Jesus Luzardo Dominant In Spring Debut

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo threw four shutout innings with five strikeouts in his Cactus League debut Thursday. Luzardo walked two, but didn't allow a hit while needing just 49 pitches to breeze through four frames. Hold on to your hats, Luzardo will soar up draft boards after this outing. The 23-year-old has a […]

Dominic Smith To Play Left Field Friday

New York Mets outfielder/first baseman Dominic Smith is scheduled to play left field for the first time in Grapefruit League action Friday. The Mets had reportedly been holding Smith back from playing in the outfield this spring to avoid injury and/or burning him out coming off the shortened 2020 season. With no designated hitter in […]

Luke Voit’s Knee Issue Not Major

New York Yankees first baseman Luke Voit (knee) has been dealing with a knee injury, and his knee appeared to bother him on the bases during Thursday's game. Manager Aaron Boone seems to view Voit's knee injury as a minor issue, and it doesn't seem like Boone expects Voit to be in any danger of […]

Billy Hamilton Won't Make Opening Day Roster For Cleveland

Cleveland Indians outfielder Billy Hamilton has been informed that he will not make Cleveland's opening day roster, the Associated Press reports. Manager Terry Francona said the club told Hamilton on Thursday that he wasn't part of their plans. The Indians will try to trade Hamilton, who signed a minor league contract last month. Hamilton has […]

Anthony Bass Adds Another Scoreless Inning On Thursday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Anthony Bass tossed another scoreless inning in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Bass threw the seventh inning, allowing just one walk while striking out one. Bass is projected to be the Marlins closer based on manager Don Mattingly's comments earlier this spring and has not done anything to […]

Isan Diaz Continues To Struggle

Miami Marlins second baseman Isan Diaz went 0-for-2 in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Diaz is now hitting just .143 with a .651 OPS as he tries to win the second base job for the regular season. He's competing mostly against Jazz Chisholm, although he's been struggling at the plate as well. […]

Anthony Bender Strikes Out Three On Thursday

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Anthony Bender pitched 1 1/3 innings in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Washington Nationals. Bender struck out three without allowing anyone to reach base. He's yet to allow a run this spring and is averaging almost 98 mph on his fastball. Bender was a 20th round pick from the 2016 […]

Andrelton Simmons Set For Spring, Twins Debut Friday

Minnesota Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons is on track to appear in his first game with his new team Friday against Atlanta. Simmons has been delayed in his arrival due to visa issues, as he'll have fewer than three weeks to ramp up for regular-season play. While he's expected to serve as Minnesota's everyday shortstop beginning […]

Sandy Alcantara Struggles With The Strike Zone On Thursday

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara struggled with throwing strikes in his Grapefruit League start against the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Alcantara ended up pitching 3 1/3 innings, allowing five walks while striking out four. He did not allow any hits and somehow got away without allowing any runs either. He threw 61 pitches, just […]

Kirby Yates Makes First Spring Appearance

Toronto Blue Jays veteran reliever Kirby Yates made his first spring appearance against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. He allowed a couple of hits in his one shutout inning but needed just nine pitches to retire the side. Yates' fastball normally sits around 93-94 mph and he was mostly 92-93 mph on Thursday despite a […]

Cole Tucker Returns To Hitting Activities

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop/outfielder Cole Tucker (hand) is back to hitting after having appeared in just one Grapefruit League game this spring, in which he went 0-for-3. Competition remains relatively open for the rebuilding Pirates with Tucker in the mix to earn at-bats both at short or in center field, where Anthony Alford stands out as […]

George Springer Returns to Game Action

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer returned to action on Thursday after missing a few games with a minor abdominal strain. The veteran outfielder stayed in for three plate appearances and homered in his first at-bat of the game. He also made a nice running catch in center field. He's 3-for-11 (.273) with a stolen […]

Xander Bogaerts Set To Serve As DH For Friday’s Game

Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts (shoulder) has been given the green light to make his Grapefruit League debut Friday against Tampa Bay, serving as the designated hitter. The Red Sox do not yet appear comfortable having Bogaerts make throws from short, but placing him among the starting nine is an indication that they expect […]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hits First Spring Homer

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged a three-run homer and went 3-for-3 in Thursday's 10-6 win over the Detroit Tigers. He's now 5-for-10 with a BB-K of 3-1 this spring. Guerrero Jr., who turns 22 in a few days, came into camp after losing more than 40 pounds since last year and […]

Mike Fiers Battles Back Ailment Early In Camp

Oakland Athletics right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers (back) has not yet appeared in a Cactus League game, which manager Bob Melvin confirmed Wednesday has been due to a lingering back ailment. Fiers has been pitching in sim games, but Melvin did state that Fiers would be behind the rest of the team's projected starting staff as […]

Frankie Montas Feels Good After Simulated Game

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Frankie Montas (illness) said he feels good after throwing two innings in a simulated game. Montas was late to camp after battling COVID-19. As long as there are no setbacks, Montas should appear in Spring Training games soon and is on track to be in the rotation for Opening Day, according […]

Kansas City Scratches Michael Taylor From Thursday’s Lineup

Kansas City Royals outfielder Michael Taylor (back) was removed from Thursday's starting nine against Milwaukee due to back tightness, manager Mike Matheny confirmed. Taylor has gotten off to a scorching hot start in Cactus League play, having gone 6-for-14 with two home runs and two doubles, driving in four runs. Taylor has the inside track […]

Patrick Corbin Hits 92 MPH In Second Start

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin averaged 90 mph with his fastball in three innings on Thursday, and reached 92 mph at times. In his last spring start of 2020, he was only in the 87-88 range. After averaging close to 92 mph in the 2019 regular season, Corbin only threw about 90 in 2020. […]

Luis Garcia Playing Middle Infield, Learning From Teammates

Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia has been playing both shortstop and second base this spring training, with fellow middle infielders Starlin Castro and Trea Turner guiding him along. Garcia entered 2020 as a top-100 prospect and got in 40 games of MLB action replacing an injured Castro, hitting .276/.302/.366 while mostly playing second base. Garcia, […]

Joshua Mears Annihilates 117.3 MPH Homer

San Diego Padres outfield prospect Joshua Mears demolished a 117.3 mph home run Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies. The 20-year-old non-roster invitee is just 1-for-7 this spring, but his long ball would've been one of the hardest hit last season in the majors. The Friars 2019 second-round pick and No. 10 prospect (per MLB Pipeline) possesses […]

High Stakes Heat Joins the Cionel and the Captain - Draft Champions Podcast

In today's episode, Dave McDonald (@RunDMcD) and Jake Halusker (@thedustmite) join @shrimpboatcpn and Zack (@zackroto) to his Draft Champions podcast (@draftchampagne). They discuss roster construction and pockets of value in DCs, Post 500 league winners, methodical approach to DCs. Be sure to also tune into RotoBaller Radio on SiriusXM (channel Sirius 210, XM 87) - every weekday […]

Chris Bassitt Working On New Slider Grip

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt is working on a new slider to try and build on his career year in 2020. In the shortened campaign, Bassitt went 5-2 with 55 strikeouts, a 2.29 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 63 innings. According to Statcast, Bassitt only threw 25 sliders last year, but he has […]

Ian Anderson Has Contract Renewed For 2021

Atlanta Braves pitcher Ian Anderson saw his contract get renewed ahead of the 2021 season. The 22-year-old will make $575,000 while in the majors this year. Anderson is one of the brightest young pitchers in baseball and tossed two scoreless innings during his first Spring appearance. He has considerable value in standard leagues, as he […]

Eddie Rosario Goes 1-For-3 Wednesday

Cleveland Indians outfielder Eddie Rosario went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Rosario is now 3-for-16 with four RBI across his first six spring games. Rosario joins the Indians in 2021 after slashing .257/.316/.476 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI in 2020. He will settle into the middle of the […]

Jordan Hicks Reaches Another Milestone

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks (elbow) faced the Nationals in a B game on Wednesday for the first time since June of 2019. The hard-throwing right-hander had a 1-2-3 inning on just 11 pitches, striking out one and inducing two groundouts. Hicks recently flashed 102 mph on the radar gun in a live […]

Luis Severino Throws From Mound

New York Yankees starting pitcher Luis Severino (elbow) threw 20 pitches from a mound on Tuesday and looked great, according to manager Aaron Boone. It's been a little over a year since Severino underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his pitching elbow, and the 27-year-old has had a smooth recovery process […]

Sixto Sanchez Will Have An Innings Limit This Season

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sixto Sanchez will be on a 150-160 innings limit this season, according to Miami Herald reporter Craig Mish on his podcast. It is reportedly "not a fixed limit" but with the Marlins pushing Sixto's 2021 debut until sometime in mid-April, it could allow him to remain in the starting rotation until […]

Jean Segura Off To A Slow Start In Spring Training

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jean Segura is batting just .083 through 13 plate appearances this spring. Segura is expected to man the keystone this season after the team brought back shortstop Didi Gregorius. Segura slashed just .266/.347/.422 last season with seven homers and two stolen bases. Steals once made Segura a viable fantasy option, as […]

Fantasy Baseball Middle Rounds with Ryan Bloomfield - Benched with Bubba (Episode 351)

Bubba (@bdentrek) is joined by Ryan Bloomfield (@RyanBHQ). They will discuss recent Fantasy Baseball news and then dive into the middle rounds and talk about undervalued players and fades in rounds 11-20 of a 12-team league. Lastly, they will go over some awesome listener questions. Be sure to subscribe to the Benched With Bubba Podcast, part […]

Chase Anderson Fires Two Scoreless Innings Versus Detroit

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Chase Anderson pitched two shutout innings with one strikeout in a Spring Training game against the Tigers. Anderson's line looks good, but he was a bit shaky allowing two walks and a hit, but managed to escape unscathed. Anderson is competing with Vince Velasquez, Spencer Howard, and Matt Moore for a […]