MLB Player News

Mazzaro made a relief appearance Friday for the first time since his infamous 14-run appearance earlier this season. He fared much better this time, striking out a batter in a clean inning. “The thinking behind that is he’s got a plus slider,” Yost said. “Match him up against right-handers, where he can use that slider, it might be a very usable addition to that pen. I’d like to see it, anyway. We know what he can do as a starter.” Mazzaro might still be given a shot next spring to start, but his future might be in the pen.

Paredes represents an intriguing gamble for the Braves after compiling a strong 1.66 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 16/10 K/BB ratio across 21 2/3 innings (18 appearances) last season between the Brewers and Cubs. The 29-year-old righty, who has made 55 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2020, will compete in spring training for a spot in Atlanta’s season-opening bullpen.

Thompson provides Atlanta with some additional relief depth heading into next season after not pitching in affiliated ball this past season. The 31-year-old righty made 55 appearances (36 starts) between the Marlins and Pirates from 2021 to 2022 and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues ever since. He’s merely extra organizational relief depth for the Braves.

Ohtani, who is currently recovering from offseason shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, helped lead Los Angeles to a World Series title in his Dodgers debut where he finished with a surreal 1.036 OPS along with 54 homers and 130 RBI. Lindor turnd in his finest season in the Big Apple to date, helping guide the Mets back to the postseason by posting a stellar .844 OPS with 33 homers and 29 steals over 152 games. Marte was limited to just 136 contests due to an untimely late-season ankle injury, but sill managed to club a career-high 36 round-trippers for an Arizona squad that just narrowly missed out on a playoff berth.

It might finally be happening for Sale, who finally managed to stay healthy last year in his Braves debut, compiling a league-best 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 225/39 K/BB ratio across 177 2/3 innings (29 starts). The eight-time All-Star selection has six top-five finishes in Cy Young Award balloting, but has never taken home the hardware. Skenes, who is also a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, seems like a bit of a long shot here. Wheeler remains the model of consistency as Philadelphia’s ace after wrapping up last season with a career-best 2.57 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 224/52 K/BB ratio across 200 innings (32 starts).

This is going to be the closest race of any as there are compelling cases to be made for Chourio, Skenes and Merrill here. Chourio caught fire over the final few months of the year, finishing an extraoadinary 21-homer, 22-steal rookie campaign by helping propel Milwaukee back to the playoffs. Skenes wrapped up a historic rookie campaign in which he also started the Midsummer Classic for the senior circuit with a sublime 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170/32 K/BB ratio across 133 innings (23 starts). Merrill made San Diego’s season-opening roster out of spring training as their starting centerfielder and never looked back, delivering a series of clutch hits over the course of the year, finishing with a robust .826 OPS to go along with 24 homers and 16 steals over 593 plate appearances.

No surprises here as Judge is considered the heavy favorite to take home the hardware, which would be his second in the last three seasons, on the heels of a stellar 58-homer, 144-RBI campaign where he led the majors in both on-base percentage (.458) and slugging percentage (.701). Meanwhile, Soto is on the precipice of landing a lucrative multi-year contract on the open market after a stellar New York debut where he slugged a career-best 41 round-trippers. It’ll be the first top-three finish for Kansas City’s franchise cornerstone after Witt led the majors last season with an astonishing 211 hits, leading to a stratospheric .332 batting average.

Clase and Lugo are deserving finalists, but Skubal is a near-lock to take home his first Cy Young Award after a dominant 2024 campaign where he led the American League in ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228) over 192 innings (31 starts). The 27-year-old southpaw figures to be the first starting pitcher off the board next spring in all fantasy drafts. Clase melted down in the postseason, but was other-worldly during the regular season, convering a career-high 47 saves to go with a sparkling 0.61 ERA across 74 1/3 innings (74 appearances). He’s the first reliever since Francisco Rodríguez back in 2008 to be named a Cy Young Award finalist. Lugo was an unexpected revelation in his Kansas City debut, finishing with a solid 3.00 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 181/48 K/BB ratio across 206 2/3 innings (33 starts).

Allen underwhelmed in his brief time with the Athletics over the last three seasons, batting .209/.254/.283 with nine homers and eight steals in 247 plate appearances in 247 games. The 26-year-old middle infielder fortifies Atlanta’s organizational depth at the Triple-A level heading into 2025, but he’s a complete non-factor for fantasy purposes.

Johnson was a 14th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft and has yet to pitch above High-A ball. The 23-year-old righty posted a respectable 2.60 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 61/27 K/BB ratio across 52 innings (38 appearances) last year for High-A Rome. He’s a lottery ticket relief arm for the rebuilding Athletics.

Cowser put together a breakthrough season, emerging as a key component of Baltimore’s lineup -- and an impact fantasy contributor as well -- posting a .768 OPS with 24 homers and nine steals in 153 contests. One of the biggest breakout candidates in the fantasy landscape, Gil made 29 starts for the Yankees last season, finishing with a 3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 171/77 K/BB ratio across 151 2/3 innings of work. Wells emerged as New York’s starting catcher and was an impact contributor, but he’s a distant third behind both Cowser and Gil. It’s pretty much a toss-up at this point, but Cowser seems like the slight favorite. Perhaps the biggest surprise here is that preseason favorite Wyatt Langford didn’t crack the top three in balloting.