MLB Player News

Boettcher was Houston’s 13th round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft. The 22-year-old outfielder will not report to spring training and will be placed on the restricted list at some point in the coming weeks. The Astros will retain his rights moving forward. Boettcher is expected to re-evaluate his option following the 2025 college football season.

Caglianone made the most of his only plate appearance in the game, tagging Cubs’ right-hander Ethan Roberts for a two-run blast in the seventh inning that extended the Royals’ lead to 5-1. He has been extremely impressive in his limited at-bats this spring, hitting .444 (4-for-9) with a pair of homers and four RBI. At this point, the Royals should at least give him some at-bats against big league starting pitching to see if he can hold his own.

The 27-year-old southpaw allowed just one baserunner in the ballgame, a two-out infield single by Seiya Suzuki in the first inning. His six punchouts weren’t cheap ones either, as he was battling against the best that the Cubs’ lineup had to offer. Those strikeout victims were Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker, Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson, Carson Kelly and Jon Berti. It was a much-needed bounce back effort for Ragans after giving up seven runs his last time out. He has been the eighth starting pitcher off the board in recent fantasy drafts, going just outside the top 40 players overall.

The 22-year-old speedster reached base on a single in the fifth inning and advanced to second base as Dansby Swanson was caught stealing on the front end of a double steal. Crow-Armstrong then swiped third base himself and scored the Cubs’ first run on a wild pitch. He also singled in the seventh before getting lifted for a pinch runner. On the spring, he’s now hitting an even .500 (10-for-20) with a homer, five RBI and two swipes. He has seen his draft stock start to rise in recent weeks, climbing inside the top 140 players overall.

On the plus side though, the right-hander did record five strikeouts in the ballgame and didn’t allow a base on balls. Brown retired the first nine hitters that he faced in order — including strikeouts of Nick Loftin, MJ Melendez, Cavan Biggio and Cam Devanney. He returned for the fourth though, where he allowed four doubles in a span of six batters before exiting. Through his first three appearances this spring, Brown sports a 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and a 9/1 K/BB ratio across eight innings. He’s set to open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Iowa.

The 22-year-old phenom continued his impressive spring camp on Thursday, smacking a line drive single into left off of Brandon Sproat in the opening inning. After hustling to second to stay out of a double play, he then raced around to score the game’s first run on an RBI single off the bat of Jon Singleton. Smith also drove in a run of his own with an RBI single off of Trey McLoughlin in the second inning. He’s now hitting a jaw-dropping .636 (7-for-11) with a pair of homers and seven RBI in Grapefruit League play. If Christian Walker (oblique) is forced to start the season on the injured list, the door could be open for Smith to crack the Astros’ Opening Day roster.

The right-hander punched out two opposing hitters on the evening. The only hit that he surrendered was a two-out single to Mark Vientos in the opening frame while both of his strikeouts came courtesy of Pete Alonso. While Gusto impressed at Triple-A Sugar Land in 2024, his path to a spot in the big league rotation is blocked at the moment — and it will only get worse once Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. are ready to return during the season. He’ll continue to function as extra depth at the Triple-A level.

All three of Vientos’ hits in the contests were singles and he didn’t factor into the scoring of the club’s lone run in the ballgame. The 25-year-old slugger is off to a nice start in Grapefruit League play, hitting .294 (5-for-17), though he’s still looking for his first round-tripper. Vientos has found himself going just inside the top 100 players overall in recent fantasy drafts, making him the eighth option off the board at the third base position.

The highly touted right-hander struck out a pair while issuing one base on balls in the contest. He allowed a run in the opening inning as Jon Singleton plated Cam Smith with an RBI single. Sproat then settled down and worked a scoreless second inning including strikeouts of Brendan Rodgers and Jacob Melton. He seemed to tire a bit after starting the third, issuing a leadoff walk and a single before turning the ball over to the bullpen, and one of those inherited runners came around to score. While the 24-year-old impressed with his fastball in this one, it’s still clear that his secondary offerings need some work before he’s ready to join the Mets’ rotation.

Rodriguez laced a one-out single into center off of Zach Eflin in the second inning and scored the game’s first run as Enmanuel Valdez hit a sacrifice fly. He then chipped in an RBI single in the third inning that extended the Bucs’ lead to 3-1. The 24-year-old backstop is finally healthy this spring and has been sizzling at the dish, hitting .417 (5-for-12) with a homer and three RBI in the early going. He’s fighting with Jason Delay to open the season as the team’s primary backup behind Joey Bart.

The 22-year-old phenom walked two and struck out three opposing hitters on the night. The Pirates scratched out a single run against him in the second inning on a run-scoring ground ball off the bat of Luis Vazquez. Skenes then returned to start the fourth inning where he allowed a leadoff single to Ryan Mountcastle before turning the ball over to the bullpen and then runner ultimately came around to score as well. Through two spring starts, Skenes now holds a 4.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and a 7/3 K/BB ratio over six innings. The top pitcher off the board in drafts this spring, fantasy managers shouldn’t be dissuaded by a couple of mediocre spring performances.