MLB Player News

Perez doubled and scored a run in the opening frame before leaving the contest. It sounds like a precautionary exit, but fantasy managers should monitor his status in the coming days. The 34-year-old ironman remains an elite top-five backstop for fantasy purposes as one of the most reliable power sources in the entire landscape. There should be an additional update on his status relatively soon.

Lile came into today 0-for-12 with a walk and five strikeouts in five spring training games, but he did go 2-for-2 in an exhibition game against Venezuela. Everything is a super small sample size at this point in the season, but this was also Lile’s first hard-hit ball of the spring. The 23-year-old had a really nice rookie season last year, but his 2025 performance did come out of nowhere a bit after hitting .262/.347/.388 in 130 minor league games in 2024. He will be the starting left fielder to begin the season, but with James Wood, Dylan Crews, Jacob Young, and Robert Hassell III all MLB-ready as well, Lile will need to produce to hold onto his spot.

Burrows has yet to allow a run in 8 2/3 innings this spring, and he posted an impressive 32 percent whiff rate and 33 percent CSW in this one. He threw 61 percent strikes overall and got four whiffs on seven swings against his revamped slider. The pitch is over two mph harder this year, with the idea of allowing it to be a more dynamic whiff pitch. He’s also relying on the sinker to righties far more than his four-seamer, which is a nice change for him. Burrows has all the makings of a breakout this year.

Now, we should note that the only two regular Astros hitters in the lineup were Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez, but this was still a good effort from Cavalli, who threw 65 percent strikes while posting a 24 percent whiff rate and 33 percent CSW. The command for Cavalli will be huge because he has plus raw stuff. He did struggle to locate and get chases on his curve today, but Cavalli has also seemingly split his slider into two pitches now, with a sweeper and a harder cutter. So far this spring, the 27-year-old has struck out seven and walked one in six innings. He could be worth a late round dart throw in drafts but don’t expect many wins on the Nationals.

Campbell took a first-inning sweeper from Justin Verlander and hit it 394 feet at 101.9 mph off the bat for a home run. It’s been a slow spring for the 23-year-old, but he drastically overhauled his swing mechanics and stance in the offseason, and those things take time to click. He will most likely begin the season at Triple-A and continue to refine his new mechanics, but he still remains a high upside prospect and a potential buy in dynasty formats.

The big hit was a two-run home run allowed to Kristian Campbell in the top of the first inning. Verlander sat 94 mph on his fastball, which is basically where he was at last season, and also registered a 39 percent whiff rate. He gave up just the one hard-hit baseball and threw 64 percent strikes, so this was an encouraging outing overall.

Early also posted a 29 percent whiff rate and 31 percent CSW while showing off his advanced six-pitch mix. The 24-year-old started last year in Double-A and made just six starts in Triple-A, so the Red Sox are hesitant to push him for a full MLB season if they don’t need to. The organization would also gain an extra year of control over Early if he remains in the minor leagues for the early portion of the season, so, with Johan Oviedo and Patrick Sandoval also capable of being the fifth starting pitcher, it seems highly likely that Early will begin the year in Triple-A.

It was initially believed that Priester was behind some of the other starters because of wrist discomfort that carried over from last season. However, Murphy said on Thursday that the team was “thinking about even sending him to a specialist now. We’re optimistic that the shoulder MRI, the elbow MRI, everything is good. But something’s keeping him from progressing.” The fact that Priester had MRIs on both his shoulder and his elbow and is also potentially being sent to a specialist suggests that Brewers are not really sure what’s preventing him from being able to let it loose on the mound. At this stage, given the uncertainty, it’s hard to feel good about drafting Priester in fantasy leagues unless you’re in a deep league with multiple IL spots.

Miller is recovering from a hip injury in 2025, but was able to post a 2.12 ERA in 17 innings across four starts at Double-A last season. The 2022 eighth round pick will look to build on that and put together a healthy season in 2026.

Briceño is one of the top prospects in the Tigers’ system, but he will be sidelined for a few months after wrist surgery. Malgeri made it as high as Double-A last year, while Seelinger had a solid season, posting a 2.74 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 75/25 K/BB ratio in 65 2/3 innings out of the bullpen at Double-A and Triple-A.

Carroll has said he plans to play on Opening Day, which would certainly bode well for him. We assume the Diamondbacks will see how his hand feels after facing live pitching on Friday, and then make a decision on when he could get back into Cactus League games. We should still expect a bit of power regression for Carroll coming off the hamate surgery, but the rest of his profile should remain solid.