MLB Player News

The Rays offense was almost completely silent in this game. They didn’t record an extra-base hit and didn’t have a runner reach base until the seventh inning. Lowe managed to reach third in the ninth after singling, advancing on an error, and then leading a double-steal to get the tying runs in scoring position before Ben Rotvedt popped out to end it. Lowe’s had a disappointing season overall, but has now stolen five bases in his last seven games.

Emerson ripped an impressive 108.7 mph single that brought home a pair of runs in the fifth inning. The 20-year-old top prospect boasts an above-average hit tool and made a serious jump in the power department last year, smashing 16 homers in 130 games across three levels to finish the year in Triple-A. It’s dangerous to feel certain about any prospect, but Emerson is one of the rare exceptions where his sustained fantasy relevance feels almost inevitable.

Kirby feels like a classic rebound candidate. His 3.88 xERA last season aligned closely with his established baseline, while the 4.21 ERA — the worst of his four-year career — arrived alongside shoulder issues that limited him to a career-low 23 starts. The underlying profile didn’t collapse; the surface results just drifted in the wrong direction. At 28, he profiles as the type of arm the market temporarily overthinks before quietly rediscovering. Expect him to settle back into the top-15 starter tier this spring — the kind of bet that feels less like chasing upside and more like trusting mathematics.

He also swiped his third base of the spring. Black has struggled with injuries and hasn’t shown much power the last two years, so this is a really good day for him. Still, since he’s no longer a third baseman and played mostly left and first base last year, he’s going to have a difficult time cracking Milwaukee’s roster. He’s also going to miss some time while playing for Team Canada in the WBC.

Barlow never even touched 90 mph on the gun today, with his average fastball coming in at 88.7 mph. That’s down 3.6 mph from last year. Of course, Barlow did sign late, and he’s a veteran who knows what he has to do to get ready for the season. Still, a bad spring will probably drop him down the depth chart some in an Athletics pen with no clear closer.

Frelick is never going to be a power guy, but he did manage 14 barrels and a 27% hard-hit rate last year after finishing with just three barrels and a 19% hard-hit rate in 2024. He’d probably offer some mixed-league value if he could jump into the Brewers’ leadoff spot at some point. Brice Turang, though, overtook him last year and will likely hit first or second alongside Jackson Chourio again this year.

They like to call him Patty Barrels, but the nickname didn’t suit him with his exit velocity down last year. He wasn’t exactly a great hitter in his first two seasons, either, but he did hit the ball harder than his numbers suggested. Today, though, Patty Barrels was back; his two balls in play left his bat at 109.7 and 107.1 mph. That 109.7-mph figure is just shy of his career high of 110.1 mph from 2024, and even the latter figure was something he topped just four times in all of 2025.

Webb had a 50% CSW in the easy 26-pitch outing. He’ll make one more start this weekend before joining Team USA for the World Baseball Classic.

Roupp is being brought along just a tad slowly this spring after missing the end of last year with a bone bruise in his left knee, but he was strong today; all of his pitches were up a tad more than one mph from last year. He’s the clear favorite to serve as the Giants’ fifth starter if he can get through March without incident.

Encouraging is that Rodriguez averaged 96.1 mph with his fastball and topped out at 98.6 mph today. That’s right where he was when last seen in the majors in 2024, though about 1.5 mph off from where he debuted at in 2023. We’re not confident that Rodriguez will prove useful in fantasy leagues this season after experiencing shoulder, lat and elbow problems the last two years, but we wouldn’t at all mind being wrong about that.

The one batter to reach against Yates did so on a lazy fly to right that Gustavo Campero lost in the sun for a single, and he only scored after Travis d’Arnaud committed an error on a steal attempt. So, that’s nothing Yates did wrong. He, Drew Pomeranz and Jordan Romano were all effective in their innings today. Those three, Robert Stephenson and Ben Joyce figure to be in the mix for saves in the Angels pen in the early going.