MLB Player News

A sixth-round pick in the 2012 Draft, Elander has hit .275/.356/.435 over his first 2018 minor league games. He was not ranked by Baseball American among the Braves’ top 30 prospects.

Langford reached on a single off of J.T. Ginn in the opening inning, but was cut down attempting to stretch it into a double. He then capped off the Rangers’ six-run uprising in the second inning with a 424-foot (111.7 mph EV) three-run blast off of Ryan Magdic. The 24-year-old outfielder has been sizzling at the plate this spring, hitting .455 (10-for-22) with three homers, 10 RBI and a 3/2 K/BB ratio in 24 plate appearances.

The 25-year-old hurler racked up six strikeouts on the afternoon and didn’t walk a batter. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball with Max Muncy belting a solo homer in the opening frame and Henry Bolte adding another in the third. Leiter got 11 swings and misses on 57 pitches on the day — five of those on his slider — while posting a CSW of 30 percent. For the spring, he now sports a 4.50 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and a 12/3 K/BB ratio over 12 innings through his first four starts.

Muncy victimized Rangers’ right-hander Jack Leiter for a majestic 440-foot (108.6 mph EV) solo shot that opened the scoring in the top half of the first inning. He also added a single in the sixth inning, finishing the afternoon 2-for-3. The 23-year-old has been awfully impressive during Cactus League play, hitting .419 (13-for-31) with three homers, eight RBI and a stolen base. At this rate, it seems as though he’ll open the season as the club’s starting third baseman.

The 26-year-old hurler also issued three free passes while striking out three opposing hitters in the ballgame. Ginn entered the start already facing an uphill battle at securing a spot in the A’s Opening Day rotation and he didn’t help his cause in this one. All of the damage was done during the second inning as Willie MacIver delivered a bases-clearing double and then came around to score. Ginn got just four whiffs on 61 pitches on the afternoon, posting a CSW of 26 percent. For the spring, he holds an uninspiring 6.17 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and a 12/7 K/BB ratio over 11 2/3 innings in his four starts.

Arcia is 5-for-20 with four extra-base hits this spring. Last year, he totaled 11 extra-base hits in 203 at-bats for the Braves and Rockies. The Twins could pick him over Gio Urshela, Ryan Kreidler and Tristan Gray for their vacant utility role, though unlike Kreidler and Gray, he’s not on the 40-man.

Ober averaged 89.9 mph with his fastball in his first start this spring, but he was down to 88.8 mph today. That’s about 1.5 mph less than last year, when he posted a 5.10 ERA, and three mph south of where he was in 2024. Maybe he’ll figure something out to get that back, but unless it happens, he figures to be a well below average starter once again.

Hendricks has given up one run over four innings this spring, striking out two in the process. The 37-year-old averaged 93.6 mph with his fastball today, which is down four mph from his last time healthy and effective with the White Sox in 2022. He probably doesn’t project as an above average reliever at this point, but even if he’s just adequate, he might wind up with a fair number of saves in a weak Twins pen.

Early settled for just one strikeout, but he was again effective and is now sporting a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings on the spring. He’s been averaging 95 mph with his heater, up one mph from last-season MLB audition and 1.5 mph from his time in Triple-A. Alas, the Red Sox will almost surely have him begin the year back in Triple-A unless injuries strike the rotation.

He did reach on a HBP, so that was something. Campbell’s revamped swing has thus far earned him a .194/.264/.355 line in 34 plate appearances this spring. He’s struck out 11 times and walked once. There was never much chance of him breaking camp with the Red Sox, but it’d be nice to see him setting himself up to contribute at some point during the season. That’s not happening yet.

The Yankees kept the 20-year-old prospect in big league camp so he could play against the Tigers on Thursday — where his dad is the team’s bench coach. Overall in Grapefruit League action, Lombard hit .185 (5-for-27) with a homer, six RBI and a pair of stolen bases. He’s expected to begin the season at Double-A Somerset.