for-24) through eight games. The 28-year-old missed most of last season after suffering a dislocated left shoulder in early April. He’s the type of streaky hitter that tends to pile up hits and stolen bases in bunches but right now he’s in the middle of a cold spell.

Dollander recorded only one strikeout and was tagged for seven hits in his latest spring outing. The 24-year-old former first-round pick continues to flash elite fastball velocity, averaging 98.2 mph and topping out at 99.3 mph in this one. He certainly has the talent to stand a fighting chance at Coors Field but we’re advising more of a wait-and-see approach before trusting him outside of deeper mixed leagues when he’s pitching on the road against weaker lineups.

One of the few Mariners that doesn’t seem to be at the World Baseball Classic, Castillo shook off an early homer by Rockies infielder Adael Amador to work into the fourth inning of this one. He struck out three and only issued one walk. The 33-year-old veteran will pitch at the back-end of Seattle’s rotation this season and projects as a low-upside SP5 for fantasy purposes.

McLain has been one of fantasy’s biggest spring storylines, batting an absurd .607 with five homers and 12 RBI through 10 Cactus League games. He also added his first stolen base of the spring in this one, just for good measure. The case for a bounce-back fantasy campaign is relatively straightforward as McLain spent the offseason adding muscle to his frame and is even further removed from shoulder surgery, which theoretically should result in more consistent hard contact. He’s a prime sleeper candidate at second base, going off the board right around pick 200 overall, on average, in most drafts this spring.

Abbott served up a homer to – on a cutter that he’s been working on this spring. He generated six swinging strikes and finished with a respectable 30 percent CSW in his latest spring tune-up, building up his pitch count to 69 (42 strikes) in the process. The 26-year-old southpaw will take the ball on Opening Day for the Reds against the Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 26.

Gasser struck out four and didn’t issue a walk, but he surrendered three home runs in this one, leaving him with an inflated 9.95 ERA across three starts this spring. The 26-year-old lefty remains in the mix for the final spot in Milwaukee’s season-opening rotation but could wind up pitching out of the bullpen in a swingman-type role if the club elects to go with Brandon Sproat over him.

Ramirez’s slam was a 387-foot fly off of Mitch Spence. The 21-year-old Ramirez, who was added to the Cubs’ 40-man over the winter, is 8-for-22 with two homers and just one strikeout this spring. He’s also 4-for-5 stealing bases. He split time between second and third last year while hitting .280/.346/.386 for Double-A Knoxville. His path to playing time at third base for the Cubs seems thoroughly walled off for the foreseeable future, but he could be a factor at second in 2027 if Nick Hoerner isn’t re-signed.