MLB Player News

Michael Marino reported earlier than the Brewers were asking for top prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams in return for Peralta, but maybe they’ll be willing to settle for one of those two and another prospect the Mets don’t value as highly. The Yankees are also known to be among those interested in Peralta.

Rooker is up to three round-trippers this spring after taking White Sox starter Shane Smith deep in the third inning. He also scalded a two-run double in this contest, just for good measure. He’s a back-end OF1 option in fantasy drafts this spring.

Kurtz has been relatively quiet this spring, hitting just .179 (5-for-28) through 12 exhibition contests. He’s drawn nine walks and only struck out six times during that span. The 22-year-old fantasy force delivered one of the best rookie campaigns in recent memory and is neck-and-neck with Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr., vying to be the top first baseman off the board in fantasy drafts this spring.

Friedl took Colorado reliever Jimmy Herget deep with two outs in the fourth inning for his first big fly of the spring. The 30-year-old centerfielder remains Cincinnati’s primary leadoff option ahead of middle-of-the-order forces Elly De La Cruz and Eugenio Suárez heading into the regular season, which makes him a decent OF5 option in shallow mixed leagues.

Seager’s first-inning homer came off Cubs starter Cade Horton and was his first of the spring. The 31-year-old shortstop has topped 125 games just once in four seasons with the Rangers but he’s still managed to reach the 30-homer mark three times during that span. He’s a back-end starting shortstop for fantasy managers in shallow mixed leagues based on leaps by younger alternatives like Geraldo Perdomo and Jeremy Peña at the position.

Rocker is one of the more challenging pitchers to evaluate for fantasy purposes since he seems likely to open the year back at Triple-A Round Rock and has been all over the place from a performance standpoint in the big leagues over the past two years. The 26-year-old former top prospect looked outstanding in this relief outing, piling up 11 swinging strikes and averaging 96.4 mph on his sinker. It’s possible he’ll break camp in the big leagues as a swingman capable of gobbling up multiple innings but that would certainly limit his fantasy appeal.

It was a vintage deGrom outing as he scattered three baserunners and got his pitch count up to 43 (28 strikes) in his second Cactus League outings. The 37-year-old veteran fantasy ace generated nine swinging strikes and averaged a crisp 97.4 mph on his heater. The ever-present durability concerns remain, but few fantasy arms are more impactful on a per-start basis than deGrom. He’s a back-end SP1 in fantasy drafts this spring.

Horton gave up three consecutive hits, including a three-run homer to Corey Seager, to open the contest. He gave up two additional homers before exiting the contest after 60 pitches (37 strikes). The results don’t really matter this early in the year, especially since his fastball velocity was right in line with last year’s numbers when he put together one of the best second-half performances of any pitcher in baseball. The 24-year-old former top prospect remains a back-end SP3 for fantasy managers heading into the regular season.

The biggest takeaway for Trout this spring is that he’s returned to playing center field regularly, which is an encouraging sign that his surgically repaired knee isn’t bothering him. The 34-year-old’s fantasy star has dimmed in recent years as he’s gradually morphed into an all-or-nothing slugger and a potential batting average liability. He’s still capable of blasting 30-plus homers over something resembling a full season but, bit at this advanced stage of his career, he’s more of a realistic OF3 option for fantasy managers.

The important variable for fantasy managers is that Donovan continues to lead off for the Mariners this spring, which should lead to a ton of runs scored batting ahead of Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor in the regular season. The 29-year-old has gotten off to a sizzling-hot start this spring, hitting .429 (9-for-21) through eight games. He’s shaping up to be an excellent value in the late rounds of fantasy drafts this spring as a standout contributor in the runs scored and batting average departments.

Ragans sat in the mid-90’s consistently with his four-seam fastball and generated 11 swinging strikes, with five of them coming on his slider. The 28-year-old southpaw is a borderline SP1 in fantasy drafts this spring based on his significant strikeout upside, despite injuries limiting him to just 13 starts last year.