MLB Player News

McWilliams hasn’t pitched in an MLB game in over a year and a half and struggled in his last minor league appearances, posting a 8.63 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 56/49 K/BB ratio across 49 innings in Double-A and Triple-A for the Padres and Mets. However, McWilliams impressed this winter with a 3.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 29/14 K/BB ratio in 25 1/3 innings out of the bullpen in Mexico. He’ll hope to carry that over as he competes for a job as organizational depth for the Cubs.

Kemp was responsible for the game’s two hardest balls in play, with his 109-mph groundout actually eclipsing his 108-mph, 419-foot homer to center. The Phillies currently have two bench spots open for Kemp, Dylan Moore and Johan Rojas, all of whom could platoon against lefties. Kemp has the most interesting bat of the three but also the least defensive value, if that winds up mattering.

Madden was facing mostly regulars, too, and he made quick work of them, throwing just 21 pitches today. The 26-year-old Madden missed all of 2025 with a shoulder strain suffered in spring training, and he’s well down the Tigers’ rotation depth chart at the moment. He’d have more of a chance of contributing as a reliever, but the Tigers will probably have him start games in Triple-A initially.

It didn’t work out so well last year, but if Bohm gets his power numbers back to where they were in 2023 and ’24, he has a chance to drive in over 100 runs as the Phillies’ cleanup hitter. He offers nice value for someone lasting pretty deep into drafts.

Stewart crushed a tone-setting solo shot that left his bat at – and traveled -, per Statcast, off White Sox starter Davis Martin in the opening frame. The 22-year-old top prospect should be a popular sleeper candidate this spring based on what he showed last year during a brief 18-game stint with Cincinnati where he mashed five round-trippers. There are some immediate playing time concerns but he’s talented enough that Reds manager Terry Francona shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a spot for him on the lineup card.

Montgomery’s first big fly of the spring came off Cincinnati reliever Lyon Richardson in the fourth inning. The 23-year-old former top prospect turned his career around last year, walloping 21 round-trippers in 71 games as a rookie. He offers zero stolen base potential and a near-30 percent strikeout rate suggests he won’t be much help in the batting average department either. There’s some real thunder in his bat but his fantasy value is limited to deeper mixed leagues as a cheap power source.

Lodolo scattered a pair of hits and threw 30 of 40 pitches for strikes over his two frames of work. His fastball velocity clocked in at a robust 94.8 mph and he generated six swinging strikes during the abbreviated outing. The 28-yar-old southpaw accumulated a career-high 156 2/3 innings, finishing with a strong 3.33 ERA – 3.50 xERA – 1.08 WHIP and 156/31 K/BB ratio last year to finish as a top-30 range fantasy starter.

Trammell is off to a 4-for-8 start as he tries to win back a spot on Houston’s roster. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster after two weeks after signing a major league deal worth $900,000 in November. Unless it’s decided that Cam Smith or Zach Cole needs more time in the minors, then there’s probably one spot on Houston’s roster for Joey Loperfido, Zach Dezenzo, Shay Whitcomb or Trammell.

He struck out two. Five months after he last faced hitters in game action, Brown averaged 96.6 mph with his fastball and 95.9 mph with his sinker today, both matching his 2025 averages exactly. It’s really kind of amazing when you think about it.

Fairbanks’ fastball velocity was down by one mph and his breaking ball velocity was down 2-4 mph in this unusually early spring appearance. Whether he was coming off an injury or just being brought along slowly by the Rays, Fairbanks hadn’t pitched in a game this early in the spring since 2020. He’s never thrown more than 5 2/3 innings in a single spring, but it appears the Marlins are going to use him more than that.

Riley should be 100 percent after core muscle surgery at the end of August, and he might be undervalued after a second straight disappointing season. He did strike out more often than usual last year, but his exit velocity numbers were just as good as when he hit 38 homers in 2022 and 37 in 2023.